Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Minotaur Books (2015), 368 pages
Description
"In such a small community as the Falkland Islands, a missing child is unheard of. In such a dangerous landscape it can only be a terrible tragedy, surely... When another child goes missing, and then a third, it's no longer possible to believe that their deaths were accidental, and the villagers must admit that there is a murderer among them. Even Catrin Quinn, a damaged woman living a reclusive life after the accidental deaths of her own two sons a few years ago, gets involved in the searches and the speculation. And suddenly, in this wild and beautiful place that generations have called home, no one feels safe and the hysteria begins to rise. But three islanders--Catrin, her childhood best friend, Rachel, and her ex-lover Callum--are hiding terrible secrets. And they have two things in common: all three of them are grieving, and none of them trust anyone, not even themselves. In Little Black Lies, her most shocking and engaging suspense novel to date, Sharon Bolton will keep the reader guessing until the very last page"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Ever since I finished this book yesterday I have been debating whether to give it four or five stars, but since after a certain point I couldn't pit the darn book down, five it is.
The setting was unusual, the Falkland Islands, and the writing is so wonderfully descriptive, I could feel the wind, pi
Bolton has become one of my favorite authors and this stand alone did not disappoint.
ARC from Net Galley.
The setting was unusual, the Falkland Islands, and the writing is so wonderfully descriptive, I could feel the wind, pi
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true the rocks and cliffs, the mine field, all the wild life, actually felt like I was there. Same with he characters, we get a glimpse of village life, those who run the newspaper and the police. The three main character each tell their stories and we get to know them pretty well. We even get a little picture of the war on the islands told through flashbacks of one of the main characters. Children are going missing on the island and this is where the story starts, with a missing boy and then it just hooked me, the story goes places I didn't expect, many twists and turns. Suspense, tension and wanting to know what happens. And no this is, another one I had no clue until the end and I love when an author can do that. The final twist at the end really surprised me. Bolton has become one of my favorite authors and this stand alone did not disappoint.
ARC from Net Galley.
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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
On November 3, 1991, Catrin Quinn's two little boys died in a terrible accident. They were in the car of her best friend, Rachel, who left them alone right before the car slid down a cliff. Naturally, Catrin’s life fell apart. She and her husband Ben divorced shortly afterwards, and she hasn’t
The plot of Little Black Lies spans five days and involves multiple mysteries. The story is told from the first person point of view of three characters, Catrin, Callum and Rachel. Rather than flitting between the characters in brief chapters, the author splits the novel into three separate parts. I thought this was extremely effective. The longer sections enable the reader to really become involved in the thoughts and feelings of each character, and understand their struggles and conflicts. The three characters have various things in common: they all have secrets which they are keeping from each other; they are all suffering, albeit in different ways; they are all telling little black lies. Startling confessions emerge which stir up the story and which keep things fresh for the reader.
Bolton draws us to the isolated Falkland Islands in 1994, just over ten years after the War where this distant archipelago still exists as one of the “last remaining scraps of the British Empire.” The story occurs in a short period, from “day 1” to “day 6,” as the inhabitants of the island hunt for a lost boy, the third in three years, yet in denial that someone among them could actually be doing this. The story is timeless, original, and provides a little history lesson on the Falkland Islands. Sharon Bolton has written a terrific thriller that will hold you enthralled until the last page. I highly recommend Little Black Lies. It is powerful and disturbing, everything a good psychological thriller needs to be. I am giving this 5 stars because I just couldn't put it down and had to make myself slow down while reading it, so I didn't miss anything.
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spoken to Rachel since the accident. Just before the third anniversary of her sons' deaths, Catrin has made a decision. “I believe just about anyone can kill in the right circumstances, given enough motivation,” she says to herself. “The question is, am I there yet?”The plot of Little Black Lies spans five days and involves multiple mysteries. The story is told from the first person point of view of three characters, Catrin, Callum and Rachel. Rather than flitting between the characters in brief chapters, the author splits the novel into three separate parts. I thought this was extremely effective. The longer sections enable the reader to really become involved in the thoughts and feelings of each character, and understand their struggles and conflicts. The three characters have various things in common: they all have secrets which they are keeping from each other; they are all suffering, albeit in different ways; they are all telling little black lies. Startling confessions emerge which stir up the story and which keep things fresh for the reader.
Bolton draws us to the isolated Falkland Islands in 1994, just over ten years after the War where this distant archipelago still exists as one of the “last remaining scraps of the British Empire.” The story occurs in a short period, from “day 1” to “day 6,” as the inhabitants of the island hunt for a lost boy, the third in three years, yet in denial that someone among them could actually be doing this. The story is timeless, original, and provides a little history lesson on the Falkland Islands. Sharon Bolton has written a terrific thriller that will hold you enthralled until the last page. I highly recommend Little Black Lies. It is powerful and disturbing, everything a good psychological thriller needs to be. I am giving this 5 stars because I just couldn't put it down and had to make myself slow down while reading it, so I didn't miss anything.
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LibraryThing member SilversReviews
Catrin was once a wonderful mother, wife, and friend, but once her sons died she became a totally different person.
Catrin grieved as any mother would, but she never got over the death of her sons. She had plans to take revenge against the person responsible for their deaths even though another
Were all the disappearances accidents or deliberate kidnappings? Were they all related and carried out by the same person?
LITTLE BLACK LIES has beautiful, descriptive writing that will pull you along and have you absorbed in the lives of the islanders and especially in the lives of Catrin, Callum, and Rachel. Could one of them be the one responsible for the disappearances and kidnappings? They always seemed to be involved in some way.
LITTLE BLACK LIES has you questioning those three characters in your mind. Subtle hints make you think you know the answer about who is responsible and then boom...something happens and you change your mind. Each character has some obsession that is more deadly than innocent. The characters stay with you even when you are not reading, and they will still haunt you after you close the last page.
When one of the suspects is arrested for yet another disappearance, the tension builds and the story turns into one you won't want to put down.
LITTLE BLACK LIES has serious situations, lies, secrets, and love all rolled into one gripping, pull-you-in plot. Ms. Bolton's writing is riveting, and as she hints at what's happening, you can't help drawing yourself into the book's drama. The ending is excellent.
If I were to put LITTLE BLACK LIES into a category, I would put it in the category of a psychological thriller.
ENJOY!! A marvelous read. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Catrin grieved as any mother would, but she never got over the death of her sons. She had plans to take revenge against the person responsible for their deaths even though another
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child went missing on the island and it was swarming with authorities and islanders looking for this third missing child.Were all the disappearances accidents or deliberate kidnappings? Were they all related and carried out by the same person?
LITTLE BLACK LIES has beautiful, descriptive writing that will pull you along and have you absorbed in the lives of the islanders and especially in the lives of Catrin, Callum, and Rachel. Could one of them be the one responsible for the disappearances and kidnappings? They always seemed to be involved in some way.
LITTLE BLACK LIES has you questioning those three characters in your mind. Subtle hints make you think you know the answer about who is responsible and then boom...something happens and you change your mind. Each character has some obsession that is more deadly than innocent. The characters stay with you even when you are not reading, and they will still haunt you after you close the last page.
