As Detective Inspector Marnie Rome examines the horrific
photographs spread out on OCU Commander Tim Welland's desk,
the young Detective Sergeant Noah Jake assigned to her can't
help but admire her toughness and backbone. How could she
be so strong? Noah can't even begin to guess at the secrets
the DI holds so very tightly locked inside her.
Marnie's boss Tim and Ed Belloc, a victim support worker,
are the only people Marnie will even talk to about her past
and the horrific murder of Marnie's parents five years
earlier and even they are gated from many of Marnie's
secrets.
Now, a rising star in London's police force, Marnie and
Noah have been tasked with a daunting assignment to see if
they can get Ayana Mirza to testify against her brothers.
Just as they arrive at a women's shelter in Finchley, they
come upon a stabbing incident between Hope Proctor and her
husband, Leo, with the weapon still at the scene. But, what
is not so clear is who is the victim and who is guilty? As
Marnie's and Noah's attention gets diverted by this new
situation, the woman they have come to see soon disappears.
What could have happened to her? Will they be able to find
her again?
SOMEONE ELSE'S SKIN is the debut novel by Sarah Hilary from
Bath, England and this first book is a very impressive start
to what I imagine and hope will be an incredibly good series
featuring Detective Inspector Marnie Rome. Within seconds of
opening the cover and reading, Hilary instantly plunges you
right into a startling scene and holds you with its gripping
action. From the first description of events, both from the
five years previous, then to the present time, your
attention never lets up despite all the shocking visceral
pain and violence described in this deftly written complex
and multilayered story involving various situations of
domestic abuse.
Hilary has a wonderful sense of giving just the right amount
of detail to have the characters and scenes in SOMEONE
ELSE'S SKIN instantly spring to life while not overloading
the descriptions. I particularly enjoy how she interweaves
some of the findings from the research done by Christopher
Chabris and Daniel Simons in The Invisible Gorilla to give
insight into what the women "saw" as they give their
statements. Having been familiar with that work, it made
the story very credible and I would encourage anyone to
research it on the Internet and see the short research film
involving the gorilla. It definitely highlights that what
seems the truth on the surface can be influenced by other
factors. Hilary then very dramatically portrays how and why
the investigative team of Rome and Jake have difficulty
pinning down the illusive wisps of truth and the dangers
that resulted from miscues.
For a debut author, Hilary is definitely first-rate in her
development of her various characters as their reactions and
motivations are so true to their characters. Hilary's
talents are particular strong in developing Marnie as the
main protagonist. She is tough, yet vulnerable, complicated
and brilliant in her policing instincts; yet, due to her
horrific experiences, not the best of communicators and
tends to keep things to herself making her less than
perfect. Noah Jake is also a terrific character with great
potential for any forthcoming books. He suffers his own
array of slings and arrows as he is Jamaican by origin and
is happily involved in a gay relationship.
If you like unusual police related stories that examine not
only the how and why of crimes as well as policing
procedurals, you will definitely want to delve into SOMEONE
ELSE'S SKIN and probe the evils resident in the dark side of
human behaviour, especially those enjoying sadistic
behaviours and other relationship crimes. SOMEONE ELSE'S
SKIN can be a tough and twisted read at times for some
readers (including me), but it is ever harder to put down!
Definitely SOMEONE ELSE'S SKIN is a debut novel not to be
missed!
The debut of an exciting new series for fans of Sophie
Hannah, Kate Atkinson, and Tana French
No two victims are alike.
DI Marnie Rome knows this better than most. Five years ago,
her family home was the scene of a shocking and bloody crime
that left her parents dead and her foster brother in prison.
Marnie doesn’t talk much about her personal life, preferring
to focus on work. Not even her partner, DS Noah Jake, knows
much about Marnie’s past. Though as one of the few gay
officers on the force and half Jamaican to boot, Noah’s not
one to overshare about his private life either. Now Marnie
and Noah are tackling a case of domestic violence, and a
different brand of victim.
Hope Proctor stabbed her husband in desperate self-defense.
A crowd of witnesses in the domestic violence shelter where
she’s staying saw it happen, but none of them are telling
quite the same story, and the simple question remains: how
did Leo Proctor get in to the secure shelter? Marnie and
Noah shouldn’t even have been there when it happened but
they were interviewing another resident, Ayana Mirza.
They’re trying to get Ayana to testify against her brothers
for pouring bleach on her face for bringing dishonor the
family, and blinding her in one eye. But Ayana knows that
her brothers are looking for her, and she has no doubt that
they’ll kill her this time.
As the violence spirals, engulfing the residents of the
women's shelter, Marnie finds herself drawn into familiar
territory: A place where the past casts long shadows and she
must tread carefully to survive.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy