by Fiona Barton
SYNOPSIS
Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous...
When the body of forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined this will be the big break she so desperately needs.
Because she has a head start on all the other reporters. Just a week before Karen was killed, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her all about kissing strangers on the beach under the stars, expensive meals, roses. About the scammers and the creeps...
While the police appear to be focusing on local suspects, Kiki sets out to write the definitive piece on one woman's fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly...
REVIEW
Kiki Nunn is a journalist who has been reduced to writing 'women's interest' stories. Her latest piece is about middle aged women who are enjoying the single life, dating and meeting men online. However, this piece she is working on is about to take a dramatic turn - one of the women she interviewed has turned up dead in the woods and it's Kiki who has the most useful information for the police, as she had only recently met with the victim and talked in depth about her sometimes successful, but mostly disastrous current dating history. DI Elise King is in charge of the case and feels like she needs to prove herself after recently returning to work after undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She quickly realises that she needs to keep on top of Kiki and her determination to get a big break with this story. Finally we meet Angie who lost her son Archie a few years earlier. His death was also linked to Knapton Wood where the body has just been discovered. This is obviously a shock for Angie who is still grieving and it brings back all of the memories from her son's death. Each chapter follows one of these women as the investigation continues.
The concept behind this story is just brilliant. It's 2024, and a large proportion of dating is done online or via dating apps and this requires a lot of trust. Anyone can be anyone online, you can show people what you want them to see, tell them what you want them to hear and you can play whatever role you like. In most cases the worst case scenario would be a fake photo but what happens if you are that person who picks the wrong profile and ends up in trouble? I loved the way that one murder investigation was explored through three different perspectives and especially the fact that it was three women. It gave a totally different feel to the story to see how the three characters were involved in the investigation and how it affected them depending on their personal circumstances - one from the POV of the police, one from a journalist and one from a member of the public who had been involved in an investigation in the past. There are some dark topics covered (including rape) but they are all important issues to explore and it's the kind of story that really makes you think about the way you perceive other people and their actions. It's very realistic and at times quite disturbing but I was hooked from the first page and it was incredibly entertaining to read.
Thanks to Bantam Press for the opportunity to read and review.
Publisher: Bantam Press Genre: Thriller / Crime Fiction / Police Procedural
ISBN: 978-1787630857
Pages: 400pp
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