"Missing, Presumed" Susie Steiner

I had resisted this book for a long time despite the frenzy of praise all over social media and now I am kicking myself for not having read it sooner!

It wasn't the crime thriller, "Gone Girl" esq book I had "presumed" it to be from the front cover. This novel actually transcends genres - it's hard to explain quite where it fits in - there is a missing person, there is a criminal investigation, there is plenty of police procedural sections and the main character is a detective. There are twists, shocks, suspense and gripping revelations but, despite being quite compulsive, it's not a page turner- there is more to be savoured here. This is as much a character study of Manon, the protagonist, as a police procedural book and the writing has a more literary feel. Characters such as Miriam, the missing girl's mother, reflect a more intellectual voice than perhaps usually drawn upon in a crime thriller. Steiner has been compared to Kate Atkinson and I think this is a really fair comment. It was a real pleasure to have my expectations usurped and to discover a novelist from which I hope we will see much more in the future!

So what is it about?

At thirty-nine, Manon Bradshaw is a devoted and respected member of the Cambridgeshire police force, and though she loves her job, what she longs for is a personal life. Single and distant from her family, she wants a husband and children of her own. One night, after yet another disastrous Internet date, she turns on her police radio to help herself fall asleep—and receives an alert that sends her to a puzzling crime scene.

Edith Hind—a beautiful graduate student at Cambridge University and daughter of the surgeon to the Royal Family—has been reported missing for nearly twenty-four hours. Her home offers few clues: a smattering of blood in the kitchen, her keys and phone left behind, the front door ajar but showing no signs of forced entry. Manon instantly knows this case will be big—and that every second is crucial to finding Edith alive.

The opening is quite intriguing, albeit a little confusing as it doesn't start in the usual manner of detective fiction. Steiner begins her story with Manon's hopeless evening internet dating and it's a bit like a rather dark version of "Bridget Jones" as Manon wryly despairs of the night and her ineptitude to meet anyone half decent. Later she comforts herself with "the low murmurings about road traffic accidents or drunken altercations outside Level 2 Nightclub, all of which she can ignore because they are far too lowly for the Major Incident Team." Unusual and interesting behaviour! The final sentence of the chapter claims that it is the "sound of vigilance...rapid response to hurt and misdeed....human kindness in action..." that helps her to sleep. It's a cliffhanger but not a cliffhanger! I was hooked!

I really quickly engaged with Manon. She is sharp, witty, sarcastic and her text messages with Bryony made me smile. Her observations and conversations (including the profanities!) with Bryony and Harriet (her boss) bring an unexpected humour to the novel; it felt strange to be laughing and snorting while reading a book about a missing person! But it works. It really works. I particularly enjoyed the description of herself she imagines to post on the internet dating website:

"Misanthrope, staring down the barrel of childlessness. Yawning ability to find fault. Can give off WoD (Whiff of Desperation). Educated: to an intimidating degree. Can be needy. Often found Googling "having a baby at 40."

Edith Hind, a 24 year old Cambridge student and daughter of the doctor to the Royal Family, has gone missing. Her boyfriend arrives home one evening to find the door open, signs of a struggle, and no Edith. The family are immediately placed under scrutiny but as the detectives surmise; "'.....So he was at the theatre with the Home Secretary. All that means is his alibi probably stacks up.' 'Ye think?' says Harriet..." I liked the sense of panic and pressure immediately felt by the team as they realise exactly what sort of people they are now dealing with and how the press and public might now respond to their investigation. It felt very real - and to be honest, quite refreshing. As was Manon's subsequent text to Bryony: "'Go away please, am in the middle of Very Important Investigation.' 'All right, Mrs Big Tits. Laters. PS it's always the uncle. Or the stepfather. Or the boyfriend. Or possibly a complete stranger.'"

But don't be fooled by these entertaining exchanges. This is a very serious book too. There is plenty of depth, emotion and highly developed characters. Manon is also a complicated character; trying to come to terms with her age, loneliness and disappearing hopes of motherhood. Although the story almost breaks away from the central action to focus on Manon's entanglement with Alan and their brief but intense relationship, she is also highly dedicated to solving the mystery surrounding Edith and clearly intelligent and passionate -not just about justice, but about saving people.


