Why a Booktrail?
2000s: For a physiological thriller narrated in part from a woman who has already died at the hands of a killer….
The Life I Left Behind
What you need to know before your trail
Eve was attacked and killed. Melody was attacked so badly by someone who she thought was a friend that she was in a coma for a time and lives such a protective and sheltered life now that she practically lives the life of a recluse. Preparing her marriage to Sam, she lives one day at a time and fears remembering that day but also of remembering what she daren’t. Is this man really guilty? And if not, how can she cope with the truth that he is still out there?
Enter DI Rutter is determined to get to the truth and Eve is determined to get her there. These women all come together although they don’t know it – and search for the one clue that will blow the whole case wide open revealing the most tragic truth of all.
Travel Guide
Well if you live in Richmond you might want to avoid certain places. There is a serial attacker and murderer on the loose and the search for the man responsible for these horrific attacks takes the police from Richmond woods to places all over the city. There are visits to London too as Melody gradually goes further afield in her attempts to get out of her small existence as she sees it.
Before she is killed, Eve is the one investigating David’s role in the whole affair and trying to get to the truth. But sadly as we know from early on the truth gets to her first and she has to guide matters from the other side. Lovely Bones with grit…..
The paranormal aspect of the novel gave this a new and exciting edge for even if you have read Lovely Bones, this is a lot more raw and grittier. The twists and turns will have you wanting a rest but in a good way.
The way in which Eve is stranded rather like the character in the film Ghost is interesting as we see how she tries to stand quite literally beside Melody and wants to help solve the horrific crime inflicted on her despite having been murdered herself. This world is a relatively new one in fiction for us and this was a nice way to experience it for a while. Imagine having unfinished business of this kind to deal with!
‘I’m the only one who knows the secrets her friends have hidden, the mistakes the police have made. I’m the only one who can warn her she’s still in danger. I know exactly who attacked her. He’s the same man who killed me.’
The setting in every sense is atmospheric and creepy as often its inside the victims’ heads where we are for the most part. And this is a very unsettling place to be.
A character drive novel that grips you by the neck and layers on the claustrophobic atmosphere that is built up in Melody’s head. Or the paranormal one experienced by Eve. An investigative world inhabited by the DI which all combine to produce an unsettling, eerie yet fascinating world.
Where Next?
