23rd December 2018 – 5 stars
The author’s distinctive voice and style immediately drew me into this complex, twisting story that kept me hooked and guessing to the final pages. The characterisation of both major and minor characters was superb, with compassionate and insightful detail that brought them to life within seconds.
As for the story, well it certainly covers some ground. An investigative reporter snares a suspected paedophile for her TV show and then questions whether she’s destroyed the life of an innocent man. Innocent or guilty? Exploring both sides of this question not only underpins and drives the story, it reveals what happens when a community discovers it may have misjudged one of its own.
And just when you think all the loose ends have been tied … there’s one more twist.
Excellent writing, storytelling and characterisation not only entertains, but lives long in the memory for dealing with a controversial issue in a compassionate, non-judgemental manner that offers some intriguing insights into human and community behaviour.
This was my first Harlan Coben novel and I look forward to reading many more.
Description
Haley McWaid never gave her parents a moment’s worry. Until one morning her mother wakes to find that her seventeen-year-old daughter didn’t come home the night before.
The community is stunned by her loss. Three months pass without a word and everyone assumes the worst.
Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission: to identify and bring down sexual predators. Her latest target is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens.
But Wendy soon realises she can’t trust her own instincts – or the motives of the people around her – and that this story is more twisted than she could have imagined…
