(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Abandoned time and again by those he holds dear, Patrick Clement is forging a reputation as a forensic sculptor, helping to identify the unclaimed missing. But he can’t leave behind a remarkable summer night in 1993, spent alone on Brighton’s derelict West Pier with Black, a beautiful photography student. Patrick is haunted by the fact that no sooner did he get to know her than she disappeared from his life... Who is this girl? And where is Black, the one who got away? Decades on, while at work, Patrick is tasked with reconstructing the skull of an unidentified girl found on the pier in the 1970s – the pier he still thinks about. A crime he recalls from childhood, when his family life was in turmoil, Patrick works to discover the truth behind what has happened.

I should have known...I should have known...

I had heard so much advanced praise about this book that I knew I had to read it.

Then I read the blurb and thought "Not another crime novel full of flashbacks...?"

But people kept telling me how great this was and how I needed to read it IMMEDIATELY!

I should have listened to those voices in my head...

I have a policy that if the first 10% of a book doesn't grab me in some way - could be the plot, could be a character, or even just the style - then I don't persist. And I ignored that as well.

This book, simply, was just not very good. From cardboard characters, to annoying flashbacks (which weren't clever or necessary), to poor dialogue, I just did not get into any aspect of this book.

Sorry...


Paul
ARH