He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly Book Review

BLURB

The perfect read for fans of Disclaimer, In a Dark Dark Wood and Apple Tree Yard. Who do you believe? 

In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack.

She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, it is not only the victim's life that is changed forever.

Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear.

And while Laura knows she was right to speak out, the events that follow have taught her that you can never see the whole picture: something - and someone - is always in the dark...

MY THOUGHTS

I only discovered Erin Kelly earlier this year after reading her debut novel The Poison Tree which was released back in 2010. I loved the characters and the depth she gave them in her first novel and I particularly felt that with Laura and Kit in He Said/She Said. Her writing is going from strength to strength!

Laura and Kit are eclipse chasers. Kit has been obsessed with the stars and astrology since he was a child and he has made it his lifelong mission to witness every eclipse he possibly can, even it means travelling across continents. I loved Erin’s unique idea of using this as a backdrop for the story which fed into every part of the book. I felt that it really gave the novel a spooky atmosphere, giving you the sense that anything can happen when the world turns dark. He Said/She Said is a very atmospheric piece of work.

When Laura and Kit stumble across a violent act on a young woman during an eclipse festival in Cornwall in 1999 they have no idea how much of an emotional impact that this chance meeting will have on the rest of their lives. This, in my opinion, is where Kelly’s writing is at its finest when she entwines her character’s lives; this idea reminds us that we don’t really know what is going to happen around the corner and that the future is full of uncertainty.

I think my favourite scenes from this book were the court room scenes in which Laura and Kit and the victim, come under fire from the defendants lawyer. I have watched many courtroom dramas on TV, but I still find it shocking to see how these people can attack a victim of a heinous crime; what I can never quite get my head around is how they are allowed to get away with it.

The only scenes I did find a little slow to get through was when Kit was on board the Princess Celeste in today’s time period. But Erin built up the tension marvelously and she made me question what had happened with her characters in the last fifteen years to get them to this point. I raced through the second half of the book as the novel drew towards its climatic close.

I’m sure that He Said/She Said will be one of THE books of 2017 that everyone will be talking about and it deserves to be a hit. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book to review. He Said/She Said is out in April 2017. 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Print length: 416 pages

Publication date: 20th April 2017

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