I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of Did You See Melody, a stand-alone novel set in a luxury resort in Arizona.

Cara Burrows takes a solo holiday without telling her family to mull over some problems. Tired and miserable, she discovers her room is already occupied by a man and a teenager. The next day, after overhearing another conversation, she realises the teenager might have been Melody Chapa whose parents are in jail for her murder.

After an initial slow start to the story, it really picked up and I found it compulsive reading until the end where a couple of really good twists.

Cara arrived in America never having heard of Melody Chappa so when her interest is aroused, she searches the Internet, especially the show Justice with Bonnie, where ex prosecutor Bonnie Juno almost singlehandedly got Melody's parents convicted. Much of this is reprinted verbatim in the novel. As I said it is fascinating how Bonnie twists the facts to suit her agenda and bullies her interviewees into agreeing with her. It is a recognisable technique taken to extremes and is incredibly well done.

I liked the characterisation as well. Cara is authentically written. Her problems might be a bit first world but are real to her and something most of us can identify with. Tarin and Zellie Fry, the American mother and daughter she meets are a hoot. Tarin is an overconfident florist from Kansas with an opinion on everything, often what most of us would like to say but don't; whereas Zellie is her sarcastic apologist. They steal the show although Cara has her moments. I didn't expect the novel to be funny but it is and it's done naturally and well.

I thoroughly enjoyed Did You See Melody and have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.

Interesting who done it.

Not a typical Hannah story, with likeness to 'that' famous missing girl case.

Cara stumbles into a hotel room late one night after a horrific long haul flight and sees a girl .Realising she had been given the key to an otherwise occupied room, she apologises and leaves. Later the next day, she overhears someone saying they have seen the girl, and the the girl is in fact missing, presumed dead. Did she really see Melody, or has she just an overactive imagination?

This book kept me guessing until the end. Gripping and twisting. Perfect summer read.

The blurb:

Pushed to 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?

This book jumps a bit from one timeline to another, but is an enjoyable book. 4*

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't what I was expecting. That isn't a bad thing but I think it took me a while to get into it. For me it was a book of two halves. The first half was a bit slow for me which is not a bad thing as I think it can really ramp up the second half.

It did!

The second half of the book for me really flew by and I was eager to uncover the truth about what really had happened to Melody. You are treated to diary extracts so you are sort of aware of what is going on but also not if you get what I mean.

The ending was excellent though and really surprised me. I have enjoyed some of Sophie Hannah's previous books and particularly like the Hercule Poirot books she has taken on so this was something different. Never a bad thing.

I actually feel a bit like I've just been on vacation at this 5 star spa resort in Arizona and love the idea of pressing a button to summon a waiter or a club car. Cara didn't quite get the break she had planned though. There was a light hearted almost comical feel to some of this but I felt the author pulled it back from becoming farcical. (Reminded me of Death in Paradise tv show). The sections about the murder investigation and the role of media in it sadly seemed all too lifelike. I enjoyed reading this book and what an ending!

Loved this book. Really enjoyable read. I laughed, I was shocked and the ending I did not see that coming. Cara the main character, I really liked her. I loved the am in a huff so am off to America to decide what to say next. I loved the way she got so involved looking up information about Melody and trying to read everything she could. I really liked Tarin Fry she was hysterical and a sterotypical American. Bonnie Juno I did not like one bit even once I had discovered her role in everything she still irked me. And Melody poor Melody, was she badly treated by her real parents or did the Reville's just make it all up to have Melody as there own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. First book I have read by Sophie Hannah and I look forward to reading her previous books.

Cara Burrows has problems that she feels unable to sort out in the maelstrom of daily life, so she withdraws the family savings and leaves her husband and two teenage kids behind, and flies to a luxury spa resort in Arizona.

On arrival at the resort she is mistakenly given the keys to a room that is already occupied by a man and a teenage girl. The next day Cara hears a conversation about the sighting of a girl called Melody Chapa who was thought to have been murdered some years before, though her body was never found. The girl's parents we're charged with her murder and are serving a prison sentence. There have been numerous reported sightings in the past, but they've all been discounted. However, Cara is convinced that the teenage girl she saw the previous night is none other than Melody Chapa, and it's at this point that the story really takes off.

I wasn't sure initially that I was going to like this one. As I started reading, it felt to me more like chick-lit, but then it quickly veered in another direction to the psychological thriller that I was expecting, and at that stage I was hooked!

The characterisation was great, the plot was well paced and had plenty of twists to ensure interest was maintained and just for good measure, there was a cracking ending!

* Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Loved this book, can't say too much but OMG...

The book begins when Cara goes to Arizona to escape her family, checks into her hotel room, sees a girl and a guy, but did she see them?

The girl is missing presumed dead and has been for years, so did she see Melody??