When one of the suspects is arrested for yet another disappearance, the tension builds and the story turns into one you won't want to put down.
LITTLE BLACK LIES has serious situations, lies, secrets, and love all rolled into one gripping, pull-you-in plot. Ms. Bolton's writing is riveting, and as she hints at what's happening, you can't help drawing yourself into the book's drama. The ending is excellent.
If I were to put LITTLE BLACK LIES into a category, I would put it in the category of a psychological thriller.
ENJOY!! A marvelous read. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member Jiraiya
Among all the quasi necessary - let's say ubiquitous - rituals in society that contains a high rate of danger, failure, and casualty, nothing beats marriage. Marriage, often labeled the eye-opener, is sometimes detrimental to its members. It's akin to the ritual of some African tribe's, that of
I think that the main focus of Little Black Lies is on the societal pressure on women to be the perfect wife, and by proxy, the perfect mum. Strangely, no man plays the role of mustache twirling villain here. But poor Callum. Did they have to dumb him down so much? And if they - Sharon Bolton, I mean - did have to make him the clueless hunk, did they have to paint him as this muscular alpha male? His segment was the most boring one. Still, the ladies must have appreciated his moments better.
From the start, I thought the three main characters were slightly unfriendly. I quickly realized that this was the intent. I took to Bolton's writing quickly, but what cut one star from my final rating, was her muted tone. She surely got to her readers when narrating the musings of her characters, but to me, her input felt underdeveloped. The twists sometimes didn't compute, but they still either quickened my pulse, or gave me a goofy grin. Three star books can mean anything. Little Black Lies is neither heavily flawed, nor a misunderstood masterpiece. It's really a minor departure from normal thrillers, and I expect further successes from the author.
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proving his coming of age by hunting a lion with a spear.I think that the main focus of Little Black Lies is on the societal pressure on women to be the perfect wife, and by proxy, the perfect mum. Strangely, no man plays the role of mustache twirling villain here. But poor Callum. Did they have to dumb him down so much? And if they - Sharon Bolton, I mean - did have to make him the clueless hunk, did they have to paint him as this muscular alpha male? His segment was the most boring one. Still, the ladies must have appreciated his moments better.
From the start, I thought the three main characters were slightly unfriendly. I quickly realized that this was the intent. I took to Bolton's writing quickly, but what cut one star from my final rating, was her muted tone. She surely got to her readers when narrating the musings of her characters, but to me, her input felt underdeveloped. The twists sometimes didn't compute, but they still either quickened my pulse, or gave me a goofy grin. Three star books can mean anything. Little Black Lies is neither heavily flawed, nor a misunderstood masterpiece. It's really a minor departure from normal thrillers, and I expect further successes from the author.
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LibraryThing member Mary.Endersbe
Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton is a twisted story of love, hate, regret, and revenge. The main character, Catrin Quinn, is suffering from an overwhelming loss years before that’s destroyed her life. Her former best friend Rachel has issues of her own to deal with from that same horrible day.
Bolton does a wonderful job of setting the scene of this tiny island of close-knit neighbors. Slowly she introduces the characters and lets us in on the history of Catlin, Rachel and Callum, letting each one of them tell their own story. It all converges into one major scene that will have you holding your breath, waiting for the killer to be revealed as your head races back and forth between suspects, not knowing which could be the killer, and definitely not ready for the shocking ending.
The book started off slowly with a lot of description. I tend to get a little lost when the description runs on too long so the first third of the book was hard for me to get into, but as soon as I knew the characters more and the action picked up, I really enjoyed the book and the last fourth of the book was hard to put down as there were plot twists coming over and over again. Little Black Lies is a really good thriller that I would definitely recommend.
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Then there is Catrin’s ex-lover, Callum, who suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder from the Falklands Conflict. These three damaged individuals are trying to live their lives as best they can when a child goes missing. As this is the third missing child in a few years, it looks as if these aren’t just random lost children- something more sinister is going on and someone from this small island is a killer. Soon it seems as if everyone is a suspect and time is running out to find the missing little boy.Bolton does a wonderful job of setting the scene of this tiny island of close-knit neighbors. Slowly she introduces the characters and lets us in on the history of Catlin, Rachel and Callum, letting each one of them tell their own story. It all converges into one major scene that will have you holding your breath, waiting for the killer to be revealed as your head races back and forth between suspects, not knowing which could be the killer, and definitely not ready for the shocking ending.
The book started off slowly with a lot of description. I tend to get a little lost when the description runs on too long so the first third of the book was hard for me to get into, but as soon as I knew the characters more and the action picked up, I really enjoyed the book and the last fourth of the book was hard to put down as there were plot twists coming over and over again. Little Black Lies is a really good thriller that I would definitely recommend.
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LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
Could not go to bed last night until I finished this book. It's told from the viewpoints of the three main characters, Catrin, her childhood best friend, and Callum, Catrin's ex-lover. A story of devastating loss, the setting of the Falkland Islands adds to the dark tone of this book. My first book
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by Sharon Bolton and it will not be my last. Very happy to find out she has 7 other books. Very highly recommended! Show Less
LibraryThing member nicx27
This book is set on the Falkland Islands in 1994, 12 years after the end of the conflict. Catrin's best friend, Rachel, was responsible for the deaths of Catrin's two sons in a tragic accident. Despite living in a small community they somehow manage to avoid each other but Catrin is unable to
The book is split into three segments, told from the points of view of Catrin, Callum and Rachel. I really enjoyed the book and found it to be a real page-turner. It wasn't quite what I was expecting as the story unfolded in ways I couldn't have imagined. Each story focuses on the same few days but from the different perspectives which is a clever plot development device. I felt Catrin's pain for the loss of her children and how empty she felt inside, sympathised with how guilty Rachel must have felt and wondered how a soldier such as Callum copes with the distressing memories that he has. The quality of Bolton's writing is excellent and I definitely want to read more of her work. I particularly liked the small island backdrop - in a way the islands are just as much a character as anybody else. Great read.
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forgive Rachel for her carelessness and now her mind is turning towards revenge. Callum is a Scottish ex-soldier who has settled on the islands but who has flashbacks to terrible events during the conflict. Add in a series of missing children and you have a very interesting storyline that isn't just about Catrin's pain.The book is split into three segments, told from the points of view of Catrin, Callum and Rachel. I really enjoyed the book and found it to be a real page-turner. It wasn't quite what I was expecting as the story unfolded in ways I couldn't have imagined. Each story focuses on the same few days but from the different perspectives which is a clever plot development device. I felt Catrin's pain for the loss of her children and how empty she felt inside, sympathised with how guilty Rachel must have felt and wondered how a soldier such as Callum copes with the distressing memories that he has. The quality of Bolton's writing is excellent and I definitely want to read more of her work. I particularly liked the small island backdrop - in a way the islands are just as much a character as anybody else. Great read.
