Saturday 7 January 2017

What Remains of Me by A.L. Gaylin Book Review



BLURB

People don't need to know you're a murderer.
They just have to think you could be...

June 1980: 17-year-old Kelly Lund is jailed for killing Hollywood film director, John McFadden

Thirty years later, Kelly is a free woman. Yet speculation still swirls over what really happened that night.

And when her father-in law, and close friend of McFadden is found dead - shot through the head at point-blank range - there can only be one suspect.

But this time Kelly has some high-profile friends who believe she's innocent of both crimes.

But is she?

'You'll stay up late to read this' Laura Lippmann

'Full of crackling energy and heartache' Megan Abbott

'An exceptional book by an exceptional writer' Alex Marwood


MY THOUGHTS


In this new novel by A. L. Gaylin, she puts a dark spin on the world of Hollywood, peeling back the facade of the glitz and fame to reveal a dark undertone of lies and deceit.

What Remains of Me is told over two timelines, in 1980 and in 2010. In 1980, Kelly Lund has befriended Bellamy Marshall the daughter of a famous actor. Kelly is amazed at this new, glamorous world that she finds herself in; but things soon begin to spiral downwards for Kelly when she learns some dark truths that have been buried for a long time. The big question at the heart of this novel is what happened on the night that Kelly Lund supposedly pulled the trigger and shot John McFadden, an award winning film director and Bellamy’s father’s best friend? Is Kelly really guilty? 

After her release in 2006, Kelly tries her best to make the most of her new life outside of prison; but in 2010, Sterling Marshall, now her father-in-law, is found dead in his study. Again, Kelly must face the possibility of being a suspect in another high profile murder and another prison sentence looms in the distance.  

The dialogue in this book was superb, I wasn’t particularly a fan of Bellamy but I really liked Kelly and I definitely think that she was my favourite character from the book; I knew straight away that I was going to like her. My opinion of Bellamy did change though as the novel progressed, and at the very end she shows her true colours. 

I really enjoyed reading this book, A. L. Gaylin knows how to keep her readers engaged and she is an author who takes you on a twisty ride and knows how to pull it off. I would definitely recommend this one.

Publisher: Arrow 

Print length: 400 pages

Publication date; 1st December 206




No comments:

Post a Comment