Imagine a future where the victim of a crime or their family has to accommodate the person who committed the crime in a prison cell in their own home? To be obligated to cook for them, do their laundry and even chat with them? It would be devastating!
I wouldn’t be able to do this. Just like Hannah’s neighbour Laurie Simmons who dispatched her family to live with her in-laws and moved to live in dome tent in her front garden, because it’s too much for her to share her house with the man who raped her.
But let’s focus on our heroine here – Hannah. She is a baker. Okay, that sounds too ordinary. She can make a masterpiece out of a simple sponge cake! Her husband John is a Met Detective who got killed and she ended up having to live with his killer – Jem.
But why’s that? Why do you have to bear the burden of living with someone who caused you so much pain? Because the government decided to save money from prisons and instead of them filling the empty stomachs of the criminals, you have to do it. Also, they state that with this method the person who committed a crime will be a first-bench spectator of the impact their crime has on the victim’s life.
The problem is that Jem keeps saying that he is innocent and somehow he even manages to plant the seed of doubt in Hannah’s mind. What can you expect from a Detective wife? Becoming a detective herself of course. She is clever and focused on her mission to find if Jem is telling the truth and he is not John’s killer. In her way to unravelling why John has been killed, she came across his dark secrets that make her doubt herself if she even knows the man she shared her bed with.
But Jem has his own problems. He has been raised by a mother who never seems to care for him. After one of her breakdowns, he was sent to a foster care. That’s how he met the Tarkers and his son Lucas became his best friend, even though Jem is 5 years older. Now Lucas needs his help and the imprisoned Jem can’t help him. He needs to come up with a plan, fast. But when her friend Alina denied to help him anymore because it becomes too dangerous for her and her child, Jem has no other choice other than convincing Hannah he is innocent.
The concept is unique and entertained me a lot. Although I could guess who the killer is, this didn’t spoil the book for me. It kept me going from first till the last page. Just like the previous O’Connor thriller, this one didn’t fail to keep my mind spinning and I wanted to turn the pages faster. I simply couldn’t help myself and I gave the baby to his dad so I can finish the last 100ish pages right there and then.
I couldn’t recommend this book enough. Just like with The Dangerous Kind. Both books made me think about the days after I finished them. I have the author’s first book in my home library but still haven’t read it. I think it’s time to change this as I want to see more from the author and can’t wait till her next book. (Finger crossed that there will be a new book soon!)
A huge thanks to Zaffre and the author Deborah O’Connor for sending me an ARC of this novel via Readers First in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are mine!
I wouldn’t be able to do this. Just like Hannah’s neighbour Laurie Simmons who dispatched her family to live with her in-laws and moved to live in dome tent in her front garden, because it’s too much for her to share her house with the man who raped her.
But let’s focus on our heroine here – Hannah. She is a baker. Okay, that sounds too ordinary. She can make a masterpiece out of a simple sponge cake! Her husband John is a Met Detective who got killed and she ended up having to live with his killer – Jem.
But why’s that? Why do you have to bear the burden of living with someone who caused you so much pain? Because the government decided to save money from prisons and instead of them filling the empty stomachs of the criminals, you have to do it. Also, they state that with this method the person who committed a crime will be a first-bench spectator of the impact their crime has on the victim’s life.
The problem is that Jem keeps saying that he is innocent and somehow he even manages to plant the seed of doubt in Hannah’s mind. What can you expect from a Detective wife? Becoming a detective herself of course. She is clever and focused on her mission to find if Jem is telling the truth and he is not John’s killer. In her way to unravelling why John has been killed, she came across his dark secrets that make her doubt herself if she even knows the man she shared her bed with.
But Jem has his own problems. He has been raised by a mother who never seems to care for him. After one of her breakdowns, he was sent to a foster care. That’s how he met the Tarkers and his son Lucas became his best friend, even though Jem is 5 years older. Now Lucas needs his help and the imprisoned Jem can’t help him. He needs to come up with a plan, fast. But when her friend Alina denied to help him anymore because it becomes too dangerous for her and her child, Jem has no other choice other than convincing Hannah he is innocent.
The concept is unique and entertained me a lot. Although I could guess who the killer is, this didn’t spoil the book for me. It kept me going from first till the last page. Just like the previous O’Connor thriller, this one didn’t fail to keep my mind spinning and I wanted to turn the pages faster. I simply couldn’t help myself and I gave the baby to his dad so I can finish the last 100ish pages right there and then.
I couldn’t recommend this book enough. Just like with The Dangerous Kind. Both books made me think about the days after I finished them. I have the author’s first book in my home library but still haven’t read it. I think it’s time to change this as I want to see more from the author and can’t wait till her next book. (Finger crossed that there will be a new book soon!)
A huge thanks to Zaffre and the author Deborah O’Connor for sending me an ARC of this novel via Readers First in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are mine!