Blair Butler is successful, clever and has a brilliant career and she moved away from her family home some years ago. Her sister, Celeste’s life has not been so successful. She has a son and she has lived in her father’s house and under his strict control. It was not a happy home. Blair is summoned to her dying sister’s bedside where she reveals a guilty secret that she begs Blair to resolve. Many years ago Blair and her friend Molly came home to play but her grandfather was cross and told Molly she had to go home. Despite the pouring rain and the walk through the gathering dark through the woods, Molly set off. Her body was found some days later and Adrian Jones was convicted of her murder and has spent 15 years in jail. And the secret? Celeste had been with Adrian in his car and they had dropped Molly home because of the rain, but Celeste never gave Adrian an alibi. Why? Fear of her father.

So, was it a good read? It wasn’t an exciting page turning experience. I don’t know how I feel about the characters (except for the father) but I’m not intrigued by them – except how could you not give the alibi? Having said all that, I did enjoy it. It held together well and there were some surprises and like a good meal, I felt well served when I completed the book.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I always enjoy books by Patricia McDonald. This is a very well written mystery with several twist and turns. I was surprised to find out who Molly's killer was

A little girl dies in the woods on the way home from her best friend's house. Years later, her best friend Blair Butler returns to her home town to see her dying sister. On her deathbed, her sister tells her a secret which sends Blair on a mission to find out what really happened to her friend all those years ago.

The plot of the book is pretty good; there is a good story and the author follows it through quite well with a couple of twists. Although I have to say I guessed almost straight away what the ending would be more or less, but there were a couple of little surprises. The background story of the protagonist, Blair, is also quite good. The story of her and her sister being brought up by their Nazi-loving, grumpy old uncle definitely brought some depth to the story.

However, for me that's where the depth begins and ends unfortunately. I found the writing to be a little bit stuttering and struggled to get into the author's style. I didn't really feel like any of the characters were brought to life; it was almost like getting a generic character card for each one and that's where it ended. The interaction between the characters was also strange because Blair was a little bit awkward, she is a loner and doesn't know many people in town, so there was no connection there. I didn't really see the point of setting her up with this new, important and successful job in the big city, only to have her pretty much ignore it completely, and it had nothing to do with anything whatsoever. It was just a character fail for me - I think I was meant to feel something for Blair but I just didn't really care about her at all.

All in all, it was an okay read, but it was a bit predictable and I wanted it to be a lot more tense and exciting. The story wasn't bad, but I wouldn't rush to read anything by this author again, and I wouldn't rush to recommend it to anyone.

Blair’s best friend Molly was murdered 15 years ago and a man has been in prison for her killing. On her death bed Blair’s sister Celeste confesses that she lied to the police all those years ago. The man convicted claimed that Celeste was with him when they picked Molly up to give her a ride home and they dropped her off at her driveway. Celeste denied being with him, but now she tells her sister she lied because she was afraid of her Uncle. Blair promises her sister she will right the wrong done to the man convicted, but the police aren’t interested. The case is closed as far as they are concerned.

This is a great psychological thriller! I couldn’t put the book down! I had my suspicions about the guilty party toward the end of the book but there was much more to it than I realized. Well worth the time for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Great read that held my interest. Truly enjoyed the story and didn't expect what was going to happen until maybe the last 1/4 of the book or so. Well-worth the read!

Blair Butler has reluctantly returned home to say goodbye to her terminally ill sister. She’s blown away when her sister share a secret she’s been keeping for 15 years. Celeste confesses that the man who killed Blair’s best friend Molly is not the man who has been jailed for the crime. Following her sister’s last wish, Blair sets out to uncover the truth about what happened to Molly, not knowing the answer will shake the foundations of her world. A tense, nail biter that readers of the genre will enjoy