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LibraryThing member ChristineEllei
* I received this as a free eBook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. *
Catrin and Rachel had been best friends since girlhood. In one split second of inattentiveness that all changed. While Catrin’s children were in Rachel’s care, Rachel left them in the car to tend to an errand,
Obviously, the friendship ended, but who was suffering more? Catrin, who lost her children or Rachel, the woman who was responsible?
To Catrin it seems that everyone has carried on with his or her lives while she cannot let go of her grief. Her, now ex, husband has gone on to remarry and have a new baby. Rachel still has her two sons and the son she was pregnant with at the time. Catrin has nothing but her work and her grief.
In the years since the accident two boys have gone missing and have never been found – boys that bear a remarkable resemblance to Catrin’s sons. When a third child disappears the island is in an uproar. Catrin’s ex-lover finds that child; a little worse for wear, but alive and just when everyone is breathing a sigh of relief another boy disappears and this time its Rachel’s youngest son. It happens on the anniversary of the tragic accident that killed Catrin’s boys. All eyes are beginning to turn toward Catrin. Could she hate Rachel that much?
And that is as far as I am going to go with my description of the book. To take it any further would be to give away too much. This is an intense mystery/thriller where something happens on every page. The characters are well developed and I became more and more invested in them as I read. Even the minor characters have personality and give the action some much-needed lightness every once in a while. In this passage Callum, the very tall, very large ex-soldier and war hero is taken to task over his foul language:
“Mable is back, standing directly in front of me, holding a bottle of washing up liquid. I look down. At it; at her.
“Mind your mouth, young man, or I’ll wash it out,” she tells me. “This might be a newsroom but we’re not on Fleet Street and we’re not the ones writing this crap.”
Mable is half my height, probably a quarter of my weight and yet I have a feeling that, were I to smile right now, I’d regret it. “But I’m allowed to say crap? Right?”
She waves the Fairy Liquid in my face. “No, I’m allowed to say crap because I’m ninety-two and I don’t give a shit. You can say yes ma’am, no ma’am, sorry to give offence ma’am, but if I were you I‘d be out of here and trying to find Catrin.”
This book is written using three separate points of view. Catrin starts, giving the readers bits and pieces of information as she tells her story. Just as she is about to share a dark secret Callum’s voice takes over, and the book ends with Rachel’s narrative. When Callum took over the telling I was taken aback. I had that moment of “REALLY??? NOW???” I soon got over it. Yes, there was a little overlap, but soon enough we were back on track and I realized that changing the narrator made perfect sense. After all, they each had a little piece of the puzzle that they were sharing. I forgive Ms. Bolton for pulling that out of the hat when I was least expecting it.
Ms. Bolton does a superb job at describing the ruggedness of the landscape, the isolation of the village and the harshness of the climate. She set a backdrop that could almost be described as gothic. One example of setting a perfect mood came when Catrin, who works on and in the water for her job, was describing a shipwreck she and Callum are preparing to investigate in their search for the missing boy:
“The wreck looks enormous from the water. It rises up before us, black and dead. Maybe sixty or seventy years ago it was left behind by those it served well. Not for the first time, I wonder if ships feel pain when their days on the sea come to an end.
It’s swaying in the rough sea. As we get closer, it rocks and pitches in a sad echo of how it used to move on water.
I dive wrecks from time to time, but I never really enjoy doing so. They attract a particular sort of ocean life into their secret places. Boats belong on top of the waves, not beneath them. Wrecks speak of lost hopes, of wasted lives, of dreams that didn’t survive the storm.”
This story unfolds in the same manner a storm might build over the sea surrounding the Island. The waves start rolling slowly, crest, and then a bigger wave comes to take its place … each one a little higher and a little more dangerous than the last. I can’t say too much about the ending because it would require a significant “spoiler alert” but suffice it to say I was perched on the edge of my chair reading the last third of this book. I couldn’t put it down because I had to know the final outcome. When I finally felt as if I could almost relax a little because now I knew the truth – nope – that final unexpected and devastating wave crashed into the shore … I got a shiver reading the last few paragraphs. Ms. Bolton certainly gave me the definition of a thriller with this book.
When I finished the book I felt there was one unanswered question left hanging. It wasn’t until I was thinking about what to write for this review that it dawned on me that it had indeed been answered in the last three sentences. When you read this book, and you should, watch for all the clues that should be clear as day, you just don’t know it until the end.
I have not read any other of Ms. Bolton’s books but I understand she has a series featuring DC Lacey Flint. This is where I once again start chanting my mantra of “I do not have time to start another series … I do not have time to start another series”, but I will definitely be checking out her other two stand-alone novels.
Catrin and Rachel had been best friends since girlhood. In one split second of inattentiveness that all changed. While Catrin’s children were in Rachel’s care, Rachel left them in the car to tend to an errand,
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somehow the handbrake was disengaged and the car rolled over a cliff and onto the rocks far below. The boys were dead before the car hit the rocks.Obviously, the friendship ended, but who was suffering more? Catrin, who lost her children or Rachel, the woman who was responsible?
To Catrin it seems that everyone has carried on with his or her lives while she cannot let go of her grief. Her, now ex, husband has gone on to remarry and have a new baby. Rachel still has her two sons and the son she was pregnant with at the time. Catrin has nothing but her work and her grief.
In the years since the accident two boys have gone missing and have never been found – boys that bear a remarkable resemblance to Catrin’s sons. When a third child disappears the island is in an uproar. Catrin’s ex-lover finds that child; a little worse for wear, but alive and just when everyone is breathing a sigh of relief another boy disappears and this time its Rachel’s youngest son. It happens on the anniversary of the tragic accident that killed Catrin’s boys. All eyes are beginning to turn toward Catrin. Could she hate Rachel that much?
And that is as far as I am going to go with my description of the book. To take it any further would be to give away too much. This is an intense mystery/thriller where something happens on every page. The characters are well developed and I became more and more invested in them as I read. Even the minor characters have personality and give the action some much-needed lightness every once in a while. In this passage Callum, the very tall, very large ex-soldier and war hero is taken to task over his foul language:
“Mable is back, standing directly in front of me, holding a bottle of washing up liquid. I look down. At it; at her.
“Mind your mouth, young man, or I’ll wash it out,” she tells me. “This might be a newsroom but we’re not on Fleet Street and we’re not the ones writing this crap.”
Mable is half my height, probably a quarter of my weight and yet I have a feeling that, were I to smile right now, I’d regret it. “But I’m allowed to say crap? Right?”
She waves the Fairy Liquid in my face. “No, I’m allowed to say crap because I’m ninety-two and I don’t give a shit. You can say yes ma’am, no ma’am, sorry to give offence ma’am, but if I were you I‘d be out of here and trying to find Catrin.”
This book is written using three separate points of view. Catrin starts, giving the readers bits and pieces of information as she tells her story. Just as she is about to share a dark secret Callum’s voice takes over, and the book ends with Rachel’s narrative. When Callum took over the telling I was taken aback. I had that moment of “REALLY??? NOW???” I soon got over it. Yes, there was a little overlap, but soon enough we were back on track and I realized that changing the narrator made perfect sense. After all, they each had a little piece of the puzzle that they were sharing. I forgive Ms. Bolton for pulling that out of the hat when I was least expecting it.
