Seven Days – Robert Rutherford

Your father is on death row. You have seven days to save him. But do you want to?
Alice knows her father is guilty of many things.
He’s guilty of abandoning her.
He’s guilty of being unfaithful to her mother.
But is he guilty of murder?

Now on Death Row, he has seven days to live.
Some people want him released.
Others will kill to keep him just where he is.
Alice has only one chance to save him. But should she?

 

I received a review copy from the publishers.

 

A story which starts in Florida and transports the reader back to 2011 and gives us a front row seat to a murder. It’s a strong start to what will become a terrific read! From the US East coast we then jump forward to current day and cross the ocean to the North East of England where we meet Alice – she’s going to be the focus of our attention for the next 400 pages.

Alice is heading to work in Newcastle, once a lawer in New York she’s relocated “home” and is practicing law in England. The readers are told it is Monday and this is Day One…Alice’s sister is waiting for her at work. It isn’t a planned visit but the news her sister (Fiona) brings will turn Alice’s life upside down. Fiona has been contacted by their stepmother – Alice and Fiona’s father is on death row in the United States for a murder in 2011.  He has been told that his execution will take place in seven days time and Alice and Fiona’s stepmother has contacted his estranged daughters to let them know.

Jim Sharp maintains his innocence for the murder he’s been accused of. The jury didn’t believe him and even his lawyer isn’t trying to stop the planned execution. Alice turned her back on her father many years earlier and had no idea he had been arrested. She certainly didn’t expect to discover he was a murderer. There’s no love for her father from Alice but her stepmother has gone against Jim’s wishes and contacted his daughters to make them aware of his situation.

Almost against her will Alice finds herself on a telephone call with her father and something she learns during the call has her doubting elements of his conviction. A similar muder. In France. A second man convicted of a killing he maintains he did not commit. And in both cases the same arresting police officer.

With a seven day deadline hanging over their heads Alice begins to investigate the murder her father has been convicted of and starts asking questions which don’t previously appear to have been addressed. While the clock ticks down and various interested parties begin to slip out of the shadows, Robert Rutherford takes us on a tremenously entertaining journey to uncover the truth.

The problem I have with this review is how to share my thoughts without creeping too far into spoiler territory. This book was an absolute joy to read, the writing is slick, the pacing is spot on and each chapter is almost the perfect length to have you promising yourself there’s time for “just one more chapter”…till the next wee development or shock in the narrative. Seven Days is a story you just want to keep reading – that is never a bad thing.

Despite the week long countdown, Seven Days never felt like a race against time thriller. The countdown is always there; each chapter starts with the name of the day and how many more days there are remaining for Jim Sharp. But this isn’t a frenetic chase to a solution, there is deduction, interviews, meetings and discussions. Information is clarified, questions are raised and Alice will hunt down the answers – she’ll have help on her way but it’s her determination to get to the truth which drivers her on.

What particularly struck me was that Alice does not just turn her back on the years of hurt and anger she has felt towards her father. Despite the developments you feel that she may not always believe he could be innocent of the crimes he’s been charged with. The internal dilemma of the main character adds an extra dimension to the intensity of her investigation.

As should be clear, I had great fun reading Seven Days and would have no qualms recommending you add this to your TBR with all possible haste.

 

Seven Days is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is available now in hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/seven-days/robert-rutherford/9781399726399