The Bad Things – Mary-Jane Riley
Alex Devlin’s life changed forever fifteen years ago when her sister Sasha’s two small children were snatched in broad daylight. Little Harry’s body was found a few days later, but Millie’s remains were never discovered.
Now Jackie Wood, jailed as an accessory to the twins’ murder, has been released, her conviction quashed by the Appeal Court. Convinced Jackie can reveal where Millie is buried, Alex goes to meet her.
But the unexpected information Wood reveals shocks Alex to the core and threatens to uncover the dark secret she has managed to keep under wraps for the past fifteen years. Because in the end, can we ever really know what is in the hearts of those closest to us?
My thanks to the Killer Reads team, I received a review copy through Netgalley
Alex Devlin is a journalist – as we join her at the start of the story it seems she is struggling to bring up her teenage son on her own with a very limited budget. Her son is unhappy as he wants to join his friends on a school trip, for Alex it just seems a cost too far. An argument seems likely but Alex’s world is suddenly turned upside down when she hears a news bulletin announcing Jackie Wood has been released from prison after 15 years…the woman who was an accessory to the murder of Alex’s niece and nephew – twins who were not even of school age.
A harrowing event in the life of Alex and her family and one that will now have to be confronted again. Alex wants to meet Jackie Wood – interview her – and (hopefully) find what happened that fateful day when her nephew Harry died and his sister Millie disappeared. But before any meeting can take place Alex has to face her own sister, the grief that Alex is feeling is 100 times worse for the twins mother.
As The Bad Things unfold we are given a greater insight into the terrible feeling of loss that the family suffered. But the story does not just focus on the family – another key player in the events in The Bad Things is Detective Inspector Kate Todd. She was a young police officer when Jackie Wood was arrested and has made her way up the ranks, however, the memory of finding young Harry’s body has left a lasting impression on Kate and which still impacting upon her personal life.
A domestic thriller which is handled with splendid sensitivity by Mary-Jane Riley. The events at the core of The Bad Things, a murdered child and his missing sibling, make for hard reading for any parent but at no stage do you feel there is an attempt to reach for a shock factor. It is the emotion amongst the survivors which carries the story so well.
I found The Bad Things to be a gripping story, there are layers of deception to be peeled back and one or two mysterious characters floating about where you are not quite sure how they may feature in the plot. The author teases out clues and reveals which made it harder for me to be confident I knew where the story was heading. Too hard it seems as my best attempts at solving the 15 year old mystery were miles away from accurate.
Well written, nicely paced and downright disturbing at times – The Bad Things is one to watch out for.
The Bad Things is available in paperback and digital format: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y7ME6F2?keywords=the%20bad%20things&qid=1448840246&ref_=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1&sr=8-1