Title: The Death of Her
Author: Debbie Howells
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
[Synopsis]
A woman’s body is discovered on a Cornish farm, battered and left for dead in a maize field. Airlifted to hospital, her life hanging in the balance, no one’s sure who she is. Three days later she comes round, but her memory is damaged. She knows her name – Evie – but no more, until she remembers another name. Angel – her three-year-old daughter.
As the police circulate Evie’s photo, someone recognizes her. Charlotte knew her years ago, at school, when another child went missing. Leah Danning, who vanished whilst in Evie’s care.
When the police search Evie’s home, there’s no sign of Angel. More disturbingly, there’s no evidence that she ever lived there, forcing the police to question whether Evie’s having some kind of breakdown.
But even from the darkest place she’s ever known, Evie believes her daughter is alive. The police remain unconvinced – unaware that on the fringes of Evie’s life, there’s someone else. Someone hidden, watching her every move, with their own agenda and their own twisted version of reality.
[My Review]
The Death of Her is a tense, twisty novel which kept me intrigued throughout.
The characters are really interesting and I enjoyed seeing the story from different perspectives, some of which were a surprise and some which gave an insight into the police investigation. I don’t want to give too much away but there’s definitely a sense of bewilderment at times whilst reading this – Debbie Howells effectively keeps you guessing and unsure of what exactly is going on sometimes, which I really liked.
I enjoyed reading about Cornwall and the investigation, though the police seemed a bit slow in their investigation sometimes! However there’s plenty of twists and surprises – the mix of Evie’s daughter Angel being missing, but there being doubts as to whether she event existed, combined with other possible crimes and unrealiable characters, left me wanting to read on!
I guessed a few smaller parts but the end left me feeling surprised and satisfied; I really enjoyed this novel from start to finish and would definitely recommend it.
[Rating: 4/5]
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
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