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Sunday 27 April 2014

Lucie Whitehouse - Before We Met

Review written by Corinna Christopher & read live on the bookshow 24th April 2014


This engrossing book is full of twisty tensions and I can't wait to read another from this author.

It commences with newly-married Hannah waiting for her husband Mark at Heathrow.  He is coming from New York and does not turn up.  Hannah tries to contact him for quite some time with no success.  Eventually he rings with some slightly implausible reason why he missed the plane, but Hannah who at this stage has no cause to not believe him is only keen to see him since she adores her new husband. 

Mark has built up a successful business known as DataPro with head office in London.  He had met Hannah in New York where she had a good career and in her thirties was quite independent.  Mark had swept her off her feet and she decided to move back to London with him. They lived in an expensive property and Mark seemed to have plenty of money.

As the story develops there are little niggles in Hannah's mind and she decides that really she does not know much about her husbands background.  On questioning Mark he reveals that he has a brother Nick who is portrayed as a bad egg and is currently in  prison.    Their parents had died some time ago.

At one stage Hannah visits Mark's office to try and locate a box file with all their personal details which seems to have disappeared .  To her astonishment she discovers that the considerable amount she had accrued in her bank account had been transferred to Mark's bank.  Mark had of course a very good account of the reason why.  Even when Hannah learnt  that Mark's parents were alive and well and living in Eastbourne alarm bells should have rung.  He was obviously a very good liar but surely there must be a plausible explanation!!

I will not reveal more since it would spoil this excellent drama.  It is a gripping story and a real page turner.  Thrillers set within a marriage are a booming sub-genre.

The author read classics at Oxford University and now lives in New York.





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