Unconvincing slow-burn mystery with more foreshadowing than action!
Marketed as a thriller, The Heatwave is sadly anything but and together with a serious lack of pace for the majority of the novel the storyline failed to deliver the suspense or excitement promised. The premise itself is decent enough and sees Felicity Musgrave, an already anxious married mother living in the Lake District, learn that a teenage girl has gone missing in Sidmouth, Devon. Unbeknownst to husband, Chris, Sidmouth is Felicity’s home town and not only did a girl go missing in similar circumstances sixteen years ago and just before Felicity fled the town, but she feels compelled to return given her conviction that she can solve the disappearance. Her reasoning for why she thinks she is central to the mystery is incomprehensible and shaded in doubt before some overdone foreshadowing gives some heavy hints that Felicity has dark secrets of her own and must confront her unresolved memories of the events of sixteen years ago to move on with her life.
The story is told across two timelines with Felicity in the present day as she returns to the town she turned her back on and attempts to confront the demons which have held her to ransom ever since. Full of paranoia and resorting to alcohol in a bid to calm her fears it is clear that Felicity is no innocent and knows rather more than she is revealing about the events of sixteen years ago but disappointingly the foreboding was not accompanied by any specific details to make her anxiety feel justifiable and hence keep the reader invested. The past narrative follows the actual events of sixteen years ago when Felicity and her best friend, Jasmine Burgess, were sixteen year old teenager themselves. Told from Jasmine’s point of view it begins with the arrival of a mysterious stranger and homeless young man, Tim, whom Jasmine’s do-gooder parents invite into their home. Disquieted by Tim and sensing an ulterior motive behind his arrival Jasmine is unsettled by her attraction towards someone whose sinister side lies so close to the surface. Certain that Tim is up to something but powerless to ignore his allure that summer unfolds with shocking revelations.
The issue for me was how long it took for anything meaningful to occur in either timeline and at times the wait felt interminable and I was bored. We do not even learn who actually disappeared sixteen years ago until 40% of the way through and it’s other halfway before Felicity reveals anything to nudge the plot forward and hint at how closely involved she is to the events sixteen years earlier. After all this build up the ending feels rushed and is signposted well in advance leaving a host of unresolved questions which only make the whole scenario feel increasingly unbelievable. Overall a lacklustre and pretty uninspiring read which bored rather than thrilled me!
This is the second book that I have read by this author and the simplistic style of the writing itself made the book a struggle. I found it hard to invest in the scenario the author was portraying because the prose was so unimaginative and robotic. Events are described but entirely devoid of atmosphere and the characterisation is superficial, making it difficult to believe in any of the main players. It was hard enough to believe Jasmine and Felicity were best friends as they seemed more like frenemies to me and along with the willingness of the locals to open up to Felicity on the current missing girl and some dubious dialogue, including during a supposedly impassioned final showdown in Sidmouth, it is another all adds up to a novel with a distinctly flimsy feel that I would struggle to recommend.
The story is told across two timelines with Felicity in the present day as she returns to the town she turned her back on and attempts to confront the demons which have held her to ransom ever since. Full of paranoia and resorting to alcohol in a bid to calm her fears it is clear that Felicity is no innocent and knows rather more than she is revealing about the events of sixteen years ago but disappointingly the foreboding was not accompanied by any specific details to make her anxiety feel justifiable and hence keep the reader invested. The past narrative follows the actual events of sixteen years ago when Felicity and her best friend, Jasmine Burgess, were sixteen year old teenager themselves. Told from Jasmine’s point of view it begins with the arrival of a mysterious stranger and homeless young man, Tim, whom Jasmine’s do-gooder parents invite into their home. Disquieted by Tim and sensing an ulterior motive behind his arrival Jasmine is unsettled by her attraction towards someone whose sinister side lies so close to the surface. Certain that Tim is up to something but powerless to ignore his allure that summer unfolds with shocking revelations.
The issue for me was how long it took for anything meaningful to occur in either timeline and at times the wait felt interminable and I was bored. We do not even learn who actually disappeared sixteen years ago until 40% of the way through and it’s other halfway before Felicity reveals anything to nudge the plot forward and hint at how closely involved she is to the events sixteen years earlier. After all this build up the ending feels rushed and is signposted well in advance leaving a host of unresolved questions which only make the whole scenario feel increasingly unbelievable. Overall a lacklustre and pretty uninspiring read which bored rather than thrilled me!
This is the second book that I have read by this author and the simplistic style of the writing itself made the book a struggle. I found it hard to invest in the scenario the author was portraying because the prose was so unimaginative and robotic. Events are described but entirely devoid of atmosphere and the characterisation is superficial, making it difficult to believe in any of the main players. It was hard enough to believe Jasmine and Felicity were best friends as they seemed more like frenemies to me and along with the willingness of the locals to open up to Felicity on the current missing girl and some dubious dialogue, including during a supposedly impassioned final showdown in Sidmouth, it is another all adds up to a novel with a distinctly flimsy feel that I would struggle to recommend.