Although the following quote is actually from Miriam, Edith's mother, it does illustrate Steiner's command of language and her ability to effectively describe the pressure of time that the detectives are up against.

"And she is aware of the passage of time- forty eight hours now by police reckoning - is like a growing tumour for a missing person, as if time itself drains the life from their bodies." 

I liked Steiner's writing style a lot. She is able to capture moments, people and situations with quite unassuming descriptions that actually reflect her gift for insight and highly perceptive observations. For example, following a television appearance about Edith's disappearance she writes:

"(the host's) voice is laden with condolence, while along the bottom of the screen, Miriam notices, the next item is on flattering trousers, followed by a discussion on toddlers who bite. Something about the lighting on the show makes its world seem thin and breakable." 

I also liked Manon's shrewd reflection that "people can seem normal and yet grief swirls about like an unseen tide working against the currents of life...the bereaved should wear signs, she thinks, saying: Grief in Progress - for at least a couple of years."

The latter half of the book is really engaging as we return to the police investigation and events begin to move towards the climatic denouement. The emotional tension is quite raw and the characters become very three dimensional. It was a surprising, complex and very clever journey of suspense, tension and grief.

The best thing about the book was that all the characters are very relatable, authentic and convincing. The dialogue and relationships between them all is engaging, believable and the links between the characters are really well developed. I really hope there is more to see of Manon in the future as I feel she has an awful lot more to bring to the world and I for one would love to meet her again.

Oh, and I also learnt a new word- "rapaciously". Fabulous word!!

My thanks to NetGalley of the ARC of this book in return for a fair review.

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"What We Didn't Say" Rory Dunlop

Jack and Laura have separated. Jack thinks it's all Laura's fault.

Laura disagrees.

Jack writes to Laura, desperate to put across his side of the story.

Laura interrupts.

Wryly sarcastic and intensely well-observed, What We Didn't Say is about that gap between words and feelings where relationships live - and die.


This is the story of college sweethearts Jack and Laura. It is the story of a marriage in crisis; a reflection on relationships, love, hope, misunderstanding and trust. We meet Jack after the couple have been separated for a while and the story is narrated largely from his point of view. What makes this story unique and one to stand out from any others written about these themes, is the way in which it is told. Jack emails Laura his diary entries and she then adds her comments to his account, giving us her opinion or interpretation of specific events and conversations. For example:

"'Oh Jack won't have any,' Laura said, in the dismissive way a child might speak of their younger brother. [That was the opposite of what I meant. I was proud that you never took drugs. You weren't judgemental or prudish or close-minded, like some of my friends. You just had the strength of character to decide drugs weren't for you. I respected that.] "

As this is an unbiased review, I do feel I need to be honest and admit that sadly I did struggle a little with the format of the narrative. I totally understand what the author was attempting to do and it is a clever way to show how two conversations can be interpreted in such different ways; how one character was really feeling, or what they meant to convey through their words and how they didn't mean to be hurtful or judgemental, but for some reason it didn't quite work for me and it irked me a little. However, I seem to be a minority judging from the rave reviews on Goodreads!!

The relationship between Jack and Laura is a little unbalanced. To me it felt as if Jack is far more in love with Laura than she in him - there is an age difference between them and as time goes on it's clear that Laura began to feel a little constrained by Jack's reluctance towards some ideas and that there was a shift in their relationship. Jack speaks so beautifully about her and his comments reflect a deep understanding of her personality. The metaphors and comparisons show Dunlop's skill as a writer and his ability to capture moments and characters with assured deftness.

"For Laura's spirits were a kite to which I held the string - most of the time she flew above me, lifting me with her, but every now and then she'd drop to the floor and then I'd rush to detangle any crossed strings, and run and drag and jump until she was up in the air again."

Dunlop's writing is quite mesmerising and insightful. I liked the way he wrote about mental and emotional anguish and thought he captured the complexity of Jack's feelings very convincingly. For example:

"emotions and memories are dangerous when they're not articulated- they rattle around the mind, smashing up things. the logic of language puts everything in its proper place........I was using words to put my shame and anger in proportion"

"of course it was a bad idea but bad ideas often look like good ideas in the dark of a sleepless night"

I think ultimately, I found the novel very sad. Perhaps Dunlop is too acute in his ability to capture the bitterness and resentment that can build up in a relationship -particularly when it's not checked and the characters retreat further into misunderstanding. Perhaps his writing is so well observed that it is unsettling and the underlying tragedy too well perceived.

