Little Black Lies by Sharon BoltonI read this book in a day. I got home from work and sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea and this book to pass time before dinner. When I finally looked up and away from the page, the sun was rising.
Every sentence was perfect.
The book is set in the Falkland Islands, twelve years after the war with Argentina. It’s a very small community surrounded by a beautiful but dangerous landscape, so when a child goes missing, everyone assumes it must have been a terrible tragedy. But then another child goes missing, and then another. Suddenly an accident doesn’t seem so likely. The town slowly descend into mass hysteria with everyone trying to help or find someone to blame. Even Catrin Quinn, the island recluse, ends up involved in the searches.
Catrin wasn’t always a recluse. She used to have a happy life: a husband, two lively sons, and a best friend. Catrin and Rachel have been best friends since childhood. Whenever one would go, the other would follow. They were more like sisters than friends. Until the day Rachel accidentally killed both of Catrin sons in a horrible accident. Now Catrin bears only a passing resemblance to her old vivacious and compassionate self. All she feels nowadays is hate and anger and a terrible hunger for revenge.
Living in the small and remote community, Catrin can never escape seeing her former best friend. She sees her in the local dinner laughing and holding her third son. She sees Rachel’s other three sons playing in their backyard, alone and vulnerable…
To say that this book is a page turner is an understatement. Bolton is a master when creating suspense. There was never a good stopping point in this book, and it just kept getting better and better. If you like mysteries and suspense, this is the book for you.