“It’s a simple enough favor. Jude hasn’t seen Liam in years, but when he shows up at her work asking for a favor, she finds she can’t refuse. All Jude has to do is pick Liam up at a country train station—without telling anyone. So what if she has to lie to her fiancé? Jude is still committed to him and their imminent wedding, even if she and Liam were in love once. She owes him. After the car crash that changed everything years ago, bright, ambitious Jude went to medical school, back on the path she had planned before meeting moody, artistic Liam. Meanwhile, he never fully recovered from the dark stain the accident left on his record. Now he’s gone. When the police show up at the station instead of Liam, Jude realizes that she knows nothing about the man he’s become. Now she’s tangled up in his life, the last person to have seen him, and maybe the only one who can uncover the truth about what went wrong—even if she destroys her own life in the process.”
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Content Warning: Graphic death, domestic abuse, drug use. Moderate sexual content, car accident, gaslighting.
My first Nicci French novel tells the story of Jude as she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation she has nothing to do with. After a decade or so of not seeing each other, Liam Birch reaches out to Jude and asks her a favour. He asks her to drive to a cottage and ask no questions. She does, only when she gets there, she is soon on her way back home as Liam has been found dead in the marshes back home, with Jude being suspect number one.
During the investigation of Liam’s death, Jude finds out from his parents that she has been made executor of his will which introduces both us and her to Liam’s housemates, including his girlfriend and their son. Jude thinks that everyone in this house gives off a weird vibe and she never feels too comfortable when she is there, and tries her best to leave and not be there for longer than absolutely necessary.
I’m not sure where my opinion truly lands with this one. On one hand it was semi decent, and it didn’t take long for it to get going, but from them, it holds the same pace throughout and I feel like it could have been wrapped up quicker than it did. It was also pretty obvious who the killer was once we were introduced to their true selves. There was also other characters that Jude seemes to think were involved, and when I finished, it felt like this was only included to flesh the final few chapters out. It felt unnecessary.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC!
All the love,
Jade x
Tea Stains and Book Spines 