Published by Headline, 5 December 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-7573-7883-8
Days after summoning up the
courage to ask the girl of his teenage dreams to the school dance, Elias Hawks'
life as he knows it is over. After picking up his date, they are involved in a
serious car accident and Elias suffers a brain injury that may become fatal at
any moment, without warning. He throws himself into his career as - ironically
- an accident investigator.
Eighteen years later, the
girl in the car with him on that fateful day gets in touch: she needs his help.
Her teenage daughter is
missing and Tracey hopes that Elias can help her find Charlotte. Against his better judgment he
agrees. As his investigation uncovers a background of drugs, spousal abuse,
violent pornography and murder, Elias is threatened and attacked. When his home
is broken into, but nothing is taken, he begins to wonder what he has got
involved with, and whether someone is setting him up to take the blame for
crimes he didn't commit.
This is a gripping
mystery with many twists and turns - some that bring joy to the characters and
the reader alike, while others fill us both with dread. In either case, they
are well thought out and cleverly crafted into the overall narrative, which is
both tragic and victorious, gloomy and optimistic. While some of the
generalisations about teenagers were quite cringe-y, the protagonists were
rounded characters with vulnerabilities and sensitivities. I found this book
un-put-down-able and really wanted a happy ending. What I actually found at the
conclusion of the book was even more beautiful than I imagined.
------
Reviewer: Joanna Leigh
Dylan Lawson is the pseudonym of an Edgar
award nominated author. He lives and writes in the Blackfoot Valley of Montana.
Joanna Leigh studied French and German at university. She works in
the aerospace industry and is a chartered marketer in the UK. She describes herself as a
voracious reader, enjoying genres as varied as crime thrillers, historical fiction
and autobiographies. Joanna lives in London.
She is the daughter of crime thriller writer Leigh Russell.
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