|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
This is the first book I've read by this author, so I came to it with no expectations of any kind, but was quickly sucked into the narrative by a first chapter written with flair and urgency from the point of view of Sandra Jones, a young mother, alone in the house apart from her four year old daughter, who realizes she is about to face an intruder. The police, in particular Detective Sergeant D.D. Warren who is called in to investigate Sandra's disappearance, immediately suspect the missing woman's husband, who naturally ticks all the relevant boxes for a suspicious character. He's tall, dark, handsome, and to make matters worse, distinctly uncooperative. To complicate matters further a convicted sex-offender lives next door, and Jason Jones, husband of the missing woman, is more than happy to direct the police in the other man's direction. For me, Gardiner was at her best in this book in the passages that dealt with Aidan Brewster, sent to prison for having sex with an underage girl, and still undergoing enforced rehabilitation in group therapy which he has to fund himself. I found myself sympathizing with a young man who had apparently become involved with a girl only four years younger than him at the time of a liaison that is depicted as having destroyed his life with possibly even further-reaching consequences than the effects on his victim. But then, in common with much of this book, nothing is ever quite as it seems on the surface. Gardner does a good job of portraying the reactions of a small town to the disappearance of a much-loved schoolteacher, reactions which take on a darker edge when suspicion also falls on Brewster as well as on the woman's husband. Jason Jones seems determined to cover up something, and I found myself speculating on what as I made my way at some speed through the narrative. As it turned out, I was pretty far off the mark, and it's a testament to Gardner's skill in this book that by the end, I was very much wrapped up in the lives of a group of people who all seemed to have something to hide. The characters are well drawn, and I cared about what happened to all of them, including Mr Smith, the pet cat. The plot thickens even further when a pupil with a very obvious crush on Sandra Jones enters the mix, as does the missing woman's estranged father and an intriguing sub-plot runs strongly through the second half of the book. The ending didn't disappoint either, and it was nice to see how Gardner peeled back the various layers to expose the truth about all of her protagonists. § Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.
Reviewed by Linda Wilson, June 2010
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
|
