Published By: Faber
Pages: 304
Released On: 12/03/2026
Your baby is perfect. She sleeps through the night, even in this heat. You’ll keep her cool. Open the window. Anything she needs. Anything.
But when you wake up in the morning, Bella is gone.
Recently-promoted DI Martha Allen is furious. Her career hinges on this missing baby case, and her boss and the circling media both want a quick solve – but her key witness is lying.
Allen needs the truth. She’s not going to stop until she gets it. No matter how long it takes.
That detective is watching you.
What have you done? What happened to your baby?
*****
Thanks to Faber for the advanced proof copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This had everything I wanted from a thriller but it had that extra edge which made it feel unique and fresh, which is always good when you read hundreds of thrillers a year.
Dr Martha Allen is a wonderful protagonist – a female DI in the early 90s, having to stand up for her gender as well as doing her job. She was powerful but human, personable and likeable but fierce and determined. There’s a large cast of characters – police, hotel guests, family – and whilst some get bigger parts than others, they all work well to tell this story.
I love that is spanned 30 years. Normally with thrillers and crime novels we get the crime, the investigation, and the conviction, and then that’s it. But this one gives us the ‘after’ too which I found fascinating.
It’s got twists and turns – not enough to be OTT or overwhelming, but enough to keep you on your toes.
Jackson has weaved such a web of truths and lies, secrets and fear, suspects and red herrings. It’s so well layered with such deep characters. It’s complicated and there’s lots of tangents going on, which could have been too much, but she’s found a right balance and it all flows well.
Once again – as is the way with every whodunnit I read – I did not see the reveal coming at all.
Is the ending a bit unbelievable? Yeah sure, but I don’t care.
When I first started reviewing books, I said I would only read happy, romantic, uplifting, easy-to-read books in bed. But that rule has gone to the window, and I’m glad it has because I started this late one afternoon and couldn’t get to sleep until I’d finished i.t
I believe this is Jackson’s debut novel, and if that is true then it is very impressive.
I don’t think I could recommend this more. Jackson has created an original, heart-pounding thriller. It’s full-on, eerie, scary, exciting; with brilliant characters and a story that you won’t want to put down until the very end.
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