28 August 2015.
ISBN: 9787-1-78462-355-5
Tom has returned to Edinburgh from his life in South Africa, where his parents emigrated thirty years ago, after his teenage sister was murdered. Now it seems the man imprisoned for Shona’s death was innocent ... and the new lives built by Tom and Sarah, Shona’s best friend, begin to unravel once more.
This
story of an investigation into the past focuses on Tom, brother of the murdered
girl, and Sarah, her best friend. The characters are seeming opposites: Tom is single
and a drifter, staying in an uncomfortable B&B, while Sarah is married to a
popular radio personality, with children and a beautiful home. However the
shared shock of Shona’s murder binds them together. Both are people you want to
spend time with, ordinary people who are struggling with the world around them;
you sympathise with their budding relationship, as Sarah’s husband’s vanity and
selfishness are exposed, and hope things will turn out well for them. The
characters around them are also very real: Sarah’s self-centred husband, her
bitchy friend, the charismatic teacher, HJ Kidd – all, in different ways,
victims of Shona’s death; one of the strengths of this book is its exploration
of the effect of this trauma on everyone connected with it. The story is mostly
told in the third person, alternating between Tom and Sarah, but in Sarah’s narration, the story moves
into her memories, in first-person dream sequences. The investigation into the
past is intriguing, with a number of possible perps, and a satisfying solution.
The feel of both present day and 70s Portobello (an Edinburgh suburb) were
vividly evoked – I grew up not far from there in just that era, and so it was
particularly vivid for me, bringing back many memories. I found too that the
plot, characters and overall feel of the novel lingered in my head for longer
than usual.
A
satisfying past-crime novel with vividly realised characters and setting.
Highly recommended.
------Reviewer: Lynne Patrick
Alison Baillie was brought up in Ilkley, Yorkshire by Scottish
parents. She studied English at the University of St Andrews, before teaching
English in Edinburgh secondary schools and EFL in Finland and Switzerland. Now
she spends her time reading, writing, travelling, playing with her
granddaughter and attending crime writing festivals.
alisonbaillie.com/
Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a
newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's
scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a
qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published
plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's
suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own
8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group. Marsali also does a regular monthly column
for the Mystery People e-zine.
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