I had a collection of half true one-sentence criticisms of Laura, built up over twenty years, which I kept, like business cards, in the back of my mind for when I'm angry with her. As I stared at the taxi door, I flipped through them: she's selfish; she's thoughtless; she's a flirt. [Which halves are supposed to be true? Being friendly doesn't make me a flirt and I'm no more selfish or thoughtless than you are.]

It is quite hard to read the breakdown between the couple and at times a little frustrating as so much pain could have been avoided if the conversations that happen in the email could have happened at the time. But Dunlop's writing is unfaltering throughout the whole story; his description and style fluent, imaginative and always authentic. When he moves in with a friend, Jack writes that "we pulled each other through the day, from game show to microwave meal to sitcom, like two old drunks on a pub crawl" which I thought was very visual and very well captured.

There is some humour and sarcasm within the prose but for me, I think I found it too overwhelmingly dark and sad. It is a poignant novel and it is definitely one with a message for all in relationships but even though there is some hope of overcoming the worst and rekindling love and friendship, the ending remains heartbreaking.

I think it is well written, original and would make an interesting tv adaptation. Readers who enjoy Nick Hornby and David Nicholls will probably enjoy this novel. It reminded me a little of the film "The Break Up" which also charts the ups and downs of a couple.

"What we didn't say" was published by Bonnier Zaffre on 30th June 2016.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Publishing for a copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.

You can follow me on Twitter for more recommendations and reviews @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"When He Fell" Kate Hewitt

I bought this based on the fact that I had seen the cover of this on Twitter and it seemed a very popular title amongst other book bloggers. But I hadn't taken that much notice of what the reviews said- perhaps if I had, I wouldn't have found myself nearly reduced to tears in front the my children while I sneakily tried to finish off the last quarter of the book! Or maybe there's a lesson about parenting and supervision there....... Topical!! 

I did enjoy this book. It was quite compulsive but that could have been because I was waiting for the twists and compounding dramatic events which is promised from the blurb. Not that this isn't delivered - in fact towards the end it is really quite harrowing. I literally did cover my hand with my mouth in distress at one particular sentence. I honestly felt very moved by the final climatic denouement. 

At times I was a little unsure of the adult characters and how empathetic I felt towards them. Maddie is a little bit of a victim and has a slightly cliched past with slightly predictable issues but actually, Hewitt manages to ensure we are invested enough to care by creating several characters who are equally secretive, equally vulnerable and also equally unclear in some of their motives. The water is muddy. Nothing is clear cut and no one is completely innocent or blameless. 

I was a little unsure of Lewis. He feels very reticent to really engage with either his wife Joanne or Maddie and at times I was a little frustrated by his silence. However, his relationship with his son and with Ben cannot be faulted and shows that ultimately he's not a bad guy. He is a man in turmoil and a man in dilemma. Although it took me a while to warm to the characters, I did become involved with them emotionally and did want to see them survive their shared trauma. 

I thought that Hewitt captured the two boys with great conviction and authenticity. Josh is a very intriguing character and the psychology of his character is really well handled.

Hewitt weaves quite a tangled web where the relationships between the characters are confused and complicated. Both women are affected by previous issues and experiences which clouds their perspective and rationality. As well as themes of parenting, supervision and guilt, there is a lot about motherhood, pregnancy, love, relationships and marriage. This is not a book for the emotionally fragile! 

I loved the premise of the novel. I thought it was a really clever situation to explore and as a mother of school aged children (and a lunch time supervisor!) it really did make me go cold at particular moments. It is a bit like "The Slap" but much more accessible with a much more redeeming cast of characters. To me, it also felt a little like Jodi Picoult in the sense that Hewitt has picked a highly emotive topic and really looks at the ensuing dilemmas from a range of perspectives. It is thought provoking. 