Ms. Bolton does a superb job at describing the ruggedness of the landscape, the isolation of the village and the harshness of the climate. She set a backdrop that could almost be described as gothic. One example of setting a perfect mood came when Catrin, who works on and in the water for her job, was describing a shipwreck she and Callum are preparing to investigate in their search for the missing boy:
“The wreck looks enormous from the water. It rises up before us, black and dead. Maybe sixty or seventy years ago it was left behind by those it served well. Not for the first time, I wonder if ships feel pain when their days on the sea come to an end.
It’s swaying in the rough sea. As we get closer, it rocks and pitches in a sad echo of how it used to move on water.
I dive wrecks from time to time, but I never really enjoy doing so. They attract a particular sort of ocean life into their secret places. Boats belong on top of the waves, not beneath them. Wrecks speak of lost hopes, of wasted lives, of dreams that didn’t survive the storm.”
This story unfolds in the same manner a storm might build over the sea surrounding the Island. The waves start rolling slowly, crest, and then a bigger wave comes to take its place … each one a little higher and a little more dangerous than the last. I can’t say too much about the ending because it would require a significant “spoiler alert” but suffice it to say I was perched on the edge of my chair reading the last third of this book. I couldn’t put it down because I had to know the final outcome. When I finally felt as if I could almost relax a little because now I knew the truth – nope – that final unexpected and devastating wave crashed into the shore … I got a shiver reading the last few paragraphs. Ms. Bolton certainly gave me the definition of a thriller with this book.
When I finished the book I felt there was one unanswered question left hanging. It wasn’t until I was thinking about what to write for this review that it dawned on me that it had indeed been answered in the last three sentences. When you read this book, and you should, watch for all the clues that should be clear as day, you just don’t know it until the end.
I have not read any other of Ms. Bolton’s books but I understand she has a series featuring DC Lacey Flint. This is where I once again start chanting my mantra of “I do not have time to start another series … I do not have time to start another series”, but I will definitely be checking out her other two stand-alone novels.
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LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Little Black Lies is a taut, twisty thriller from Sharon Bolton. It begins when a child goes missing, the third in three years from the sparsely populated Falkland Islands.
The narrative is divided into thirds, unfolding from the perspectives of three unique and complex characters. For Catrin the
The well crafted plot, which I don’t wish to elaborate on, reveals the links between these characters, whose lives have been tainted by grief and tragedy, and their connection to the missing children over a period of five days. Though the pace is measured, the story is propelled by cinching tension and breath taking twists.
The setting is atmospheric, the isolated island itself has great presence in the novel from its rugged coastline to its rocky terrain, and its history, as the site of the bloody if short lived war for sovereignty between Britain and Argentina in the early 1980’s, also plays into the story.
Fans of poetry should enjoy the references throughout the novel to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Bolton skilfully utilises the imagery the verses evoke.
Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.
Little Black Lies is a tense, dark and disturbing story about revenge and redemption, that leads to a stunning conclusion. I could hardly put it down.
The narrative is divided into thirds, unfolding from the perspectives of three unique and complex characters. For Catrin the
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disappearance is an inconvenience. She has a schedule to keep, plans for the woman she blames for the tragic death of her young sons as an anniversary approaches. Callum, an ex-soldier with PTSD, has a theory about the abducted children that the local police are choosing to ignore. Rachel, who spends most of her days in bed, is largely oblivious until her youngest son goes missing.The well crafted plot, which I don’t wish to elaborate on, reveals the links between these characters, whose lives have been tainted by grief and tragedy, and their connection to the missing children over a period of five days. Though the pace is measured, the story is propelled by cinching tension and breath taking twists.
The setting is atmospheric, the isolated island itself has great presence in the novel from its rugged coastline to its rocky terrain, and its history, as the site of the bloody if short lived war for sovereignty between Britain and Argentina in the early 1980’s, also plays into the story.
Fans of poetry should enjoy the references throughout the novel to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Bolton skilfully utilises the imagery the verses evoke.
Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.
Little Black Lies is a tense, dark and disturbing story about revenge and redemption, that leads to a stunning conclusion. I could hardly put it down.
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LibraryThing member boudicca123
Young boys are going missing on the Falkland Islands - is there a murderer amongst the islanders? No one wants to believe such a thing possible as they are a close knit group of people. It was nice to see a book set in such an unusual place rather than the large cities we are more used to. There
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were so many fantastic descriptions of the landscape, seascape, wildlife, what it is like to live there, although things may have changed a bit since 1994 when this book was set. The story is told from the viewpoints of three people, Catrin who sadly lost her own two sons thanks to the carelessness of her once best friend Rachel, and Callum who caught in the war there but decided to stay. I thought most of this was great but it did become a bit repetitive as each of them gave their version of events. Despite that though it was a very enjoyable book which kept me turning the pages till the very end when we find out who was the guilty party! Show Less
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
I have read most of Sharon Bolton's previous books and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Most of them fit very well in that high tension , can't put-it-down blend of thriller and crime investigation which combines the best of both niches. But "Little Black Lies" is very different. While it shares
Yes, it's about the disappearances of some children and the death of two others, but there's so much more. Although the story can be said to be all about Catrin, Callum and Rachel, the three characters(not my Bolton favorites of all time) who are the focus of the three equal parts of the book, it is in a bigger sense all about the Falklands, its history and the community of people who live there, so far from everything. A tourist place? A stopping point for cruise ships on their way to Antarctica? Hardly. Check out the Bing Images when you search for Falklands.....
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elements of her past books, it surprises those of us who jump a bit too soon to our own conclusions, and it rewards us with sideways leaps into entirely unexpected revelations from an opening encounter with a totally unexpected predator to a gut wrenching encounter with dozens upon dozens of whales. It completely shattered my preconceived notion of what the Falklands must be like and it totally shocked me in its revelations about the war there in 1982.Yes, it's about the disappearances of some children and the death of two others, but there's so much more. Although the story can be said to be all about Catrin, Callum and Rachel, the three characters(not my Bolton favorites of all time) who are the focus of the three equal parts of the book, it is in a bigger sense all about the Falklands, its history and the community of people who live there, so far from everything. A tourist place? A stopping point for cruise ships on their way to Antarctica? Hardly. Check out the Bing Images when you search for Falklands.....
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LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
This is quite possibly the best novel Bolton has written so far. While I am a huge fan of her Lacey Flint series, I am also aware of some editing errors in her scripts, as well as the writing being good, but not extraordinary. This book is her arrival as a quality writer as well as one who tells a
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great story. This novel centers around three characters – Catrin, Callum and Rachel – and the lies they have told when children on the Falkland Islands go missing. This was one of those books that I did not want to end. I slowed the reading of it toward the end to savor it, all the while dying to find out what happened. It left me wanting more, and more could be possible, because we really don’t know what happened to all of the missing children or who was responsible for them, as well as the future missing ones. Awesome book! Show Less
LibraryThing member TdeV
I found LITTLE BLACK LIES ©2015 by Sharon Bolton a complex read. The person who starts this story is angry and full of grief, and it took me several attempts over several days before I could read beyond a few paragraphs. This is a case where a Cast of Characters would have been helpful and
Soon I’m totally captivated, flipping pages in a whir. There’s feelings of surprise which recur because my expectations are elsewhere. The surprise is motivation enough to reclassify what kind of crime fiction is LITTLE BLACK LIES. But I’m afraid, my imaginings of what might happen worsen.
