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so-so

Saffy needs a job but whilst waiting to go into an interview, she receives 3 text messages from her bestie, Leona which read “Can‘t speak… “ “don‘t text or call… “ “please just come“. The messages are deleted & leaving the interview pleading illness, Saffy heads to her friend's home but when she gets there, Leona insists everything is fine. Unconvinced but with nothing she can do, Saffy heads home, (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf but six hours later, the police call: Leona, her husband, & her daughter are all missing, there's evidence of a confrontation with blood at the scene, & Saffy was the last one to visit them.

It started off quite well with Saffy's obvious worry at the deleted messages, but once the family disappears & the police become involved everything becomes rather contrived. One major issue for me is that the police had no physical evidence which pointed to 10mo

OutsmartYourShelf Saffy - yes she was at the scene earlier in the day & her prints were there because of that, but nothing else. No concrete evidence she was involved just circumstantial, & yet they focus all their efforts on her. It works for the plot of the book but it didn't ring true for me (although one wonders when you see some forces' solve rates) & rather affected my focus on reading it.

10mo

OutsmartYourShelf The narrative is told from several viewpoints including Saffy's sister & Leona & the timeline moves back & forth between now & what happened in the past. I didn't particularly like any of the characters apart from feeling a bit sorry for Saffy. The book is set in the UK city of Nottingham which happens to be my old stomping grounds & it was nice to see some of the places I know mentioned, & bonus points for the mention of my football team, Forest. 10mo

OutsmartYourShelf Overall though, I felt it didn't live up to the initial promise of the synopsis. 3⭐

TWs: mental health issues, infidelity, violent attack, death.

Thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6587722972
Read 15th-17th July 2024

#ReadAway2024 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
10mo

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