I did read it quickly; I did find Hewitt's style and language very enjoyable and easy to read. She structures her story very successfully, throwing a cliffhanger or new piece of information in just when you think you have figured everything out. There are some great twists and plenty of suspense. 

I would recommend it and I would like to read more from this author.

You can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) 

Enid Blyton's Birthday 11th August (1897-1968)

Love her or loathe her there is no mistaking what a colossal influence this author has had on children's fiction and consequently millions of children's authors- and, undoubtedly, adult authors.

For me, she is responsible for helping make that jump between picture books and chapter books. She filled the void that existed *cough* years ago when children's fiction did not have the huge selection of original and gifted writers it has today. She was a perfect choice for the time when I had outgrown young children's fiction but wasn't quite ready for teenage / adult reads. As a voracious reader, I devoured whole series of her books, immersed myself in her exciting worlds where ordinary children were frequently able to out think adults and made me begin to see adventure and mystery everywhere around me which led to more imaginative playing and a desire to become a writer myself.

It is a real testament to her writing, that despite the controversies and issues surrounding her titles, they still remain bestsellers today. Just this month, my daughter has discovered "The Famous Five" and I found three of these books under her pillow last week! My son loves the "Five Find-Outers" series and was literally glued to them last summer as he ploughed through the entire series. His friends are fans of "The Secret Seven" and we also have the "Adventure" series which the boys have enjoyed reading. I look forward to sharing "Malory Towers" with my daughter when she's a bit older.

The 2009 TV series "Enid" starring Helena Bonham Carter was absolutely stunning. Although quite difficult to watch at times, it was a fascinating insight and very thought provoking. I would highly recommend it.

So what are your favourite Enid Blyton reads? Which made an impression on you? Here are a few of mine!



 

You can find me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"Lie in Wait" G J Minett

Owen Hall has always been different. A big man with an unusual fixation, one who prefers to put his trust in number patterns rather than in people, it's unsurprising that he'd draw the attention of a bully.

Or a murder investigation.

And, in the storm of emotions and accusations that erupts when a violent killing affects a small community, it soon becomes clear that a particularly clever murderer might just get away with it.

All they'd need is a likely suspect . . .

This is one clever novel. No it's more than that, it is one incredibly clever novel. I'm not quite sure how Minett managed to pull off a story with so many different characters, all with their own backstories and secrets, and numerous sub plots that all weave a complex web of crime, murder, mystery and suspense. It's only his second novel, but Minett has so surely raised his game and shown that he is capable of controlling many separate threads; pulling them together seamlessly in a compelling thriller. I can't imagine how complicated his planning process was, but I have in mind some enormous spreadsheet littered with multicoloured post it notes and symbols! Or maybe something akin to one of Carrie Mathison's walls in Homeland or Prison Break's Michael Schofield tattoos!

Having said that, it is not a complicated book to read. There is a lot going on and there is a wide cast of characters but it does not in any way feel like a difficult read. It is engaging, accessible and fluent.
Minett makes life very easy for the reader with very clear headings at the start of each chapter - either Now or Earlier (yes, there's a dual timeline to cope with too!) and the date, and then the name of the character we are now following. The characters change within each section but again, even though their voices are distinctive and different, a name is provided. I found this immensely helpful as I was reading at such a pace it meant I wasn't distracted, confused or forced to retrace my steps at any point to make sense of who was talking and when. In fact, drawing attention to the dates and names actually made me pay more attention to chronology and encouraged me to try to start to put the jigsaw of clues together (which I totally failed on, obvs!).

The main character Owen is a really well crafted protagonist. Minett captures his awkward social and emotional personality with conviction. Owen is obsessed with numbers - their reliability and their consistency offer him a sense of calm and control. He reduces almost any situation into a sum, the answer then providing a decision or assurance of his next actions. Although intriguing, Owen evokes a huge sense of empathy from the reader in the opening prologue as he is obviously so clearly affected by the shocking disappearance of Julie from his taxi. But as the novel progresses I found myself in a continual dilemma about this character; innocent? Guilty? Victim? Perpetrator?

Whatever you think, there is a definite sense that this man could potentially become volatile, menacing or dangerous. I liked that. Never quite knowing what a character might do or what they might be capable of creates a huge amount of suspense and tension.

