Catrina "Cat" Kinsella is a Detective Constable with Murder Investigation Team 4 - although if her supervisor Detective Chief Inspector Steele has her way, Cat may be shuffled off on a secondment soon for her 'own good'. After attending a particularly gruesome murder scene, where a little girl was with her mothers dead body for several days before being discovered, Cat has been forced to go to counselling to help her deal with the emotional aftermath. The counselling doesn't seem to be doing much good though, it is just stirring up emotions and memories she has no intention to deal with - particularly around her relationship with her estranged father. Cat and her father have barely spoken for years, partly because of his womanizing way before her mother died. and partly because she kept a secret for him when she was a child - the secret that he had seen Maryanne Doyle before she went missing nearly twenty years ago.
When a woman is found murdered in her patch, Cat has no idea that the murder victim, Alice Lapaine is going to start a fall of dominoes that has the potential to end her career with the Police. As they investigate her murder, they discover that Alice was keeping secrets from her family and friends - she was not who she said she was. When Cat realizes that the murder scene is only a stones throw from the pub where her father lives and works, it raises some difficult questions for her - could her father be involved in the death of Alice? Cat knows she should confess the potential conflict of interest and excuse herself from the case, but she can't do it. As she gets more and more involved in the case she uncovers secrets that were better left forgotten and buried - Alice's and her own.
When you read as many crime and thriller books as I do it can be challenging to find a book that stands out from the rest of the field, but Sweet little lies managed to do just that. Cat is a relatable character, she isn't perfect, and she makes mistakes - just like the rest of us. Through her memories and experiences we learn about Cat and her family, and her family connection to the disappearance of Maryanne Doyle so many years ago. I was talking with someone recently about what makes a great main characters for a crime/thriller and we came to the conclusion that it was having flaws that make them more relatable. Cat has flaws in spades, and like so many people she takes an awkward situation and makes it worse by keeping secrets and trying to stay in control - something that never goes well for anyone.
Sweet little lies is the first book in a series and does an outstanding job of setting Cat up as a character, filling in some of her past, and creating a situation that could make or break her career. It has elements of a mystery, aspects of a thriller, and just a dash of family drama to make a thoroughly engrossing and addictive read that I had to read in one sitting because I resented every little interruption when I was trying to read. The advantage of discovering Sweet little lies now is that I don't have to wait ages for the sequel because it is already published!
If you like this book then try:
- Sticks and stones by Katherine Firkin
- I've got you under my skin by Mary Higgins Clark
- Safe by S.K. Barnett
- The nowhere child by Christian White
- Breaking Creed by Alex Kava
- Good me bad me by Ali Land
- Kill me if you can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
- Lost by James Patterson and James O. Born
- Orphan X by Greg Hurwitz
- Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
- The better sister by Alafair Burke
- The vanishing season by Joanna Schaffhausen
- City of fear by Alafair Burke
- Gathering dark by Candice Fox
Reviewed by Brilla
No comments:
Post a Comment