You'll have to read it and find out!!!!!

This was an ok book and I would recommend this one but not sure I would look out for more. Storyline was good but was disappointed with the ending.

Cara Burrows escapes from her husband and 2 children to a spa resort in Arizona while wrestling with a major issue in her life. Two blissful weeks of pampering come to an abrupt halt when she inadvertently finds herself mixed up with a major crime story that has had America enthralled for the past 7 years. The characters were somewhat irritating and I couldn't warm to any of them. I felt that some of their behaviours were a little extreme, even for America. I saw through a certain character almost immediately and would have preferred for the outcome to have been different - I enjoy being proved wrong! The ending too could have answered a few more questions, rather than leave the reader unsatisfied. Having said that the plot was quite clever and well worked out, albeit a little far fetched.

I have heard a lot about Sophie Hannah but this is the first book I read by her. It is a book that flows well and it has been a pleasure to read, I finished it over a weekend.

Cara is a British woman who, to solve some family issues, decides to escape from her family for two weeks. She decides to spend her savings on a holiday in a luxury resort in Arizona. Here, because of a mistake made by the receptionist she ends up in the wrong room which is already occupied by a man and a teenage girl.

This is a start of a series of events that sees Cara involved in the unsolved murder case of Melody Chapa who disappeared and assumed dead seven years earlier. The case caused a huge sensation at the time and we learn of the case through media and TV programmes extracts. Partly the book is looking at the way crimes are dealt with by the media and how trials often happen publicly and not only in courts, as they should be. Therefore this book is a bit deeper than your average psychological thriller.

Furthermore, the characters are also quite humourous, especially Tarin the florist with his young daughter or the receptionist. These are not the usual characters found in your average psychological thriller who I think they often take themselves far too seriously. If you expect your typical thriller, you might be disappointed then. But this book has lots of twists and the plots moves in unexpected ways. Unlike many other psychological thriller, which are often quite predictable, you don't know where it is going and the end will surprise more than once, right to the very last paragraph.
Easy read but not a trivial read.

I found this book really disappointing. The premise was great but overall it was too unbelievable to seem real. The characters didn't ring true and there was so much more that could have been done with the initial idea.
Overall: disappointed

You know those books that are marketed as having a killer twist but you can see it coming a mile off? Well THIS ending grabs you by the throat and leaves you breathless. And that's after a book that's so compelling you have to read it in one sitting. Sophie Hannah at her best!

This book was brilliant, I cannot believe I had never discovered the author before this! It's has a strange mix of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock atmosphere to it- revolving around Cara Burrows spontaneous holiday to Arizona! She see and hears something that leads her to believe that a long dead girl, believed to have been murdered by her folks: though she was never found, is in fact alive and kicking! Did Cara really see Melody? Well I really enjoyed finding out, a really well developed plot, tight writing and characters that seem alive! Sophie Hannah has talent and I'm going to be checking out her previous book!

This is my first Sophie Hannah book and I can honestly say it won’t be my last. This is definitely a book for lazing on a sun lounger. A good easy read.

What would you do if you walk into your hotel room only to be faced with the most famous dead person alive, Melody Chapa? Well that’s exactly what happens to Cara Burrows late one night after being pushed to the edge she ups and leaves the family home and checks into a five star spa resort using a chunk of her life savings.

What is the story here? Why would a young girl fake her own death? What secrets is she hiding? Should Cara get involved even though she knows that she could put herself in danger?

Read for an honest review thank you Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton

Unbelievable.(and not in a good way). I always look forward to Sophie Hannah's books, and I always have to remind myself that the characters are not likeable or have awful names (why call someone in previous books 'Kombothekra' when the reader's mind has to pronounce it each time?)
I find that the plots are interesting and I really enjoy them - but then they are always very slightly unrealistic.
This one wasn't for me, not believable.

An interesting read - almost chick-lit style at first but then it turned into a real page turner thriller. Cara takes her family savings and goes off to have time to herself at a remote and expensive resort - to find herself, I guess. She becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding several sightings of a girl supposedly murdered by her parents a few years ago. The plot develops really quickly and there are some clever twists and turns before we finally learn the truth.

An excellent read - would thoroughly recommend. Too clever! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy.

Enjoyable read! Story progressed at a good pace, kept me turning the pages to find out just exactly what was going on...

I always enjoy reading Sophie Hannah and this didn’t disappoint me. The main character, Cara, has just found she is pregnant with her third child. However, her husband and two teenagers are not happy about it. She decides to take off to the most amazing spa/hotel in Arizona for two weeks but doesn’t tell her family. Instead of the relaxing break she is expecting she is caught up in a murder which is supposed to have taken place many years before. Her husband manages to find out where she is and comes to take her home but she disappears. There are many strands to the story which culminate in an unexpected twist at the end!