But Owen is not the only suspect or potential criminal. There are several. In fact, most of the characters in the book are deeply unpleasant, malicious, dangerous and dark. Their dialogue is blunt, colloquial and offensive but there is nothing gratuitous or cringe worthy, it is all impressively authentic and realistic. I found the passages of speech very filmic and really effective in capturing the real colours of these fictional players.

Abi, one of the female protagonists, is equally complex. I found myself changing my opinion of her several times and was never quite sure exactly what her motives were and whether I could fully trust her (don't be ridiculous Katherine, this is a thriller - you can't trust anyone!). I thought her relationship with Owen was really interesting. Minett explores memories of bullying, school days and the relationships between people that have grown up together and I enjoyed this aspect of the plot.

I am impressed with how well Minett can write from the perspective of several different characters with integrity and with such consistency and reliability throughout the entire novel. There are no holes, gaps, forced or contrived aspects of the plot; Minett writes with solid assurance.

To finish, I just want to mention the setting and location of the novel. There is immense detail about the exact places and scenery used in the book which helps to make the dark world in to which Minett leads us, more convincing and believable.

This is a crime thriller with an ingenious plot and vivid characters. Owen is a masterful creation. It is a really gritty, dark novel. I am hugely impressed with this, only Minett's second novel, and think it sets him up as a writer to watch out for in the future.

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in return for a fair review.

"Lie in Wait" will be published as a ebook on 25th August, the same day that Minett's first novel, "The Hidden Legacy", will be published in paperback by Twenty 7, an imprint of Bonnier Zaffre.
"Lie in Wait" is released in paperback on 9th March 2017.

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk).

REVIEW OF "THE HIDDEN LEGACY" (archive post from Feb 2016)

This is an impressive and ambitious debut which follows two main story lines. The first is set in 1966 where a horrific crime with life lasting consequences has taken place at a school, the second in 2008 where a life changing gift is bequeathed to Ellen by someone she has never heard of. The novel, interweaving between the two narratives, sets out to solve the truth behind Ellen's mysterious benefactor leading her to question everything she thought she knew about her family and friends.

The story continues by alternating between the various narratives of Ellen, O'Hallaran, Peter Vaughan, John Michael Adams and Eudora's letters. This is an ambitious number of characters to juggle but each voice is realistic and convincing. The voice of shady journalist O'Hallaran, is particularly effective at reflecting his malicious intent and untrusting personality. Ellen's voice is a good contrast and her friend Kate adds some lightness to what could become a rather overwhelming story. Ellen's emotional journey about how she handles her discoveries is well judged and captures the internal conflict she feels, hinting at themes of judgement and redemption in the ending.

The reader is left to question their feelings about Eudora, Barbara and most interestingly John Michael Adams, who is guilty of the dreadful crime in 1966, which I thought was a brave stand for the author and gave the book more depth. Minett takes a taboo subject and explores it from an interesting angle. There is lots of detailed description and the characters are meticulously presented which sometimes, for me, impaired the action a little although it did reveal Minett to be a skilled writer. I think it is a sign of an accomplished and clever writer to successfully direct, manage and ultimately converge such a multilayered plot and successfully bring together so many narratives without confusing or losing the reader along the way. I did find that I really needed to keep an eye of the date, location and name of each section but the investment was worth it and each voice has a valid role within the plot.

It's a good read. I look forward to Minett's next book!

"Things we have in Common" Tasha Kavanagh

I was recommended this book by author Cass Green ("The Woman Next Door") although after borrowing from my local library, I realised I had downloaded it on my kindle a long time ago following other recommendations on Twitter. Either way, I'm glad I got around to finally reading it. It's quite unlike any of the other thrillers on my shelf at the moment but oh so very compelling!

The first time I saw you, you were standing at the far end of the playing field. You were looking down at your brown straggly dog, your mouth going slack as your eyes clocked her. Alice Taylor.

I was no different. I’d catch myself gazing at the back of her head in class, at her thick fair hair swaying between her shoulder blades.

If you’d glanced just once across the field, you’d have seen me standing in the middle on my own looking straight at you, and you’d have gone back through the trees to the path quick, tugging your dog after you. You’d have known you’d given yourself away, even if only to me.

