Rating: 4/5 stars
Goodreads Description
Late one night a man walks into the luxurious home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. The man launches an unspeakably brutal attack on Harry as a horror-struck Julie watches, frozen by fear.
Just an hour later the attacker, JP Carney, has handed himself in to the police. He confesses to beating Harry to death, but JP claims that the assault was not premeditated and that he didn’t know the identity of his victim. With a man as notorious as Harry McNamara, the detectives cannot help wondering, was this really a random act of violence or is it linked to one of Harry’s many sins: corruption, greed, betrayal?
This gripping psychological thriller will have you questioning, who – of Harry, Julie and JP – is really the guilty one? And is Carney’s surrender driven by a guilty conscience or is his confession a calculated move in a deadly game?
My Review:
This book had a very similar plot-line to The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr, in the context that we know who the killer is, but we don’t know why he did it. I love books like these because you don’t get answer until the very last few pages and that way you can’t help but finish the novel and I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed.
The story is told in three different point of views; Julie (Harry’s wife), JP (the killer), and Alice (the detective). Aside from different perspectives, they are also told in the present and the past and it’s very easy to distinguish which one is which. All three are very entertaining, but I found Alice’s point of view to be a little boring at times. I get that she is the detective, but there are many unimportant pages in the novel from her point of view.
It’s very hard not to get hooked into this book. I mean the plot is intriguing enough, what more do you want? Characters were spot on, everyone had a secret and I find that secrets are what make a thriller or mystery novel stand out, because let’s face it, everyone has secrets. I love the cover of this book and it’s not until the end of the novel that you understand it. I guess you could say it’s a secret?
Spain manages to invite her readers into the luxurious but problematic world of Harry and Juliet but it’s not a picture perfect marriage. As we read along, we find out the problems that they faced and a whole lot of other secrets, but not only from them, also from JP. We learn about JP as a young boy and what struggles he overcame and by the last few pages you will learn everything you need to know about him.
The novel had everything and I just loved the way the mystery uncovered piece by piece. By the end of the novel, you will be left shocked and Spain does an amazing job putting the little twist at the end. A job well done!
Thank you Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
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