Robert lives in North East England. He works in Recruitment by day, and is usually to be found knee deep in a pile of books as a reader and reviewer by night. He has recently signed with The Blair Partnership, and his debut crime novel, What Falls Between the Cracks was released in Spring 2018.
Fourteen-year old Kayleigh Jackson
disappeared four months ago from a sleepy sea-side town. No sightings, and no
trace. Rebecca Pendle’s husband, Chris, was last seen on the same day as
Kayleigh, but she can’t bring herself to believe that the two are linked.
As far as the rest of the town is
concerned, it’s no coincidence. His absence is all the proof they need, and
apart from a handful of friends, Rebecca is shunned by the town. Her efforts to
find Chris, to separate his disappearance from Kayleigh’s, make Rebecca a
target for disgruntled locals.
Her unshakable belief in Chris’s
innocence drives her to uncover the truth, but as the layers of small-town-life
are peeled back, she’s forced to confront the possibility that she may not know
the man she married as well as she thinks. As if that’s not enough to contend
with, there are those who would rather she stopped asking questions, and some
who are willing to take steps to make that happen.
The small town setting makes for an
intriguing paradox. It’s interesting to see how many secrets exist in an
insular community where everyone wants to know your business, and the
consequences of them unravelling. Rebecca’s world is smaller still, and the
claustrophobic feel to her point of view, combined with her self-imposed exile
from her old life, adds a sense of building pressure, as Rebecca edges closer
to answers that she’s no longer as certain she wants to know. But she, and we,
are compelled to chase after them, right to the last page.
Impressive debut novel, and will be
intrigued to see what Sarah Wray writes next.
