His and Hers by Alice Feeney #BookReview

There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

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I’m waiting for the latest novel by Alice Feeney to arrive in my Capital Crime book subscription box so I wanted to read His & Hers before it arrives. I’ve had it for the longest time but had it saved up to read for when I would find myself in a reading slump. I know her books always deliver so it’s the perfect back-up, but I don’t want to create a big backpile, especially not when it comes to a favorite author.

There are chapters titled ‘Him’ in this novel, meaning Jack Harper, a DCI, called to a murder scene but it soon becomes clear he also has ties to the victim(s).

Then there’s ‘Her’, Anna Andrews, a BBC1 news presenter, recently demoted again to general news correspondent after two years of presenting the news as a news anchor. She is covering the news story about the murder in Blackdown. She knows this town really well and the victim seemed to have been a personal friend. Jack and Anna also know each other because Anna is Jack’s ex-wife.

Finally, there’s also the unnamed killer’s voice. Is it His or Hers? I simply didn’t know who to trust in this novel! Jack’s voice seemed more truthful while Anna’s (the one with the cliché drinking problem too) seemed to be more unreliable but I knew better than to simply go for the most obvious. The misdirections were very clever and just when I thought I finally knew whose voice I was reading the author pulled the rug from under my feet again. I was wrong again! Feeney keeps the story twisting until the very last pages.

However much I loved the story and the ingenious plotting which points in all directions, there is one small remark too. I did not enjoy the (however brief) mention of animal mutilation (nothing graphic either but the idea formed in my head didn’t make it any easier) so I was actually quite ok with the death of one victim who I found quite sympathetic at first but turned out to be so nasty. This will forever be a big no no for me.

If you want a novel to really surprise you, I highly recommend picking up any of Feeney’s novels. I can’t wait to read Rock, Paper, Scissors next!

I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.