He Said / She Said

Goodreads Description

In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack. She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, it is not only the victim's life that is changed forever. Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear, and while Laura knows she was right to speak out, the events that follow have taught her that you can never see the whole picture: something, and someone, is always in the dark.

My Review

Initially I found this book strange in its pacing. One minute I found it slow and plodding, and the next minute I'd be absolutely glued to the page. This is definitely a book that I'd describe as a slow burn, and so you probably need to be in the right mood for that type of read before you dive in. But let me tell you something, the growing tension in this book is absolutely great.

I loved how the book started off, with the very first page describing the different phases of an eclipse. After that, the book is divided into different parts, each with a different heading being the different phases of an eclipse. This may sound strange, but it's actually very clever and all will become clear once you've read the book.

The first part of the book was very slow, and I actually wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the book. But it was too soon to call it and so I kept going, and boy, am I glad that I did. Suddenly things hotted up, and as is clear from the blurb, an attack takes place and from there, I was gripped.

I think I've mentioned before that I love courtroom scenes, and I often find novels that deal with court cases really entertaining. I'm not sure if that's down to the fact that I'm a lawyer by day, and I've always been fascinated by criminal law, a branch of law that I stayed away from due to its notoriously bad pay and difficult working conditions. But for whatever reason, I love the courtroom scenes found in books, and in movies for that matter. Part one of this book has a great courtroom scene and so I was in my element. I flew through those pages, gripped by the witnesses testimony, all the while asking myself, who did I believe?

Like I mentioned earlier, this book went through high's and lows in terms of pacing. From being gripped by the courtroom scene, things then slowed down, but I could constantly feel the tension building. What happened to these two main characters? Why did they need to change their names? Why does Laura scratch at her arms? Why are they so fearful all the time? All these questions exist, and they surface pretty close to the beginning of the book. It's clear that they've been through something really terrible, but the reader doesn't know what happened, whether it was linked to the trial, who did the bad thing, and so on.

I thought this was a great psychological thriller. It was very clever, it had some great scenes, I loved the references to the eclipses, and the characters were clearly cast. There was plenty to love with this one.

My Rating: * * * *

Publication Date: April 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: My own purchased copy.