By the middle of the book, I’m enjoying the relationships between the protagonists, the intellectual challenge of sorting out their stories. My expectations are tossed yet again and the dread creeps back. How can there be any other outcome than what I most fear?
Then it’s worse. Better? Glorious? Breathtaking? Heartbreaking? Consuming. Gratifying. Incredibly sad.
Yes, all of those things.
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prevented my having to go back and reread prior sections of the story.Soon I’m totally captivated, flipping pages in a whir. There’s feelings of surprise which recur because my expectations are elsewhere. The surprise is motivation enough to reclassify what kind of crime fiction is LITTLE BLACK LIES. But I’m afraid, my imaginings of what might happen worsen.
By the middle of the book, I’m enjoying the relationships between the protagonists, the intellectual challenge of sorting out their stories. My expectations are tossed yet again and the dread creeps back. How can there be any other outcome than what I most fear?
Then it’s worse. Better? Glorious? Breathtaking? Heartbreaking? Consuming. Gratifying. Incredibly sad.
Yes, all of those things.
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LibraryThing member dom76
Three years ago, Catrin has stopped living since the death of her sons caused by her best friend Rachel. Near the annivesary of their deaths, a child is missing and he isn't the first one.
She participate in the search with her ex-lover Callum all the while she has her sons and Rachel on her
There is a lot of rumors, speculations surrounding all three of them. They all have their secrets and half thruths are being told. Who is telling the thruth.
This book keeps you guessing. The story is being told in three different views: Catrin, Callum and Rachel.
Great psychologial thriller. Lots of twists, lies are becoming thruths. The characters are great, you do feel their pains but also some anger towards them.
The author takes you to a beautiful place that is marked by sorrow, pain and murder until the very last sentence.
She participate in the search with her ex-lover Callum all the while she has her sons and Rachel on her
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mind.There is a lot of rumors, speculations surrounding all three of them. They all have their secrets and half thruths are being told. Who is telling the thruth.
This book keeps you guessing. The story is being told in three different views: Catrin, Callum and Rachel.
Great psychologial thriller. Lots of twists, lies are becoming thruths. The characters are great, you do feel their pains but also some anger towards them.
The author takes you to a beautiful place that is marked by sorrow, pain and murder until the very last sentence.
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LibraryThing member librarian1204
A mystery set in the Falkland Islands. A setting that I had not read very much about. The author I think does it justice, describing the islands and the people, the whales and seals and birds. Her descriptions are vivid and draw the reader into the atmosphere of the story. The cast of island
Catrin mourns the loss of her two young boys, who died in an accident that happened while her boys were in the care of her best friend. It has been 4 years and loss and hatred have just about destroyed her. She is planning revenge.
In that same time frame, three small boys have disappeared from the islands, the latest one, a child from the cruise ship in port. The story is told from the viewpoints of 3 characters.
This is a stand alone from an author who has a series character.
Very well done. Containing a bibliography on the war and the Falklands.
Read as an ARC from NetGalley.
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characters that interact within the novel are exemplary of the kind of provincialism, seen in a small isolated place, that makes everything happening a major event open to the eyes of all. She also includes a wealth of information about the Falkland War when the Argentines attacked and Maggie Thatcher came to the Islands rescue. Another topic that was new territory for me. Catrin mourns the loss of her two young boys, who died in an accident that happened while her boys were in the care of her best friend. It has been 4 years and loss and hatred have just about destroyed her. She is planning revenge.
In that same time frame, three small boys have disappeared from the islands, the latest one, a child from the cruise ship in port. The story is told from the viewpoints of 3 characters.
This is a stand alone from an author who has a series character.
Very well done. Containing a bibliography on the war and the Falklands.
Read as an ARC from NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
Sharon Bolton seems to revel in depicting small, often isolated communities in which ordinary people hide dark secrets. She has previously written compellingly cloying tales of suspense set in several worrisome English villages as well as one set in the Shetland isles. In LITTLE BLACK LIES she
The story is told as a kind of three act relay. First we meet Catrin Quinn: conservation worker and grief-stricken mother. Three years ago her two young sons died in a horrifying accident that resulted from her best friend’s temporary inattentiveness. The subsequent trauma undoubtedly played a huge role in her losing the baby she was carrying at the time. These days Catrin is barely functioning and, far from drawing closer to forgiveness with passing time, revenge is occupying her thoughts. At a key moment, plot-wise, Catrin hands the storytelling baton to Callum Murray an ex-soldier who fought in the Falklands War and is still suffering as a result of the things he did and saw then. For the final act Callum makes way for Rachel, Catrin’s former best friend who is searching for a redemption that may never come, no matter what she is prepared to give up to achieve it.
If you’re looking for a procedural story about missing children you need to go elsewhere because this is book isn’t really about missing children at all (and yes for fans of Wittertainment I do mean this in the same way that Jaws isn’t really about sharks). It’s about the three central characters – ordinary people all of them – coping – or not – with the awful things that happen to and around them. These are not bad people doing bad things, or even – really – good people doing bad things. These are good people to whom bad shit has happened. Although each person appears in all sections of the book it is through their respective first-hand accounts of events past and present that we learn most about what makes each one tick. This kind of storytelling can be a bit of a train wreck (I’m thinking of this book for example) but Bolton has done a superb job of showing how the same events can look so very different depending on whose perspective things are seen from and tempting readers’ sympathies to pass from one character to the next as each one takes on the central role.
That’s not to say there isn’t a ripper of a story going on here as well. It’s a nail biter on more than one occasion with all the twists and turns that are the inevitable result of no one having a complete picture. And – as always – Bolton’s setting is wonderfully depicted. The remoteness of the islands, the slow recovery from the war and the way that small populations behave are all brought to life very vividly. Several reviews I’ve read were displeased with one particularly gruesome, and in some ways tangential scene, but I thought it was well placed as it helped show how life is in such places. Even in the days before mass bullying by social media became the norm it was easy for people to become outraged about things they know little about and Bolton demonstrates this very well here.
I listened to the audio version of this book which had three terrific narrators who really helped deliver the sense that the storytelling was passing from one person to the next. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes the format. In fact my only criticism of the book would have been that I was felling disappointed by the way the ending was heading – it was just a bit too happy – but then there was a final dark twist I had failed to predict so even on that front the book delivers. Great stuff.
