I was a little hesitant to read this novel because I hadn’t enjoyed The Perfect Girl. However, let it never be said that I am prejudiced against an author or their work; I always try to read at least one more book by that author to see whether I can gel with the author’s storytelling style. I was also intrigued because this book has been doing very well and was recommended to me by a bunch of different people. Here is my review:
Synopsis (Goodreads): Best friends Noah Sandler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable. But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened.
Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now assigned to look into this unfortunate accident. But tragedy strikes and what looked like the simple case of a prank gone wrong soon ignites into a public battle. Noah is British. Abdi is a Somali refugee. And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. Neither of them know how far they will have to go, what demons they will have to face, what pain they will have to suffer.
Because the truth hurts.
My review: At first, I struggled with the novel. The story was slow-going in the beginning, even though it takes place after the accident. I didn’t really know where the author wanted to take the story and quite a lot of time was taken to set the stage. While it didn’t make sense then, it certainly does now.
There were quite a few perspectives that this story was written from but one main one was that of Jim Clemo, the detective in charge of the investigation. Apart from his character, we also get to read from Noah’s perspective, Abdi’s family’s perspective, and finally, from Abdi himself. I thought this was a very interesting way to write the story, especially since there was no real order to the rotation of the different voices. I had my favourite voices, of course, but my actual opinion on this technique is split. On the one hand, it allowed me to see the situation from different eyes. However, I also didn’t always feel like I got to understand the characters themselves. It was definitely a unique way to present the story, and in the end, it did work.
I liked most of the characters in the story, regardless of whether their role was positive or negative. However, the one character I really didn’t care for was Jim Clemo. I didn’t think there was much of a personality, and I didn’t really want to learn too much about his side story.
The main story itself was a lot more complex than how it was first portrayed. This isn’t just about culpability and who did what. This was about the struggle to be an immigrant, the struggle of being a part of the life of a sick child. There were issues with the media and the way that it can warp the findings of a case. This novel even showed some insight into the way trauma and PTSD can affect a person’s life in the long-term. Even though I wasn’t able to get into the novel in the beginning, the complexity and depth of all of these issues quickly made me change my mind and I found myself appreciative of the effort the author put into talking about these different topics. By the end of the novel, I was hooked and I found the ending to surpass all my expectations. This novel gets a solid 4/5 stars from me!
Happy reading ~
Not sure if this book is for me. I haven’t read The Perfect Girl,but did read her first novel. Great review.
Thanks so much! It’s definitely not a book for everyone and I think that, while it was worth it in the end, it was only through sheer willpower that I finished it