Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas

This week I have taken a break from reading the many review copies which are stacking up on my kindle to read a novel by Claire Douglas which I have been wanting to get around to for a while now.  I was strolling around my local library last Sunday morning when I noticed it sitting on one of the quick selection shelves in the reception area and thought I would try a few pages while I sat and drank my coffee. Needless to say I ended up checking it out and bringing it home with me.

Book description:

Libby Hall never really wanted to be noticed. But after she saves the children in her care from a fire, she finds herself headline news. And horrified by the attention. It all reminds her of what happened nine years ago. The last time she saw her best friend alive.

The Swap

Which is why the house swap is such a godsend. Libby and her husband Jamie exchange their flat in Bath for a beautiful, secluded house in Cornwall. It's a chance to heal their marriage - to stop its secrets tearing them apart.

The Hideaway

But this stylish Cornish home isn't the getaway they'd hoped for. They make odd, even disturbing, discoveries in the house. It's so isolated-yet Libby doesn't feel entirely alone. As if she's being watched.

Is Libby being paranoid? What is her husband hiding? And. As the secrets and lies come tumbling out, is the past about to catch up with them?

My thoughts:

The book is split into different sections which I found worked really well in relating the story and feeding information to the reader.  In the first section we are introduced to Libby and her husband Jamie who are in their first year of marriage but are experiencing some challenges after primary school teacher Libby is forced to save the children in her care from a fire at the school. This unfortunately leads her to miscarry her and Jamie's first child and this is clearly putting a lot of strain on their relationship. By sheer chance a leaflet is delivered through their door offering the chance of a house swap in Cornwall which seems just the thing to take them away from everything. But things take several sinister turns during their stay and they end up coming home earlier than planned.

The second part of the book is set in Thailand years before. Libby has made friends with a group of fellow travellers and we are party to the few short but intense weeks they spend together. We soon learn about Libby's fellow travellers Karen and Harry and the jigsaw pieces begin to form in to part of the picture from the first section of the book.  Little do we realise at this stage just how big a part of Libby's life these people become. The twists and turns are by now coming thick and fast and I defy anyone not to be shocked by parts of this tale.

The final part works beautifully in bringing together all the information we have been fed in the earlier stages.  I really don't want to give anything of the story away as it is so brilliantly worked but suffice to say that you may work out some parts of the puzzle but the rest has such a wow factor it will have your jaw dropping in places. 

I cannot rate this book highly enough and I absolutely loved the ending as it kind of doesn't completely tie up every loose end while being a satisfying conclusion in itself. With dodgy in laws, a soppy dog and an ex husband more unlikeable than most I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty, turny thriller even more than I expected to. I only wish I had read it sooner - but there again, that would mean a longer wait for her next novel which I believe is due out in mid 2018.

A mega 5 star read in my opinion