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takes us to Stanley on the Falkland Islands, nearly 500km east of the closest land mass. It is the mid-90’s – a decade or so after the war – and several children have gone missing in recent years. Locals seem to have accepted that the disappearances are unrelated and accidental but readers are forced to confront the notion something more sinister is going on.The story is told as a kind of three act relay. First we meet Catrin Quinn: conservation worker and grief-stricken mother. Three years ago her two young sons died in a horrifying accident that resulted from her best friend’s temporary inattentiveness. The subsequent trauma undoubtedly played a huge role in her losing the baby she was carrying at the time. These days Catrin is barely functioning and, far from drawing closer to forgiveness with passing time, revenge is occupying her thoughts. At a key moment, plot-wise, Catrin hands the storytelling baton to Callum Murray an ex-soldier who fought in the Falklands War and is still suffering as a result of the things he did and saw then. For the final act Callum makes way for Rachel, Catrin’s former best friend who is searching for a redemption that may never come, no matter what she is prepared to give up to achieve it.
If you’re looking for a procedural story about missing children you need to go elsewhere because this is book isn’t really about missing children at all (and yes for fans of Wittertainment I do mean this in the same way that Jaws isn’t really about sharks). It’s about the three central characters – ordinary people all of them – coping – or not – with the awful things that happen to and around them. These are not bad people doing bad things, or even – really – good people doing bad things. These are good people to whom bad shit has happened. Although each person appears in all sections of the book it is through their respective first-hand accounts of events past and present that we learn most about what makes each one tick. This kind of storytelling can be a bit of a train wreck (I’m thinking of this book for example) but Bolton has done a superb job of showing how the same events can look so very different depending on whose perspective things are seen from and tempting readers’ sympathies to pass from one character to the next as each one takes on the central role.
That’s not to say there isn’t a ripper of a story going on here as well. It’s a nail biter on more than one occasion with all the twists and turns that are the inevitable result of no one having a complete picture. And – as always – Bolton’s setting is wonderfully depicted. The remoteness of the islands, the slow recovery from the war and the way that small populations behave are all brought to life very vividly. Several reviews I’ve read were displeased with one particularly gruesome, and in some ways tangential scene, but I thought it was well placed as it helped show how life is in such places. Even in the days before mass bullying by social media became the norm it was easy for people to become outraged about things they know little about and Bolton demonstrates this very well here.
I listened to the audio version of this book which had three terrific narrators who really helped deliver the sense that the storytelling was passing from one person to the next. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes the format. In fact my only criticism of the book would have been that I was felling disappointed by the way the ending was heading – it was just a bit too happy – but then there was a final dark twist I had failed to predict so even on that front the book delivers. Great stuff.
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LibraryThing member caroline123
Catrin Quinn is a broken, damaged woman living alone, grieving over the ?accidental death of her two small sons three years before, caused by her former best friend, Rachel. Three children go missing and are feared to have met with foul play. Then a fourth child goes missing and Catrin is suspected
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of the abduction and possible murder. I enjoyed the setting, the beautiful Falkland Islands. The suspense was nonstop and I could hardly put this book down to see what happened next. It keeps you guessing until the very last page! Show Less
LibraryThing member mainrun
Almost returned this to the library when I got to the first section of the book. It was titled "DAY 2." That is the most irritating style. I hate knowing what is going to happen. It takes the thrill out of it for me. Well, I thought I would do something I have always wanted to do, and this book was
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labeled in a way that made it possible. I looked through the book and found the section labeled "DAY 1." It as 3/4 way through the book. I was able to read the story sequentially, and enjoyed it much better than I would if I read it as it was printed. Having to find the right page, and making sure I read everything was a pain. Show Less
LibraryThing member sturlington
Three years ago, a horrific accident killed both Catrin's sons, leaving her hungry for revenge against her best friend, Rachel. Just as she is about to enact her plan, a young boy disappears--the third one is as many years--setting off an unforeseen chain of events.
This is a fast, suspenseful read,The final two twists, while helping tie everything up, did not fit my understanding of how the characters would behave, slightly spoiling the ending for me. All in all, this was an entertaining book to spend a weekend with.
This is a fast, suspenseful read,
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and Bolton keeps us turning the pages. The story is told in three parts, from three different points of view over the course of the same six days, so that the different pieces gradually fall into place. The setting is the Falkland Islands, and a strong sense of place is what makes this thriller stand out. In the course of telling the story, Bolton delves into the history, culture, wildlife, and environment of this remote, isolated, and relatively unknown place. At the center of the story is the insulated and sheltered community of the islanders, who can't accept that one of their own might be a killer. The pace picks up tremendously toward the end, with so many quick twists and turns that they begin to seem contrived. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sharn
Wordy. About 100pgs too wordy, in my opinion. I didn't care for the way the story was told either. I know it's sounds like a bunch of complaints, it's just that I bought into all the rave reviews and it just didn't stand up to the hype for me. A case of expectations too high.
3yrs ago Rachel is
We got to hear the same story - the.same.story. - from 3 different view points: Catrin, Callum (who Vince Vaughn should play if a movie is ever made) and Rachel.
The book lost me around 75%. I was getting bored. I started to skim. When I start to skim in the attempts to end the book quicker that's a bad sign. Spoiler:
[I didn't buy into Callum's confession either, I thought it was a bit ridiculous to be honest. Let's see. Callum confessed to hitting and killing a 3yr old with his truck, wrapping his lifeless body in a blanket, putting him in a gun case (or something) in the back of his truck and then driving him to the top of a cliff where he threw the child over - all because he recognized his footprint and found his blanket on the beach. And oh, he also found a skeleton... A SKELETON. He threw the child 2 days ago, he wouldn't be 'skeletonized' yet, duh. Are you for real? That's a lot of details to confess to when you don't remember a SINGLE one of them. I mean really, who does that? (hide spoiler)]
And then the very last sentence, you're thrown one. more. bone. Did you predict that? I sure didn't.
3yrs ago Rachel is
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babysitting Catrin's boys, Ned and Kit, when she leaves them in the car alone and they manage send the car over the cliff killing them both. Catrin wrought with grief will never be the same. Now children keep turning up missing on the island and no one knows what to think.We got to hear the same story - the.same.story. - from 3 different view points: Catrin, Callum (who Vince Vaughn should play if a movie is ever made) and Rachel.
The book lost me around 75%. I was getting bored. I started to skim. When I start to skim in the attempts to end the book quicker that's a bad sign. Spoiler:
[I didn't buy into Callum's confession either, I thought it was a bit ridiculous to be honest. Let's see. Callum confessed to hitting and killing a 3yr old with his truck, wrapping his lifeless body in a blanket, putting him in a gun case (or something) in the back of his truck and then driving him to the top of a cliff where he threw the child over - all because he recognized his footprint and found his blanket on the beach. And oh, he also found a skeleton... A SKELETON. He threw the child 2 days ago, he wouldn't be 'skeletonized' yet, duh. Are you for real? That's a lot of details to confess to when you don't remember a SINGLE one of them. I mean really, who does that? (hide spoiler)]
And then the very last sentence, you're thrown one. more. bone. Did you predict that? I sure didn't.
