Did You See Melody?

My rating: * * *

Goodreads Description

Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl.

A simple mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder.

Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody? And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life? My Review

I found this book to be both infuriating and entertaining in equal measure. It's one of those books that's dividing the crowd, and I find myself sitting on the fence with this one.

On the positive side, this was a good holiday read. It wasn't overly long or drawn out, it was pretty easy to read, it had a host of cameo characters to love and hate, and it had a few twists and turns, and an interesting ending. It's the type of ending that will have you thinking about the book and exactly how the ending fits in.

Now for the negatives. I did find some elements of this story highly unlikely and really far fetched. The journalist that features in the book just seems to be to be way too over the top, and carries far too much clout, even with law enforcement, to be realistic. The TV program that she hosts is also totally unrealistic. Being someone who watches a fair amount of Crime and Investigation Channel on DSTV, I'm yet to see a show where the presenter offers such a pig headed opinion on who's guilty, and why, as opposed to merely presenting the facts. I also found Cara's behaviour very strange. How she just ups and leaves her family behind, travels to a spa in the US, without even a word to her husband and kids. Unlikely. And then to just hand away her cell phone to the first stranger she meets so that she's not tempted to call home. It all just didn't sit that well with me.

So, in conclusion, this book isn't bad. If you read it you'll probably enjoy it. Do I suggest you rush out and buy it right away? No, I don't. It's mediocre, it's okay, it passes as an entertaining read, but nothing more.

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: September 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Suspense / Mystery

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Sophie Hannah and Jonathan Ball SA for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.