DubaiReader

I finished this a while ago and decided I'd wait until I'd heard the author talk at our annual Lit Fest, before writing my review - never a good idea as that was several months ago and now I wonder if I can do it justice. 

What struck me most about listening to the author, was that she'd been a police officer herself, and knew first-hand, exactly how things worked behind the scenes. She also told us that the reason she left the force, was because she felt she was giving more of herself to her job than her family. When the reality of this dawned, she decided it was time to call it a day. Now we get to enjoy her writing instead.

So, on to the the book. The main character is Anna Johnson, a new mother whose father had committed suicide the previous year, closely followed by her mother. The loss of her mother, in particular, is bothering her now that she has a child of her own. If only she could share the experience with the one person who would understand. On the one year anniversary of her mother's death a strange card arrives, with the three words: "Suicide? Think again".

There is also a side story relating to the detective who investigates the case after Anna comes into the police station, convinced that her mother did not kill herself. Murray has retired, he's only supposed to be working on the reception desk, but he can't resist getting involved. His story runs alongside that of Anna's and, I have to confess, is the more believable of the two.

At first I thought this was heading towards being a ghost story and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But persevere, it got better and sped up as I progressed, until the ending rattled towards me, almost faster than I could keep up.
Most of the story is told by Anna, but there were some interesting additions and other POVs from a few of the other characters too.

I was listening to this, rather than reading it, and I feel that the narrator, Gemma Whelan, deserves a mention here too. She did such a good job that I forgot I that was being read to.

This novel covers issues of mental illness and domestic violence and was a good read. This was my first book by the author but I'm sure it won't be my last.