Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica
| Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica | |
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| Category: Thrillers | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: Another great Kubica thriller, this combines grief with devastation, mystery with confusion, and it a wonderful story to unpick | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 384 | Date: August 2017 |
| Publisher: HQ | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1848456600 | |
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Clara is mother to pre-schooler Maisie and newborn Felix, but now she has a new label: widow. Her husband Nick is dead, killed in an awful car crash that thankfully spared his daughter's life when Felix is just a few days old. For Clara, that's not the end of the nightmare. As she works her way through grief and struggles to carry on for the children, she is faced with some new worries. Maisie isn't talking much about the accident, but she's having nightmares that make Clara question the police story of events. There are things in Nick's personal possessions that are odd, things she has never seen before. What's more, it turns out a lot was going on at Nick's work that he hadn't shared with his wife. And, the more she starts to look, the more she wishes she could un-see and go back to how things were.
The day a new Mary Kubica arrives is a good day indeed. Every book she writes strikes a wonderful balance between suburban American life, family or relationship drama, and a mystery waiting to be solved. This latest title is no exception, and it was a pleasure to read, a true page-turner that kept me hooked. Told between Clara's voice now, and Nick's voice then, the story starts from two ends and rushes towards the centre where past and present collide and we find out exactly what happened that day on the road. That's only part of the puzzle though, and there are some things we learn from Nick that Clara never finds out. This was such an inventive way to develop the story because you wait for Clara to learn what's gone on but ultimately see that there are some secrets Nick truly has taken with him to his grave.
On the surface, it is a distressing story. With the love of her life dead, her nest egg dwindling, and her parents' health diminishing, Clara has too much for one person to handle. But as it takes time for things to hit you properly, for now, she can cope and the only thing that matters is finding out what happened to Nick and who else was involved, who she can blame, who she can direct her anger towards. The fact that she has just given birth is an enabler. She has the time to spend her days investigating, as Felix is portable and neither she nor Maisie have work or school commitments yet. My experience makes me think there is a touch of post-partum psychosis in play too, but this isn't addressed and she is simply dismissed as a hysterical widow by the (male) police who do not humour her conspiracy theories.
I thoroughly enjoyed this latest visit to Kubica's Chicago-land and would highly recommend it. My thanks go to the publishers for sending us a copy to review. In addition to Kubica's back catalogue, we would also recommend Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. Honestly, people are telling lies all over the place these days, and it's making for some great reads. We also enjoyed Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica at Amazon.com.
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