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LibraryThing member Kathl33n
Very interesting read. The book is broken into three parts, each told from a main character's POV. While I dislike when every chapter changes POV, I most definitely liked the POV in three very large chunks. Spending long periods with each character gave you a deep sense of their particular POV. I
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also enjoyed the setting of the Falkland Islands, an area and history that I didn't know anything about. The mystery itself - very well done. It's one of those books where someone, or everyone, seems to be lying, but you are never really sure who it is. Though, I must warn - there is a very disturbing animal scene that lasts forever. I had to skip more than an entire chapter. Show Less
LibraryThing member LiteraryFeline
If you hang around book blog sites frequently, you may have come across mention of Sharon Bolton's Little Black Lies once or twice. Or maybe a lot. I know I have. After hearing nothing but good things about all of Bolton's books, I thought Little Black Lies might be a good place to start, given
Little Black Lies is everything I love in a crime fiction novel. It is intense and thought provoking with fully fleshed out characters, a complex plot, and a setting that itself could be its own character. The story is told from three different perspectives, that of Catrin, a grieving mother who has nothing left to live for; Callum, a former soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who will do anything for the woman he loves; and Rachel, a woman being eaten by guilt and depression. Each of the characters have connected and complicated histories.
With the disappearance of three children from the Falkland Islands, the most recent from a tourist family, suspicions and fears are running high among the locals and those from out of town. Sharon Bolton captures the essence of both the individual panic and that of group think, which in and of itself can lead to terrible repercussions.
There is so much to this novel. I felt transported to the islands as I read the novel, caught up in the beauty and cruelty of the land and sea, the history of the people, and wrapped up in the individual stories of the characters. Catrin is a difficult character to get to know at first; she is distant and may seem a bit uncaring--but the more I learned about her, the more I came to care about her. She has suffered so much; my heart ached for her. I liked Callum quite a bit from the start. The more I learned of his story, the more I liked him. He hasn't had an easy time of it either, suffering from his own demons. Rachel was the hardest for me to warm to, I confess. I am not sure I ever completely did. There was a part of me that could identify with some of what she was going through. Perhaps some of that was in the way Bolton told the story; perhaps that was the intent. Or perhaps it was just me and which characters I found it easiest to identify with.
I hesitate to go into too much detail about the plot and the character's lives. I think my not knowing is part of what made this book even more powerful than it might have been otherwise. Although, I think I still would have loved it. It touches on several issues I hate to read in books. I admit there is one scene that had me so disturbed I had to set the book aside for awhile. I still couldn't stop thinking about that scene. I found it so heartbreaking, even if necessary.
Little Black Lies is so full of twists and turns--and all so well done! This was a near impossible book to put down. Sharon Bolton knows how to build up the suspense and keep the reader guessing. I loved the ending and how everything played out.
I have no doubt I will be reading more by Sharon Bolton in the near future. If all her books are like this, she is sure to be a new favorite.
To learn more about Sharon Bolton and her books, please visit the author's website and Goodreads.
Source: I received this book for an honest review from the publisher via NetGalley.
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it's a stand alone novel. Now I know what all the fuss is about--and I have to agree.Little Black Lies is everything I love in a crime fiction novel. It is intense and thought provoking with fully fleshed out characters, a complex plot, and a setting that itself could be its own character. The story is told from three different perspectives, that of Catrin, a grieving mother who has nothing left to live for; Callum, a former soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who will do anything for the woman he loves; and Rachel, a woman being eaten by guilt and depression. Each of the characters have connected and complicated histories.
With the disappearance of three children from the Falkland Islands, the most recent from a tourist family, suspicions and fears are running high among the locals and those from out of town. Sharon Bolton captures the essence of both the individual panic and that of group think, which in and of itself can lead to terrible repercussions.
There is so much to this novel. I felt transported to the islands as I read the novel, caught up in the beauty and cruelty of the land and sea, the history of the people, and wrapped up in the individual stories of the characters. Catrin is a difficult character to get to know at first; she is distant and may seem a bit uncaring--but the more I learned about her, the more I came to care about her. She has suffered so much; my heart ached for her. I liked Callum quite a bit from the start. The more I learned of his story, the more I liked him. He hasn't had an easy time of it either, suffering from his own demons. Rachel was the hardest for me to warm to, I confess. I am not sure I ever completely did. There was a part of me that could identify with some of what she was going through. Perhaps some of that was in the way Bolton told the story; perhaps that was the intent. Or perhaps it was just me and which characters I found it easiest to identify with.
I hesitate to go into too much detail about the plot and the character's lives. I think my not knowing is part of what made this book even more powerful than it might have been otherwise. Although, I think I still would have loved it. It touches on several issues I hate to read in books. I admit there is one scene that had me so disturbed I had to set the book aside for awhile. I still couldn't stop thinking about that scene. I found it so heartbreaking, even if necessary.
Little Black Lies is so full of twists and turns--and all so well done! This was a near impossible book to put down. Sharon Bolton knows how to build up the suspense and keep the reader guessing. I loved the ending and how everything played out.
I have no doubt I will be reading more by Sharon Bolton in the near future. If all her books are like this, she is sure to be a new favorite.
To learn more about Sharon Bolton and her books, please visit the author's website and Goodreads.
Source: I received this book for an honest review from the publisher via NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member jhullie
A GREAT book. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. All 3 narrators were brilliant with their accents and tones, and the story was a superb mix of intrigue, tragedy and betrayal. While the subject matter was hard to read, the death of children, it was handled with empathy and gentleness which
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greatly helped me to cope with such sadness. The 3 different points of view were very well executed and all in all it’s a remarkable story. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
This book was set in the Falkland Islands. The descriptions of the Falkland islands and all of it's unique birds, foliage and atmosphere were wonderful. I can't imagine living in such a remote area. Ms. Bolton captured the feel of this small town and how everyone knows each others lives. The book
In the following three years, two children have gone missing and not found. The boys all bear a strong resemblance to the two dead brothers. In the present, another boy goes missing, but is found by Catrin and Callum. Then Rachel's youngest son, Peter, disappears. Is this the work of Catirn, the dead boys mother? Or perhaps it is her ex-lover, and ex-Falklands war soldier who suffers P.T.S.D. complete with blackouts. Or is it someone else entirely? Would Rachel kill her own son?
This is a wonderful spellbinding story of friendship, love, lust, death, guilt, anger, grief and revenge. I was so engrossed in all of the characters and the mystery that just kept getting more and more complicated that I had to finish it before going to bed. Dark secrets are revealed, the plot twists and turns and the tension is heightened with every page you turn. This book continued to absorb me from the first pages to the satisfying end.
Thank you to Minotaur Books, NetGalley and author Sharon Bolton for the gift of a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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focuses on the lives of 3 people, who each take a turn at narrating, in the aftermath of a tragedy. Catrin, the mother of 2 children who were killed in an accident 3 years prior. The cause of the accident was her best friend Rachel who was responsible for the accident due to her carelessness. Rachel is another narrator of the story. A shell of her former self as she blames herself for the accident, is not really in love with her husband and misses her best friends and finally Callum, Catrin's ex-lover, an ex-Falkland war soldier who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.In the following three years, two children have gone missing and not found. The boys all bear a strong resemblance to the two dead brothers. In the present, another boy goes missing, but is found by Catrin and Callum. Then Rachel's youngest son, Peter, disappears. Is this the work of Catirn, the dead boys mother? Or perhaps it is her ex-lover, and ex-Falklands war soldier who suffers P.T.S.D. complete with blackouts. Or is it someone else entirely? Would Rachel kill her own son?
