Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah

Book Review

"If I could turn and run, I would. Run back home, however long it took."

Did You See Melody? will be released on August 24th. It is written by Sophie Hannah and published by Hodder & Stoughton.

Did You See Melody was one of those books that I was really immersed in when I was reading, but once I put it down the story left me quickly and I wasn't particularly inclined to pick the book up again. Some books are like that; intriguing but not memorable.


BLURB
Pushed to the breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her home and family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl.

A simple mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw alive and well in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: the most famous murder victim in the country, Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder.

Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody? And is she prepared to ask herself that question and answer it honestly if it means risking her own life?

Like my previous review of The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, this is a novel by an author famous for writing 'sequels' to a well known detective series. Sophie Hannah has written Closed Casket and The Monogram Murders, follow-ons to Agatha Christie's Poirot novels. I'm not really sure how I feel about these sequels, but I have wanted to read them for a while as a big Christie fan. However, now I'm not so sure. While Did You See Melody is a twisty thriller with an unexpected ending, I didn't enjoy the writing style. It was a bit, and I don't like using this phrase much as it's been invented by men for anything that even vaguely focuses on 'women's issues', Chick-Lit.
The beginning of Did You See Melody read a little like a Katie Fforde novel about a woman going on holiday to find herself, fine if you like that sort of thing but it's not really my style.
I also wasn't particularly drawn to Cara's story, I didn't connect with her very much; there was a lot of her inner dialogue yet it all seemed a bit shallow.

I don't like writing nasty reviews; this isn't a bad book I just think the writing style isn't for me.

I did however, find the plot, while slightly ridiculous at times, intriguing and full of twists. Hannah also explores how the media reacts to a high profile missing child case and the conspiracy theories, accusations and high emotions that can surround it. I found these aspects fascinating.

As I said, when I  was reading Did You See Melody I was pulled in; the setting and the story of a missing girl was one that seemed quite fresh, I just wasn't compelled to read it again once I put it down.

Kudos to Sohpie Hannah for a twist ending though, I did not see that one coming.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a copy of Did You See Melody via NetGalley in return for an honest review, my thanks to the author and publisher.

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