Thanks to the lovely people at Hobeck Books for my review copy of ‘Way Beyond a Lie’ – this tense and twisty thriller is published on 9th November.
This story opens with a disappearance – Ross McKinlay’s wife, Carla, has vanished during their supermarket trip. The problem is that the police can’t find trace of her, a fact that leads Ross to take matters into his own hands. What he doesn’t appreciate is quite what he is dealing with – and quite how dangerous his investigations will become.
I loved that this book was so enigmatic! The full picture is only revealed in tiny pieces and it isn’t clear for a long time what is going on. Is Ross a fantasist who is lying about his wife being in the supermarket? Who is Carla McKinlay? How do other aspects of the novel – a gruesome attack in France, the mysterious Jarek – fit in? Who can be trusted? Reading this was like being on constantly shifting sands – and I loved it!
The police team – DS Mel Cooper and her partner, DC Andrew Young – were a great addition to the book as they uncovered aspects that Ross would not have been able to as a civilian. There was also a good, easy relationship between the two so I was pleased to read that this book is a prequel to the DS Mel Cooper series – yes, there’s a series for me to read next!
My only niggle is that this is a long book and it does lose pace a bit in the second half as Ross’ investigations become more of a slog (for him). However, once the final pieces of the jigsaw fall into place then the pace picks up quickly and it is a nail-biting race to the end – and it is a very satisfying end.
I’d recommend this to anyone who likes their crime fiction with lots of twists, clever plotting and memorable characters – there’s even a bit of humour in there and it is an engaging and often engrossing read. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this writer in future – and so should you!
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Thanks for sharing – great review. It sucks that it lost it’s speed a bit in the second half, but hopefully the next book will be even better.