Published by Simon & Schuster
Publication Date 2nd February 2023
Book Description:
Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong man.
Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most sociable guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour.
That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread . . .
As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.
And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed. It still isn’t.
No one else could have done it. Could they?
My Thoughts:
I think I chose to read this book approximately one week too soon - I would have loved to have sat and read it in one sitting to completely immerse myself in the emotions of the characters as part of my week off work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case so I had to chip away at the story either during my commute and in snatched sections throughout my working week which watered things down a tad, so if you get the opportunity to get settled in for a longer reading session this is the ideal book.
There are two timelines running throughout the book; there are the present-day chapters where Alex and his wife Beth are living comfortably together, albeit with the appearance of Beth's new best friend Zara casting a shadow over Alex's homelife, then there are the chapters from the summer of 1995 where a young guy named Rick is just starting to enjoy his freedom with his own flat (even if he does need a lodger to help pay the bills), a steady job and on the lookout for a longer term love interest. How the two timelines converge is a bit of a head-scratcher but things gradually become clearer as the facts are cleverly drip-fed to the reader.
Don't expect any "big reveal" moments in this one though. You will think you know all about Rick and Alex, their histories and personalities as the chapters tick easily along, but Louise Candlish has kept us well and truly in the dark for a good part of the story and the eyebrow raising, jaw dropping moments keep on coming long after you think you've got things all figured out. There are some good-sized red herrings woven in which could potentially lead you off track and they aren't necessarily where you expect them to be placed. As a regular reader of this genre, I was well and truly tripped up by the clever plotting.
The characters are nicely drawn, with sufficient depth to make them believable - a couple of them you will get totally invested and be shouting at the pages as they make some decidedly dodgy decisions. Others are less likeable but will also have your frustration levels rising due to their questionable actions.
This would be a terrific book for either a buddy-read or book club choice as there are so many topics for conversation and opinions to be had. One I most definitely recommend, so add it to your TBR list!
About the Author:
Louise Candlish is the Sunday Times bestselling author of fourteen novels. Our House, a #1 bestseller, won the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards, was longlisted for the 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. It has been adapted into a major ITV drama made by Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures. Louise lives in London with her husband and daughter. Visit her at LouiseCandlish.com or connect with her on Twitter @Louise_Candlish
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