Gytha Lodge ~ Little Sister

Synopsis

Jonah Sheens is enjoying a moment of peace in a pub garden on his day off when a teenage girl wanders out of the woods. She's striking, with flame-red hair and a pale complexion. She's also covered in blood.

When Jonah races to help, the girl insists she's fine. Then she smiles. It's her sister he needs to worry about. Keely and her sister, Nina, disappeared from a children's home a week ago. Now Keely is here - but Nina's still missing. Jonah is sure Keely knows where her sister is - but before she tells him anything, she insists, he has to listen to her story from the beginning.

Is she witness, victim, or killer? And if Jonah follows the trail of clues in her story, will they lead him to the missing girl - or distract him until it's too late?

Review

Wow! This was incredible. I honestly didn't know much about the author or the story, but Little Sister really exceeded my expectations.

The fact that I didn't even realise this was part of a series shows the fantastic attention to detail and strong writing style. Nothing was confusing and there were no complicated colleague back stories to which I wasn't privy.

The concept for this one was brilliant; I initially thought there were mistakes in the book but once I understood I was impressed with the idea and pleased that I'd spotted the clues.

I'm also in awe of an author who can write such a gripping crime novel with so few bodies! Again, this is testament to the excellent plot that flows well and really keeps you hooked.

Characters are interesting, intriguing and complicated. Yet the victims are very much at the heart of the story, rather than the detectives. This approach works so well because you feel immersed in the story and it's much easier to empathise with their situation.

The downside is that I now need to go to book one and read them all, which is hardly good for my wallet…
















Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I was sent a copy of the book by Michael Joseph. All opinions my own.