review by Maryom
When TV news reporter Rachel Walsh is sent back to her home town to cover a missing person story, she isn't expecting to become part of it. But the missing person is Clara, her best friend from secondary school. Back then, they were inseparable and although they've had their ups and downs since then they were still bound together. At least that's what Rachel thought till she starts to uncover the strange things that happened on the night of Clara's disappearance - the night they'd arranged to meet up. If only Clara had turned up on time or Rachel waited just that bit longer for her... When CCTV sightings of Clara on that evening turn up, Rachel begins to wonder just how well she knew her friend..
Precious Thing is the debut novel by Colette McBeth. She's a former news reporter herself so knows how to capture the atmosphere of busy newsrooms or suspects' homes besieged by cameramen.
I wasn't so sure about characterisation. The story is told in the first person by Rachel, so everything we learn is filtered through her. Unfortunately I didn't really 'take' to Rachel. The 'blurb' on the cover - "No one is ever who they appear to be. Not me. Not you." - made me distrust Rachel as much as she distrusted Clara and the version of events being presented to the police. Even so she seemed to make a lot of noise about Clara's disappearance yet not really care, other than in its effects on herself - and I couldn't decide if this was deliberate on behalf of the author or not.
All in all though Precious Thing is a fast paced psychological thriller, one that should appeal to the fans of Gone Girl.
Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult Psychological Crime Thriller
Buy Precious Thing
from Amazon
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