In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes

In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes
Buy In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Thrillers
Reviewer: Zoe Morris
Summary: A compelling if somewhat predictable crime story, this has a missing man and a mourning family at its core.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 464	Date: May 2016
Publisher: Century
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1780893419
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Rick is an ordinary man. Husband to Gina, father to Hannah. And then one day he’s not. He goes out to buy the newspaper and never returns. Not so ordinary after all. It’s now months later. The investigation has slowed right down. There are no real leads to follow, and so as far as the Police are concerned, that’s it. Of course it’s not so easy for Gina and Hannah, and so when they get a mysterious phone call they jump quickly to conclusions and jump in the car to follow up.

Soon the story of Gina and Hannah also becomes the story of Susan and Tom too. Not all is as it seems at the hotel they run. Do they know something about Rick’s disappearance from reading about it in the papers, or a more local source? Hannah is sceptical but Gina’s trying to behave, and having been told for months that she is being paranoid she’s trying to take things at face value and not read too much into it.

Page 220. That’s when I figured out what was going on. I wasn’t 100% sure, one never is, but I had a strong inkling. And in the end I was 100% right. There are further twists along the way, right up until the final chapter in fact, but in terms of a ‘whodunnit’ I nailed down not only the ‘’who’’ but also the ‘’what’’ and the ‘’how’’ with more than half the book left to come. It was predictable based on the set up, and that did disappoint me somewhat.

This is an exciting and interesting story in spite of this. I often wonder what it might be like to up and leave my life, and while we don’t get all the details of what happened to Rick after he left that day, the family left behind is still an excellent angle. I enjoyed every page and was late for work on a number of occasions because I thought I’d chance just one more chapter. But this is a book that changes after you read it. Firstly, when you know what happens you’ll know how much of it you saw coming. Secondly, while it doesn’t seem so outlandish at the time, with hindsight it is quite an improbable story. I tried to explain the plot to friends in the pool and it was only hearing myself say the words that I realised how far down that road it had gone.

As psychological thrillers go, this one is great and with lots of things to pick up on, it tests your amateur sleuth skills as you work out how to put things together, and what isn’t really a clue after all. Sometimes things (and people) simply are as they seem, with no ulterior motive. I did really enjoy the story, and it really drew me in, but for the predictability I’m docking a star because it’s not one I could re-read and enjoy the same way a second time.

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.

Before You Die and You Belong To Me by the same author are similarly thrilling and worth a look.

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You can read more book reviews or buy In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes 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 In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes at Amazon.com.

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