This is a wonderful spellbinding story of friendship, love, lust, death, guilt, anger, grief and revenge. I was so engrossed in all of the characters and the mystery that just kept getting more and more complicated that I had to finish it before going to bed. Dark secrets are revealed, the plot twists and turns and the tension is heightened with every page you turn. This book continued to absorb me from the first pages to the satisfying end.
Thank you to Minotaur Books, NetGalley and author Sharon Bolton for the gift of a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Bolton is very good at getting you to take your eyes off the bigger picture to focus on details. For some thrillers, this is the key to its solution; not for hers though. This book reminded me a lot of the way Peter May put his Lewis Island books together - heavy on characters, atmosphere and
We start with Catrin who has absorbed more pain than she can handle when her best friend caused the death of her two sons. She is mentally unbalanced. No doubt about that. Now she’s plotting a way out for herself, but not before exacting revenge. She admits she’s actually good at killing and that’s the part I had to skip/skim - the beached whales. The euthanasia. The suffering. Even though the spirit is very different, the parallels to her grandfather’s whaling exploits are stark. So how far will Catrin take this ‘talent’ of hers? How far has she already taken it?
By the time Callum takes up the narration I was pretty leery of Catrin, her motives and her intentions and his side of the story makes it worse. He’s a veteran of the Falklands Islands war in the 1980s. When he first returned there his PTSD symptoms almost went away, but now they’re back. He blacks out, has fugue states and sometimes lashes out in violence. This isn’t all he is though. He’s a tech pioneer (this is set in the mid 1990s) and a popular person in town. He is the one to pull Catrin’s boys from the car in the sea. When he and Catrin find not one, but two of the missing boys, my suspicion meter went crazy.
Last there is Rachel; island child killer who will never, never be free of guilt, shame or the anger from the community for her deadly lapse. She would gladly trade one of her boys to have one of Catrin’s back. She says that yes, the pain would be horrible, but bearable and preferable to the living hell she’s made of everyone’s life. Her husband has stood by her, but she doesn’t love him; never has. Her heart belongs to another. And there’s more mental illness on display - she has imaginary conversations with her horse. Yup. Her horse. Also it seems she can’t stand to be alone with her youngest son.
I didn’t get a good enough sense of the friendship between Catrin and Rachel and wish there had been more about that. Not necessarily childhood stuff, but certainly adult interactions and closeness. There was more meat on the bones of the Catrin/Callum relationship and so I know the other could have been filled out, too. The sense of community in the Falklands is there and it works the way you’d think it would; people are fiercely protective of each other, but also blind to some faults. When they get an irrational idea about who might be might be a child abductor/killer in their midst though, they go crazy like any other small village that is isolated from the larger world. It’s comforting and scary. The ending is a mix of dread and happiness depending on what island you’re on.
One by one they all confess to killing Rachel’s boy Peter. The cops, who aren’t that sophisticated in the ways of murder investigation, lose the rag and things get crazy. Plus there are villagers with pitchforks and torches. In a rush to escape, cops and suspects end up together and are able to sort out who did what and why. The dust settles. Peter is found; alive and well.
Then there’s the solution to each boys’ situation. Jimmy is ruled an accident, although there is no certainty. Archie is found to have been inadvertently taken out of his little sphere when during a game of hide and seek he hid in the wrong car. Peter’s brothers hid him in fear of what their mother would do when she found out he took a tumble down some cliffs trying to follow his older brothers. So it seems there is no child killer after all.
But then someone witnesses another boy being taken. It’s Ben. And Rachel lets him do it. It’s crazy and oddly fitting.
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secrets. It is a tad repetitive in places and has a tangle of histrionics at the end (some of which are a real stretch to believe), but the reveal is a good one. There is happiness and hope, but also a future of misery and dread that’s a little hard to take in properly.We start with Catrin who has absorbed more pain than she can handle when her best friend caused the death of her two sons. She is mentally unbalanced. No doubt about that. Now she’s plotting a way out for herself, but not before exacting revenge. She admits she’s actually good at killing and that’s the part I had to skip/skim - the beached whales. The euthanasia. The suffering. Even though the spirit is very different, the parallels to her grandfather’s whaling exploits are stark. So how far will Catrin take this ‘talent’ of hers? How far has she already taken it?
By the time Callum takes up the narration I was pretty leery of Catrin, her motives and her intentions and his side of the story makes it worse. He’s a veteran of the Falklands Islands war in the 1980s. When he first returned there his PTSD symptoms almost went away, but now they’re back. He blacks out, has fugue states and sometimes lashes out in violence. This isn’t all he is though. He’s a tech pioneer (this is set in the mid 1990s) and a popular person in town. He is the one to pull Catrin’s boys from the car in the sea. When he and Catrin find not one, but two of the missing boys, my suspicion meter went crazy.
Last there is Rachel; island child killer who will never, never be free of guilt, shame or the anger from the community for her deadly lapse. She would gladly trade one of her boys to have one of Catrin’s back. She says that yes, the pain would be horrible, but bearable and preferable to the living hell she’s made of everyone’s life. Her husband has stood by her, but she doesn’t love him; never has. Her heart belongs to another. And there’s more mental illness on display - she has imaginary conversations with her horse. Yup. Her horse. Also it seems she can’t stand to be alone with her youngest son.
I didn’t get a good enough sense of the friendship between Catrin and Rachel and wish there had been more about that. Not necessarily childhood stuff, but certainly adult interactions and closeness. There was more meat on the bones of the Catrin/Callum relationship and so I know the other could have been filled out, too. The sense of community in the Falklands is there and it works the way you’d think it would; people are fiercely protective of each other, but also blind to some faults. When they get an irrational idea about who might be might be a child abductor/killer in their midst though, they go crazy like any other small village that is isolated from the larger world. It’s comforting and scary. The ending is a mix of dread and happiness depending on what island you’re on.
Then there’s the solution to each boys’ situation. Jimmy is ruled an accident, although there is no certainty. Archie is found to have been inadvertently taken out of his little sphere when during a game of hide and seek he hid in the wrong car. Peter’s brothers hid him in fear of what their mother would do when she found out he took a tumble down some cliffs trying to follow his older brothers. So it seems there is no child killer after all.
But then someone witnesses another boy being taken. It’s Ben. And Rachel lets him do it. It’s crazy and oddly fitting.
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Awards
Macavity Award (Nominee — 2016)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Mystery — 2016)
International Thriller Writers Award (Nominee — First Novel — 2016)
Bästa översatta kriminalroman (Nominee — 2015)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — May 2015)
Language
Original publication date
2015-05-19