Publisher

William Heinemann

Printer

Clays Ltd

Year Written/Published

2005

Country

England

ISBN

0 434 01321 8

Binding

Trade Paperback

Pages

272

Genre

Fiction/Thriller

Blurb

When Justine Fraser found herself on a semester exchange in America, she had no idea that the quirky Nicky Bennet – a brief, steamy fling – would, years later, turn out to be one of Hollywood's biggest heart-throbs. Sexy, moody, outrageous Nicky is to die for, and when he goes missing, his enigmatic suicide note spins the media into a frenzy.

Justine has been following Nicky's rise to stardom, unable to ever really let him go, and as she scans the newspaper headlines, she immediately knows that his suicide note is meant for her and her alone – a desperate plea for help and the lone clue to solving the mystery of his sudden disappearance. Leaving her job in London, she flies to America to find him. Slowly piecing together the fragments of Nicky's life and their history together, she makes the startling discovery that the Nicky Bennet she is looking for may turn out to be an entirely different person from the one she fell in love with. Too late to turn back, she has no choice but to finish a journey that can only lead to betrayal, violence and revenge.

My Opinion

Disturbing and full of misconceptions, I found myself wanting to finish this book just to find out if my suspicions were correct. They were – this is a sad book, about a sad woman who has spent a lifetime waiting in the wings. She tells her tale while deciding whether or not to help Nicky Bennet, and as she follows the trail around the United States, she discovers that the truth can be an elusive target, especially when her own memory is concerned.

Something about this woman just didn't fit – she's not your average heroine by a long shot. As she recounts the welcome she got from Daniel after returning to the UK, I had a sneaking suspicion that all was not as it seems, and the suspicion got worse with each confirmation. The ending itself was predictable, considering that the veneer of normality is all but gone well before the closing chapters, and the build up to it is interesting mostly because of the discoveries and comparisons that Justine makes between what she knows and what others recount.

A disturbing read, as you find that you are reading the first person account of a reality falling to pieces and failing to measure up to what is left.

Date Finished

04/02/2007

Rating

4/10