But you didn’t. You only had eyes for Alice. 

Yasmin would give anything to have a friend… And do anything to keep them.

Kavanagh does several things that I adore in psychological thrillers. Firstly she has created an original narrative voice, secondly our narrator is totally unreliable, and finally the narrator refers to the suspect as "you" the entire way through the novel which is highly effective in creating an atmosphere of menace - with both the narrator and the suspect.

Yasmin is 15, her father has died; her and her mother now live with her mother's new partner, Gary Thorton - or "Gary Thorn-in-my-bum" - who "wasn't there", so can't fully understand the trauma the mother and daughter have survived. He regularly frustrates both women with his constant reprisal towards Yasmin to confront her worryingly obese figure. Yasmin is a loner. She is a social outcast at school, teased, bullied, ignored with a desperately low self esteem as she repeatedly refers to herself as fat and freakish.

Yasmin's voice is very authentic. Her flippancy, jealousy, moodiness, spite and then conversely, obsession, love, naivety all remind us that she is a teenager - one that is still grieving and whose mother seems relatively ineffective in any significant guidance or support. However, what I really liked is that I was never entirely sure how I felt towards her. Pity? Sympathy? Fear? Horror? Is this a girl who simply gets caught up in her own imaginings or is there something more malicious and underhand at play? Is Kavanagh showing how events can spiral out of control from one or two words shouted in the heat of the moment or has she indeed created a more psychopathic creature?

I can't forget about Yasmin. She has made a deep impression on me. There was something very bleak in her story. Her obsession over Alice is perhaps not abnormal as far as teenage crushes go - particularly for a child who longs to be recognised and accepted. But what is unsettling is the level of delusion and how confused she sometimes become between what is real and what is imagined. Some of the passages were painful to read; either because Yasmin's actions made me cringe or because I wanted to reach out and rescue her. Although Kavanagh skilfully steers us away from becoming too emotionally involved with Yas - she does not want us to feel maternal sympathy towards her. She wants us to be terrified by her thoughts and actions and fear for where things will lead. Yasmin is often very unemotional and unresponsive towards things that she shouldn't be. Her obsessions and ideas are always several stages too far and too worryingly inappropriate. I could not read the pages fast enough I so wanted to see how things would turn out.

Yasmin's voice is punchy. She can be sarcastic. She can be brutal. And then she can swing to the opposite end of the scale and be loving, overly trusting, desperate for assurance and validation. But there is so much displacement and fantasy in her mind, it is sad as well as deeply concerning. It is no surprise that Yasmin compares herself to Snow White and pretends to exist in fairy tales at the beginning of the novel - or how filmic her fantasies are. I was moved by how much all the adults let Yasmin down. There could be some really interesting discussions about responsibility within this book.

"You" is a brilliant character. There is so little real description of this person, who also gives little away through dialogue, we have only what Yasmin tells us to go on which is highly unreliable and also ever changing. Enigmatic and allusive, the mystery around "you" taunts us throughout the whole novel and I was forever changing my opinion and theories.

It's only 260 pages long. Kavanagh writing is simple, fluent, engaging and absorbing. I don't think I can use the words gripping, chilling and thrilling in the conventional sense but as far as reads go, it is a thriller; it will chill you. This is utterly compulsive and very compelling.

I recommend it!

"Things we have in Common" was published by Canongate in 2015.

"Saving Sophie" Sam Carrington

Her eyes are wide and swollen, wet with fresh tears- her face stained with old ones. She opens her mouth, just a little, daring to utter the words screaming inside her head: Please don't kill me. He notices the slight movement of her lips and immediately presses his fingers against them, suppressing the words before they can be formed. Only her breath manages to leak through the gaps of his soft fingers; a stifled exhalation. Her last. 

A teenage girl is missing. Is your daughter involved, or is she next?

Your daughter is in danger. But can you trust her?

Every parent's worst nightmare. Your 17 year old daughter is brought home one night by the police. Drunk and without any memory of what happened that evening. The next morning her friend Amy is missing. Then a body is found. 

What happened? Can Sophie really not remember anything or is she actually hiding something? 

