Cleverly weaving the past and the present together we read how a young boy commits a horrific crime in 1966, before moving to 2008 where we meet Ellen Sutherland, a recently divorced mother of two struggling to get her kids to move in the morning, wear a school jumper and handle the stresses of work and family.
When a letter arrives asking her to contact a solicitor in the West Country she is understandably confused and intrigued in equal measures. She takes the advise of the solicitor and travels down to his office to hear that she’s been left a substantial inheritance in the Will of Eudora Nash. Eudora Nash is not a name she knows, not someone she can recall ever meeting, or knowing through any friends or family.
As the story of Ellen and Eudora unfolds we weave cleverly back in time to the court case of the young lad, his subsequent life after that incident and how his family moved on with their lives, where they went mentally and physically from there.
There is so much that could be said about this book, and I find myself struggling to say much more without giving anything away, this really is a fantastic book that screams out to be read.
Both stories move along quickly, characters involved are engaging and interesting, and there is a definite sense of needing to read on to see what happens next. The location descriptions are fantastic, I found myself imagining Eudora’s cottage and the breathtaking views, if only it were a place I could visit!
At no point did I feel I wanted to read ahead, this book thoroughly captured my attention and held it. There were no points to me where it dragged or was dull to read, each page deepened the intrigue and mystery and I had to keep reading to find out what happened.
For a debut novel, this is impressive work, I really do hope that Minett can carry forward this level of writing into another book, he is definitely an author to add to the list and keep an eye out for future books!
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Fiction, Thrillers, and Crime Fiction genres. In fact, I would go so far as to insist you buy this book.
When a letter arrives asking her to contact a solicitor in the West Country she is understandably confused and intrigued in equal measures. She takes the advise of the solicitor and travels down to his office to hear that she’s been left a substantial inheritance in the Will of Eudora Nash. Eudora Nash is not a name she knows, not someone she can recall ever meeting, or knowing through any friends or family.
As the story of Ellen and Eudora unfolds we weave cleverly back in time to the court case of the young lad, his subsequent life after that incident and how his family moved on with their lives, where they went mentally and physically from there.
There is so much that could be said about this book, and I find myself struggling to say much more without giving anything away, this really is a fantastic book that screams out to be read.
Both stories move along quickly, characters involved are engaging and interesting, and there is a definite sense of needing to read on to see what happens next. The location descriptions are fantastic, I found myself imagining Eudora’s cottage and the breathtaking views, if only it were a place I could visit!
At no point did I feel I wanted to read ahead, this book thoroughly captured my attention and held it. There were no points to me where it dragged or was dull to read, each page deepened the intrigue and mystery and I had to keep reading to find out what happened.
For a debut novel, this is impressive work, I really do hope that Minett can carry forward this level of writing into another book, he is definitely an author to add to the list and keep an eye out for future books!
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Fiction, Thrillers, and Crime Fiction genres. In fact, I would go so far as to insist you buy this book.