Author : J.A.Corrigan
Genre : Thriller
Source : Free ARC from the author
Blurb :
A psychological thriller for fans of Belinda Bauer, Mark Edwards, Clare Mackintosh – a dark and brooding tale about the horrors that can lurk within a family.
Ex-DI Rachel’s small son is missing. Then his body is discovered. Her cousin Michael is found guilty of his murder and incarcerated in a secure psychiatric unit.
Four years later, now divorced and back in the police force, Rachel discovers that Michael is being released to a less secure step-down unit, with his freedom a likely eventuality. Unable to cope with this, she decides upon revenge, assuming a new identity to hunt him down and kill him. However, as she closes in on her target, her friend Jonathan, a journalist, uncovers some unnerving information about her mother and others in her family and begins to suspect that Rachel’s perception of the truth might not be as accurate as she thinks – that she might be about to murder the wrong man…
My Musings:
I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. This doesn't affect my review in any manner.
I was initially interested in the book because of the blurb. It reeled me in quickly and I am happy to say that I loved the time I spent reading the book. It's the debut book of the author and honestly, I went in without any feel for her work. Boy, was I surprised! The author delivers a well written book.
The book starts smack dab in the center of a serious situation. Rachel and Liam are overwhelmed by their grief after their son, Joe is abducted and killed. The perpetrator is Michael, Rachel's cousin. The crime is known and the killer is known,only the motive is a mystery but it is attributed to Michael's disturbed life. Rachel is lost in per pain and sets out to avenge Joe's death when she knows Michael may be getting off easy.
That about sums up the story's first few chapters in a few words. It seems to be pretty straight forward in the beginning. But as the story unravels, the author's mastery of the human psych is revealed. She has intricately plotted out each scene and interaction. The relationship between friends and family is explored to the maximum and a darker side of it is shown. It is like peeling away each layer of the society to show the workings under the surface which often is ignored.
The characters were nuanced very well from Rachel with her numbness and her thirst for justice to Liam with his cowardice to Jonathan's interest in Rachel and his eagerness to help her. Each character has something to add to the picture which emerges from the pages of the book. Each trivial information reveals a bigger picture which finally coalesces into the unsavoury finale.
The tale is a dark gritty one with a realistic tone to it. The issues portrayed in the book are very real and they need to be addressed in our society. The behind the scenes details were very well researched and all these details adds to the completeness of the book.
After having a taste of the author's work, I am looking forward to her next book with anticipation. She has set a high level indeed!
My rating : 5/5
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