There is a lot about breathing in this book. Not doing it, doing it too quickly, having it taken from you...... The main perpetrator of this crime against regular breath is the author Carrington herself. In fact, if you have remembered to breathe even by the end of the short prologue then you will stand a better chance than I did of surviving this novel! 

Carrington's prose is relentlessly gripping. It is an absolute page turner of a thriller with all the perfect ingredients of a gripping and psychologically chilling book. Carrington is a great story teller and I really enjoyed this -her debut novel. It had everything I could ask for from a contemporary, mainstream, one-sitting-read and I'm sure it will fly off the shelves when it is published in paperback in December. 

It opens typically with a prologue -an anonymous voice, a captured girl. A gag which falls to the floor with "an innocent sound, incongruent with the function it has just served." We then plunge headlong into the main body of the story, the short chapters barely leaving you enough time to release that lungful of held air before you prepare yourself for the next twist. 

The chapters are told alternately from the point of view of Sophie and her mother, Karen. I liked this as the book is as much about Karen, her past, her secrets and her huge psychological issues as it is of Sophie. By having two main protagonists, not only does Carrington have two sets of secrets and buried pasts to uncover but she also has more relationships to explore and develop; friendship - both between Sophie's peer group and Karen's friendship with Rachel, relationships between mothers and daughters, teenager's relationships and marriage. This generates more tension and more subplots. At first I was a little confused by the amount of focus on Karen and her response to the missing girl rather than Sophie, who is seemingly more embroiled with danger and crime, but Carrington has meticulously planned for all this and nothing has been written without a purpose which will gradually become clear to the reader. 

Even when we're not hyperventilating at the scenes about Sophie, Amy, the anonymous voice and the police investigation, we are still not allowed to let our breathing relax or feel any sense of calm as we share with Karen as she fights her own illness; her own debilitating demons, her own psychological nightmare as she tries to survive with advanced agoraphobia.

"Karen clawed at the top buttons of her cotton shirt, popping a few as she attempted to reduce the restriction around her neck. Her breathing was out of control already.....she was going to choke. Her lips tingled as the carbon dioxide in her blood reduced. She had to act now or she'd faint."

Initially I was a little frustrated by Karen as she does feel a bit of a victim. Her relationships with both her husband and daughter are fragile or even dysfunctional. Her husband is exasperated by her condition and sometimes too blunt with her. However, as the novel progressed, I developed more sympathy for her and the extra attention to her suffering and anxiety is a key part of the plot and the character's journey. Her constant thoughts about breathing, chocking, suffocation, panicking, tightness are all used to exaggerate the tension and whip the reader up into an equal state of panic. Karen's sense of hopelessness is palpable and I had sympathy for her as she tried to manage the conflict inside her - she knows her family is in a deeply precarious place but she really can't seem to overcome her inner demons and free herself from them. But if she doesn't.....

Social media and the internet are also key in this book. I love the way the web has affected crime writing - not only in making criminals more powerful or menacing, the work of the police more complex, but also in the amount of research that individuals can carry out independent from the police. Karen may be confined to the four walls of her house but she is able to use the computer to help explore her intuition. Whether this is for the best or not.....And it's amazing how deeply unnerving an email can sound in amongst a narrative and how much of someone's character it can betray. 

This is also novel about secrets. Expect to be blown away with the revelations, surprises, twists and turns that rival any whirlwind or tropical storm. I loved this passage:

"The clock on the wall beside them ticked loudly, like a steady heartbeat: tick...tick...tick.
Once spoken aloud, the words were out there. A secret no longer. Tick.....tick....tick." 

But, honestly, I don't think I can take much more from Carrington! The ending was brilliant and the epilogue...... well...... my breathing is yet to return to something more "regular"! 

Carrington's writing is straightforward, accessible, full of pace, full of fluent dialogue and full of drama. It's a perfect one sitting read for Friday nights or a weekend. 

And as the brilliant and witty Kaisha Holloway from thewritinggarnet wrote in her review - "perhaps Avon should package every copy of "Saving Sophie" with a paper bag because you need it. Every time Karen went to use hers to regulate her own breathing, I wanted to shout share it!"

The kindle version of "Saving Sophie" is available on 12th August 2016 and the paperback will be available from 15th Decemeber 2016 from Avon Publishers. 

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or via my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk