Review ~ Spare Me the Truth by C J Carver

Zaffre Books
2016

Three strangers. Countless secrets. One deadly truth.

Dan Forrester is just an ordinary man out doing the family shop but when he is approached by a woman who looks vaguely familiar, some distant memory is triggered, and when she tells him things about himself, almost against his better judgement, Dan is intrigued.

Lucy Davies, is a bit of a rebel, a police officer who has been banished from the Met to a provincial posting in the North East, where she becomes involved in a series of mysterious killings which seemingly have no motive, but with a point to prove, Lucy sets out to solve the mystery, but at what cost?

Grace Reavey is grieving after the sudden death of her mother, but when shadows of her mother's past start to encroach on Grace's present, she has no choice but to do as she is told, by people who mean her harm.

On the surface these three people have nothing whatsoever in common but in a very cleverly controlled plot, and with a spider’s web of conspiracies and counter plots, the story starts to come together. There is much to take in, as it’s one of those tightly twisted and convoluted stories, so you really have to take notice of what’s being said and done, and look for hidden references which, a few pages down the line start to make sense.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I was really impressed by her ease of storytelling and her ability to draw me into the story from the beginning. The plot is well controlled and there are lots of twists and turns which kept me guessing all the way through, and I really enjoyed trying to puzzle out how all the complicated pieces of the jigsaw fitted together. Overall, there is a genuine edginess to the story which grips tight and which never lets up the pace until the story is dramatically concluded.

Memories shape our world; they make us the people we are, allowing us the comfort of remembering good times whilst at the same time protecting us from the bad. Imagine then, if you have no recollection of times past, and if the only detail you have of yourself, is what your loved ones are telling you.  The idea of suppressed memory and drug altering amnesia is an interesting concept and the author goes a long way to demonstrate just how this rather scary scenario could become a very frightening possibility. 

Best Read With…A bowl of noodles, spicy with chillies and ginger, and a chocolate reindeer…

About the Author

C J Carver is the best selling author of seven crime fiction novels including Blood Junction. She has won the CWA debut dagger and the Barry Award for Best British Crime Fiction.

Find out more on C J Carver's website

Follow on Twitter @C_J_Carver

You can read a guest post by the author here

My thanks to the publishers, Zaffre,  for my review copy of this book.

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