Ask No Questions

In Claire Allan’s Ask No Questions, this crime thriller is twisted and dark in nature. Twenty-five years ago, ten-year-old Kelly Doherty went missing and wounded up dead in Derry Ireland. It shocked the small village town of Creggan as they mourned the death. Now in late October 1999, Ingrid Devlin, one of Kelly’s former classmates, is reporting the anniversary of her death for the local newspaper. While she tried not to sensationalize the story by bringing up the past, she snooped around for answers on what happened to her. It all started when she talked to Jamesy Harte, who’s been released from prison, and always believed in his innocence. He became the town’s pariah when people called him vicious names like a pervert. But as Ingrid digs deeper for the truth, she’s become a target of threats to warn her to keep her mouth shut. She already felt the heat from her boss, Ryan Murray, who didn’t want her to print the story, though she believes he might be holding something back. For two brothers, Declan and Niall Heaney, it told a different story since they were the ones who discovered her dead body. It forever had changed their lives. Niall had a sober life and a successful career as a teacher, while Declan had run-ins with the law and a drinking problem. When Ingrid talked to them about the murder, one brother painted the other in a dark corner. One of them knew the whole story. As she continued to push for answers, more bad things happened to her and to the Doherty family. In the end, she discovered the truth on what really happened when she fought for her life to solve the biggest mystery of them all.

This twisted crime thriller would have you on your tenterhooks from start to finish. So many twists and turns and red herrings would have you guessing who had really done it. I really cared for Ingrid, who really wanted to stop at nothing to get the truth, even if her boss stood in the way. And she wouldn’t let threats or other heeded warnings affect her integrity to get to the heart of the story. I did feel bad for Declan, who had a troubled life, while he secretly idolized his twin brother’s successes, though he might had something to hide in the end. The dual locations of Derry and Creggan had brought some charm and mystique to the story. The theme of the story is honesty is the best policy while little white lies would find its way out into the open.

This dark crime thriller will give you goosebumps even after you finish reading the book. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on the storyline since it had a fictional true crime vibe. I rated this book, four out of five stars since it was so good. If you love dark psychological thrillers with heart-stopping and breath-taking moments with non-stop action, plenty of suspense, and lots of nail-biting drama, Ask No Questions is the one for you. This book is recommended if you love reading Tana French’s and Tawny O’Dell’s thrillers, or watching dramatic thrillers on TV or in the movies.