What an excellent story. This is a gripping tale of suspense where everything is not as it seems. A woman has fallen from the 25th floor of a building to her death and you (Tate Kinsella) are suspected of her murder. But the more you protest your innocence, the more holes and inconsistencies appear in your story. What aren’t you telling the police?
The plot is incredibly engaging, and had me intrigued at every twist and turn (and there are many!) as the story gradually unfolds. To say anything about the plot would be to give too much away - you just have to read it and enjoy the ride.
The author straddles the line of reveal vs. conceal perfectly as we gradually find out more about what happened. The pacing is spot on: I was just about getting used to one revelation or twist of the plot when another one came along that made me question everything that I thought up to that point.
There is a particular kind of mystery novel that I *don’t* get on with - those where several equally plausible possibilities are developed by the author, then one is arbitrarily revealed to be the truth at the end (Agatha Christie, I’m looking at you). This book isn’t like that. Throughout the story, there is usually just one version of “what happened”, but that version warps and bends as new information is revealed - and I *really* liked that.
The story deals with some emotive and difficult issues around vulnerability and predatory behaviour, and I thought that it was done with great sensitivity.
This is a plot-driven story, and packs a lot in. Consequently, the character development (especially of the secondary characters) isn’t very deep. But this is a minor quibble, and there is an authenticity about all of the characters; I found some of the scenes towards the end of the book incredibly moving.
Thank you #NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone Century for the free review copy of #TheWomanOnTheLedge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My rating: ★★★★★
I read this book in response to a review of it that I saw on Goodreads. While it isn't a genre I would normally read, it seemed intriguing and had a lot of good reviews. I'm not sure I would have bought it on the strength of that, but it was still available for review in NetGalley, so I requested it and was approved. I'm pleased that I did.
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