The Perfect Victim: A picture tells a thousand lies . . .

I am going to avoid talking about the plot here because it is full of twists and turns and little things that you are introduced to don't reveal their true significance for, in some cases, a hundred pages or so. The author also takes you down some darn plausible blind alleys so the denouement is all the more satisfying when it rolls right in. The blurb makes much of the social media perfection of the couple at the centre of the tale. However, this is only a minor sideroad and one that did initially put me off reading the book. I am so glad that I decided to ignore the blurb and power right in as it is a glorious tale that reads very true to life. It shows exceptionally well how the private "us" is very different to the work "us" and the social media "us". It also shows the frustrations of both police investigation and journalism very well. The characters are well formed and never manage to quite slip into cliche. The hard-bitten crime reporter suffers panic attacks and doesn't believe she is above the law. The wedding planner is a touch neurotic and a proven fantasist. The police are flawed people but not the mavericks so often seen in this genre of novel. There is a lot going here but it is woven skillfully together leaving you feeling satisfied and a little shocked at the end of the book. If you enjoy crime novels this has to go on your MUST read list and not your TO read list. I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Got a bit bored with it as didn't finish it😕