This book measures up to Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins, whereas I thought that Into The Water did not. So it’s great to see this author pick up her stride once again! A murder takes place on a houseboat in London and the body (a young man by the name of Daniel) is discovered by meddlesome, eccentric Miriam who lives on a nearby boat. The reader learns about Miriam’s troubled history in that she was abducted as a teen along with her friend who was murdered. Does she have reason to kill Daniel herself? Or maybe the killer is Theo, the uncle of Daniel (whom Miriam thinks plagiarized her memoir years before) and harbors anger and bitterness towards Daniel and his mother. The reader is also left to wonder if the killer is Laura (a young woman who struggles with impulsiveness and anger due to an accident she was in as a child) seen leaving Daniel’s houseboat in the wee hours of the morning. But we also suspect Daniel’s aunt Carla (divorced fromTheo) who would seem to have motive as well since she and Daniel seem to be involved in an unhealthy relationship. To complicate things further Daniel’s mother, a drunk who died under questionable circumstances just months before Daniel, seems to be responsible for the tragic death of Carla and Theo’s toddler son from years earlier. Paula Hawkins has an uncanny way of building characters who have been beaten down by life while at the same time (and maybe because of that) completely humanizing them to the reader. This is a satisfying thriller!
Comments