Read then Write - 15/10/26

This was the one I was about to start last week and it didn't take me long to read.

The blurb reads:

A nerve-tingling and atmospheric thriller from master of suspense Nicci French about two families shattered by tragedy and the secrets that have been waiting decades to be revealed.

On the day of Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday party, just before Christmas 1990, his wife Charlotte vanishes. Most of the small English village of Glensted is at the party for hours before anyone realizes Charlotte is missing. While Alec brushes off her disappearance, their four children—especially fifteen-year-old Etty—grow increasingly anxious as the cold winter hours become days and she doesn’t return. When Charlotte’s coat is found by the river, they fear the worst. Then the body of the Salters’ neighbor, Duncan Ackerley, is found floating in the river by his son Morgan and Etty. The police investigate and conclude that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair before he killed her and committed suicide.

Thirty years later, Morgan Ackerley, a successful documentarian, has returned to Glensted with his older brother Greg to make podcast based on their shared tragedy with the Salters. Alec, stricken with dementia, is entering an elder care facility while Etty helps put his affairs in order. But as the Ackerleys ask to interview the Salters, the entire town gets caught up in the unresolved cases. Allegations are made, secrets are revealed, and a suspicious fire leads to a murder. 

With the podcast making national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to Glensted to take over the investigation. Resented by her mostly male colleagues, she has no tolerance for either their sexism or their incompetence. And she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth as a new and terrifying picture of what really happened to Charlotte Salter and Duncan Ackerley emerges.

This was definitely a slow burner but I thought it was well written and it led to a satisfying end.  There was good coverage of the way the police investigations were handled but also the way the families involved reacted to the circumstances.

I'd be more than happy to look out for other books featuring DI Maud O'Connor. 4 stars for me.

I also managed to fit this one in this week:

 

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, she realizes there’s nothing to do but walk.

Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. She’s determined to change her life if she can just make it home.

This was quite a good debut novel.  It takes place on one day with Annie looking back on previous events while she walks.  It kept me engaged and I liked the style of writing.  In some ways though it didn't have enough depth and I didn't feel it was always very realistic.  The ending was also a bit predictable and left a lot of unanswered questions.

I'm still 4 books behind on my challenge of 52 books over the year and my next planned read is not going to improve that situation.  It's this one:

This is the Library book club choice.  I tried to start it yesterday and although I've only read a little I'm finding it really hard going.  I don't think I'm going to like it at all and am seriously considering abandoning it and reading something else.  Which is of course not what I'd normally do - I hate giving up on books but this one is nearly 500 pages and I know I won't read it quickly.  We're not meeting until next month so I might leave it for now and try and come back to it.

Anyone here read it?  Was it worth it?