I thought this book started off really well, and I loved the mix of Mad Men, Stepford Wives and The Help. The atmosphere was charged and it was hard to figure out who was being truthful and who had something to hide. I think about midway through the book I just started to get a bit sick of the plot holes and the main detective (Mick) almost deliberately missing clues or not asking the right questions. I mean what detective never interviews the child who was the last person to see her mother alive (and of course who, in the end, holds the key to the whole mystery). And I know it is set in 1959, but even at that time there was still some level of crime scene preservation and forensics - it was like that was just completely forgotten about in this book. I also thought the ending was just really corny and all a bit too neat.
Still, a perfectly OK book to while away a day on the beach or to read while sipping a cocktail!
Still, a perfectly OK book to while away a day on the beach or to read while sipping a cocktail!