Psychotherapist Mia Cosgrove puts her life in London on hold when she receives a desperate phone call from her best friend, Lysette. A friend of Lysette’s, Sarah, has plunged to her death from the top of a multi-storey car park. At first the police are convinced it’s a suicide, but when another death rocks the rural community, Mia is drawn into the increasingly dangerous investigation.

This is one of those books where I got exactly what I expected from it. I guessed it was going to be an average mystery/crime/thriller, enjoyable and easy-going, and that’s just what it is.

The story centres around Mia, who, despite having a vested personal interest in the tragedy, is asked to provide support as a psychotherapist to those who have been affected by Sarah’s death. She is drawn into Sarah’s close group of friends, who all seem to be hiding something, and she finds herself more and more determined to find out what really happened.

I loved that this book was all about female characters, their close and often complicated relationships, their attitudes towards themselves and others, their struggle to appear to be coping even when things are going disastrously wrong. Many of them aren’t exactly likeable, but they are sympathetic all the same. Moran gives you just enough information about them to inspire your empathy while holding enough back to make sure you’re never certain what they are going to do next.

Although it is billed as a thriller I’d say this book reads more like a drama. Rather than building up to some big shocking reveal at the end of the book, Moran focuses on the relationships between characters and the subtle ebbs and flows in friendships. There are moments, however, when it seems Moran is unsure of her decision to make this a quieter book and her descriptions become a little artificial, as if she’s suddenly decided she wants to write a thriller instead.

Overall, however, the writing was easy to read and flowed well, with an occasional hint of brilliant insight. I particularly enjoyed the scenes between Mia and Sarah’s young son, Max, which are beautifully and sensitively written.

What irritated me was that Moran finishes every chapter with a few lines that portend doom, obviously designed to keep the reader reading. Moran could have easily cut these sentences without losing anything from the book; there was enough tension and suspense without them. The same goes for the diary entries interspersed throughout the narrative; they didn’t add anything and could easily have been cut.

The ending was satisfying and in-keeping with the tone of the book. There are no last minute twists, no over-the-top show-down. It all made sense and it all wrapped up nicely, without seeming too contrived.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something entertaining and enjoyable to switch off with. It would make an excellent holiday read, and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from Eleanor Moran in the future.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.