BLOG TOUR – Without Trace – Simon Booker

 

BLURB: A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Gone Girl and Making a Murderer.
‘A cracking debut. A real page-turner with a compelling central character’ – Mark Billingham
For four long years, journalist Morgan Vine has campaigned for the release of her childhood sweetheart Danny Kilcannon – convicted, on dubious evidence, of murdering his 14 year-old stepdaughter.
When a key witness recants, Danny is released from prison. With nowhere else to go, he relies on single mum Morgan and her teenage daughter, Lissa.
But then Lissa goes missing.
With her own child now at risk, Morgan must re-think all she knows about her old flame – ‘the one that got away’. As the media storm around the mysterious disappearance intensifies and shocking revelations emerge, she is forced to confront the ultimate question: who can we trust…?
Introducing Morgan Vine, Without Trace is Simon Booker‘s debut thriller.

So here’s another book from Bonnier’s Twenty7 imprint for debut authors, which is turning into a highly successful idea. All the books I’ve read from it have been original and highly enjoyable reads, which bode well for the authors’ future careers. If I see a book with that imprint, I’m more likely to pick it up, assuming it’s crime fiction, or a psychological thriller, of course!

Simon Booker came into writing through screenwriting for TV – The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Holby City, and the Mrs Bradley Mysteries, as well as writing plays for Radio 4, and in journalism. This book is touted as being the first Morgan Vine thriller, and there’s a series planned, where Morgan, a journalist by trade, investigates miscarriages of justice. To me, that sounds like an intriguing, as well as original, idea for a series.

To the story: Morgan is a rather down-on-her-luck journalist. Her daughter Lissie, 18, has opted to live with her father at his mansion in Malibu, instead of Morgan’s converted railway carriage next to Dungeness Power Station, and the (imaginary) prison there. She runs a book group in the prison, mainly so she can be close to her childhood sweetheart, Danny Kilcannon, whose fight to clear his name for murdering his 15-year-old daughter she spearheads. There’s also suspicion that he was behind the disappearance of her mother, and his wife, Rowena, whose never been found. Danny’s second appeal is just about to be heard, and it’s successful – Danny’s free. However, he returns to the area where he grew up and faces abuse, both physical and verbal, from those who refuse to accept the Appeal Court’s findings; mainly, that the only eye-witness placing Danny at the scene of the crime, lied.

At around the same time, Lissie returns from the US to stay with her mother for a bit. Tall, gorgeous, and tanned and blonde from her Californian life, she turns every man’s head. At first she is suspicious of Danny, but he soon wins her over with his easy-going charm. She loves his vintage Mercedes, which he renovates, and knows all about cars, especially vintage prestige cars (yeah, right!)

Throughout the book there are parts taking us back to when Danny and Morgan were children, in order to explain why Morgan has such strong feelings about righting injustices.

Danny’s only been out of prison for a short time when the unthinkable happens, and Lissie disappears. Initially Morgan isn’t too worried, knowing what 18-year-olds are like – she’s probably been to a party and crashed at the house for a couple of days. But as her calls and texts go unanswered, the previously unthinkable has to be considered, and the question as to whether Danny is responsible considered.

I can’t say much more about the storyline as there be spoilers ahead! Despite the fact this book comes in at just over 400 pages, I absolutely whizzed through it, the short chapters giving it the sense of speed and urgency it needs so the momentum doesn’t flag (and causing you to stay up til all hours!) There’s plenty going on, and plenty of characters (without causing any confusion) and Morgan really doesn’t know who she can trust. The police are involved, but can’t do much as Lissie is over 18. Danny does all he can to find Morgan, getting sweatshirts and leaflets printed, “Have you seen this girl?” So he’s playing the part of concerned friend, but is that all he’s doing?

If I was putting as strapline across this book, it would be, “Trust No-One.” Also, no-one in the book, barring Morgan, is particularly likeable – not that it’s peopled by murderers, but they all have very different ideas of morality to Morgan – and, I suspect, you or I. Everyone has an agenda of some sort.

I apologise I can’t say much more other than, if you enjoy a mystery which has you changing your mind as to someone’s guilt or innocence every few pages, then this is a book for you. You’ll also meet a likeable, spunky heroine in Morgan. The book’s available now on eBook, and will be out in paperback in June.

I’d like to thank Bonnier/Twenty7 for my review copy.