Published By: Faber
Pages: 288
Released On: 28/08/2025
You saw her die
Thirty years ago, one of Ben Knott’s school friends was murdered. Another went to prison. The story ended. The village of Barton Mallett tried to move on.
Now her killer is back
As the murderer’s sentence ends, the village is chosen as the unlikely location for a feature film by a Hollywood producer, with Ben’s son Nathan cast in the leading role.
Can you keep hiding the truth?
As the film takes shape, Ben begins to recognise the storyline – from his own past. As his son becomes immersed in a tale of bullying and retribution, things turn dangerous, and an uncomfortable truth begins to emerge. Ben must choose between the safety of his children and reopening the wounds of the past. How much is he willing to risk to protect his family – and himself?
A tragic accident or murder in cold blood. . .
which version will make THE CUT?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I have a copy of Richard’s previous book Geneva but I have yet to get round to reading it.
I am a bit on the fence here. I love Richard and am a huge fan of his work, and I hate to say anything negative about it but this didn’t live up to what I wanted. I found it too confusing, too busy, and I didn’t find the transitions between the scenes in the 90s and the present scenes all that smooth.
I did enjoy the scenes set in the 90s, with the teenagers and young adults trying to find their place in the world and their friendship groups, who is top dog and who is popular and who is bullied etc. that was handled well. I didn’t find any of them likeable as adults though. I don’t mind disliking characters as long as they’re well written, and they are, but I found myself preferring them when they’re children. I had no real emotional connection with them as adults.
I’d have liked it to get going a bit quicker. It opens with a bit of an unknown thrill but then it goes quite flat. I think – and this is my personal opinion after reading many thrillers – it would have been more enjoyable if the thriller elements happened quicker, because it does drag. It’s less of a slow burn and more of a nothing happens.
I do wonder if there’s too much going on. There’s crime, murder, threats, terminal illness, death, bullying, money issues, secrets, paranoia, filmmaking. I wonder if it had been smoother to read if there was more of a focus on a couple of these topics rather than having them all, because you end up jumping from one to the other without having sufficient time to enjoy one.
I really wanted to like this, because of the aforementioned love for Richard, but sadly it fell short. A bit flat, too slow, too confusing. I couldn’t connect to anything. It did get better as it went along but I felt it was a bit too little too late.
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