Sunday 27 December 2015

CRIME THRILLER REVIEW: Under Suspicion 2: All Dressed in White - Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Release Date: 19/11/15
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

SYNOPSIS:

Five years ago Amanda Pierce was excitedly preparing to marry her college sweetheart. She and Jeffrey had already battled through sickness and health, although their lives were certainly more richer than poorer as Amanda was set to inherit her father's successful garment company.

Then Amanda disappeared the night of her bachelorette party.

In present-day New York City, Laurie Moran realizes a missing bride is the perfect cold case for her 'Under Suspicion' television series to investigate. By recreating the night of the disappearance at the wedding's Florida resort with Amanda's friends and family, Laurie hopes to find the same success solving the cases featured in the series' first episodes. With Amanda's former fiancé now married to a bridesmaid, and a jealous sister, playboy groomsmen, and rumors about the "beloved" bride herself, Laurie and Under Suspicion host Alex Buckley quickly realize everyone has their own theory about why Amanda disappeared into thin air.

One thing is certain, whoever was behind Amanda's vanishing plans to keep the truth hidden "til death do they part"…


REVIEW:

For me, there is nothing better than a crime novel that is not only well written but keeps you guessing until the last few scenes due to all the twists is always something that is a pure joy to read. However the first novel in the series (The Cinderella Murders) left me feeling pretty flat as for me I felt that it unravelled a little to easily as well as not being as sharp or as polished as it could have been.

However as a reader I always like to give a series two books before letting it go, as there is so much that can be learned from one title to another and errors that readers have had, have been fixed in future outings. This is a prime example of this happening. Firstly the writing was a lot fresher for me, the duo working better together to help create a more seamless entity in the final product. The overall arc was delightful with multiple twists that kept me guessing and generated a story that I had a hard time putting down when it came to sleep. So much so that my brain worked overtime trying to figure out what was going to happen next. (A sure sign that a book has really hit the spot with you.)

All round, I’m more than pleased that I have my 2 book rule in place as otherwise I’d have missed this great outing. Magic.



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