Cassie is a successful lawyer and her husband Theo is a musician. Once the much-adored frontman for a popular band that won a reality show, he’s put the years of fame and adulation behind him to be a stay-at-home dad to their daughter Abby, in a joint decision that has seen Cassie becoming partner (the youngest senior partner) at the law firm where she works. Theo does sometimes give some part-time music lessons, but he’s entirely focused on his daughter now and on his ‘dad-bench’ at the local park (while the bitchy yummy-mummies gather around and make no secret of ogling him!)
Their comfortable balance is shaken when, one morning during what should be the quiet, uneventful week between Christmas and New Year, a body is discovered in a dumpster behind the building that Theo and Cassie own and where Theo rehearses and teaches. The body is that of Elise Sterling, a young nanny to another family in their neighbourhood and for various reasons the obvious number one suspect is Theo. He’d befriended Elise, initially to save her from some really nasty moms in the park, but then he’d discovered that they had music in common and they had bonded over that. Combined with the fact that it then turned out that Elise and Cassie were old college friends, it was a no-brainer that they’d all start spending time together despite the obvious difference in circumstances.
But now Elise has turned up dead – brutally murdered, and Theo is accused of the crime. Although Cass is a corporate lawyer (she prefers it to criminal law – it’s sterile), she insists that she is going to defend him … and that she’s going to win.
From here on out you need to buckle up, because the twists and turns make for a bumpy rollercoaster ride! The chapters are told in varying timelines: the months preceding the murder, and then immediately after the murder. There are also a handful of media articles interspersed for good measure. It’s one heck of a page-turner and ticks every box for the perfect whodunnit!
I have to admit, I didn’t love Cass, and I couldn’t decide how I felt about Theo! I couldn’t seem to picture him as the heart-throb he’d once been, as he just seemed to come across as a bit of a pushover, vanilla house-husband. But as the story unfolds and you hear it from both of their POV’s (and in their past and present), you’ll find yourself changing your mind numerous times, wondering if you’ve got things wrong each time! Kane manages to weave that element of doubt into every ‘reveal’ until that final ‘ta-daaaaa’ … that I actually went back and read a couple of times!
A great 4-star read. Thank you to Bookouture for the Books-on-Tour.
| Author Bio: Forensic psychologist by day, novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing – professionally and creatively – for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery’s writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she’s heard her fair share of real-life thrillers. Ellery lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, a picturesque setting that provides the backdrop for many of her novels. If you don’t find Ellery interviewing murderers behind prison walls or pecking away at her latest novel, she is probably at the gym landing a solid jab-cross to a punching bag; riding bicycles with her special someone; or enjoying a movie the old-fashioned way – at the theater with popcorn and Milk Duds. Ellery was previously selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition, and she recently signed a three-book deal with Bookouture for her new Rockwell and Decker mystery thriller series. The first book is scheduled for release in 2020. If you’d like to receive a notification when new books are released, please sign up for Ellery’s newsletter at ellerykane.com. Ellery also signs e-books on authorgraph.com. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheLegacyBooks TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ElleryKane BOOKOUTURE EMAIL SIGN UP: https://www.bookouture.com/ellery-kane |
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