Published By: Orion
Pages: 320
Released On: 23/01/2025
Alex knows she risks getting fired from her law firm if she takes on another unpaid case, but when she hears Rosa’s desperate voice at the other end of the phone, she knows she has to help: the body of Rosa’s shy teenage sister, Natalia, has been dragged, lifeless, from the Thames. Alex can’t help but think of her own missing little sister. She knows how a lack of answers can eat you alive.
Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, and is eager to finally put the dark and tragic part of her past behind her. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, she begins to wonder whether her seemingly perfect new boss could be involved. Then she she’s shocked to discover a letter that raises worrying questions about a girl found drowned in London… Natalia.
There are complex and painful reasons for Alex and Kat not to work together, but when it becomes clear that there are powerful people involved in Natalia’s death, and that other girls are at risk, Alex and Kat must overcome their differences to find answers. Will they save the girls and discover the truth? Or will the high-powered players in this game stop Alex and Kat for good?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I don’t think it’s a secret that Anna Sharpe is the pseudonym of Anna Mazzola. I have read three of her historical novels – The Clockwork Girl (my favourite), The House of Whispers, and The Book of Secrets – and they’ve all been so good, and so I was thrilled she was dipping her toe into the world of thrillers. But I admit I was slightly apprehensive. Because some authors can write across genres well, and others have more success in one. Anna is definitely in the first category.
This book grabs you from the first sentence. It is so full on immediately, and you’re right in there. You can almost feel yourself drowning (giving the title, I’d say this wasn’t a spoiler), alongside the character in question.
There are a lot of characters, locations, hints, clues, subplots. I thought at first it would be too much and I’d never keep up, but it actually all flows very well and I enjoyed all the different stories, as well as the overarching plot.
I didn’t like all the characters. They’re all well written, some with bigger parts than others and so therefore more developed parts than others, and they all work well off each other. But some were more palatable than others, and others (I’ve managed to get the word ‘other’ in this sentence 5 times!) were a bit too slimy.
The start of the book is slower than the ending, but that gives us time to get to know everyone, hear their history, and work out what is going to happen. But overall she’s got the pacing right; giving us enough time to feel comfortable in this world before gripping us.
It is full of twists and turns and shocks and surprises; some I had an inkling about and others I didn’t see coming at all.
It’s engaging, atmospheric, well plotted and well paced. How she manages to tie everything together, all the subplots and main plot, all the characters and everything, it’s so impressive.
I read it in less than 24 hours, even reading it in bed (which goes against my “only read happy books in bed” rule) because I couldn’t face putting it down.
I read a lot of thrillers, it’s probably my most read genre, and some are a bit samey. Because, if we’re being honest, there’s only so many thrilling plots you can write about, but Anna has found something new, her own niche, but infused it with the things that make the genre so great. I could quite easily see this being turned into a TV series.
It’s hard to match Anna Sharpe with Anna Mazzola. It’s like a completely different voice, and it’s thanks to that I think she’s got a bright future across both genres.
**The following paragraph contains some topical spoilers, so do not read on if you want to come to it completely fresh. If you choose not to read the following paragraph, then you have reached the end of the review**
It has got a lot of difficult topics: relationship difficulties, affairs, splits, stress, manipulation, fear, death, kidnapping, trafficking, lying, blackmail, abuse, attempted murder. It’s heavy; it has some very heavy points to it, but it all works in context and helps bring everything together. It could have felt like too much, too unbelievable, but Anna has found a nice balance in everything.
Books By Your Bedside 