Did You See Melody by Sophie Hannah Book Review

BLURB

Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl.

A simply mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder.

Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody? And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life?

MY THOUGHTS

I loved Did You See Melody. I’m ashamed to say that this is the first novel by Sophie Hannah that I have read but I will definitely be reading her other novels and I can now say that I am a big fan of her writing. Did You See Melody is a fast paced one sitting read, once you start you won’t be able to stop. 

Cara Burrows arrives in the middle of the night at a five star resort in Arizona. She has left her family behind in England and has come to America to help herself make an important decision about her marriage. But when she is sent to the wrong room upon her arrival at the hotel she has no idea how this will impact on her stay at the resort. As she settles into her new surroundings she comes across a seven year old mystery that still haunts America. A young girl went missing in 2010, her parents were charged for her murder but the young girl, Melody Chapa was never found. And now there have been three sightings of her at the resort where Cara is staying and Cara is convinced that she has seen her. Is it possible that she could still be alive?

I started reading this book on a Saturday morning and by the end of the day I had read 210 pages. I nearly missed my stop on the train because I didn’t want to stop reading. Sophie Hannah grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let you go until you have turned the final page. I had to know what happened to the missing girl Melody Chapa and why, seven years after her disappearance, people were seeing her around the resort spa where Cara was staying.

I really engaged with the characters in this book. I understood Cara’s need to come to America, even if her decision making did seem a little rash, sometimes we all just need space to ourselves to breathe. There were some quirky characters too which added lightness to the book; this was particularly the case when Cara was getting to know the resort and as she became familiar with the other guests who were staying there.

There is suspense on every page of this book, from the moment that Cara arrives in America to the final, dramatic conclusion. It is psychological thriller writing at its very best.  

An excellent read, one I’m sure will be a big hit this summer, perfect for sitting around the pool with on holiday. Thank you to Louise Swannell for sending me an arc to review. 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 

Publication date: 24th August 2017

Print length: 336 pages 

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