Review: Eeny Meeny

A thriller with an intriguing set-up and plenty of twists and turns

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I really enjoyed this book. The premise is intriguing: two victims, one bullet; one dies, the other lives. The first two victims are a young couple who are snatched while hitching home from a festival. When the girl bursts from the forest, emaciated and starving, at first no one believes her story that her boyfriend begged her to kill him. They assume it’s a relationship gone wrong - maybe he turned on her and she shot him in self-defence. But then two more people go missing and the authorities start to realise they’ve got a serial killer on their hands.

The police investigation is led by DI Helen Grace. Grace is possibly the best female lead I’ve ever encountered in a crime thriller. In fact she might be the only one I’ve encountered – women tend to be victims, seconds-in-command, family members or support in some way to the main male characters, the DI or private eye and the killer.

Grace is ambitious, driven, strong willed and yet dedicated and loyal to her team. She isn’t a particularly sympathetic character, which is quite refreshing. It’s nice to read a female character when the author has resisted the urge to make her likeable. She is impressive, though. If someone you loved had been murdered you’d want someone like Grace heading the investigation.

Helen Grace is possibly the best female lead I’ve ever encountered in a crime thriller – in fact she might be the only one I’ve encountered

The author has previously written screenplays, and this discipline seems to have served him well. The short chapters are episodic and told from the point of view of various characters, often Grace, but also members of her team and the victims. Each chapter manages to reveal information – and often misinformation – while keeping the reader in the dark.

The book is full of twists, and I usually pride myself on being able to work out what’s coming, but with this novel I was really kept guessing.

Overall this was a well-written, pacy thriller that provided a very enjoyable read.

Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads scheme.