Acting is both a background, as well as the backbone that runs down the spine of this dark psychological thriller. An up-and-coming actress, Aimee Sinclair spends her working life pretending to be someone else. She knows that perhaps this is also true of her off-screen life.
The book opens with Aimee returning home after a hard day filming, and finds her house empty. Her journalist husband Ben, is missing but his keys, wallet and phone are still inside.
We see events unfold through Aimee's eyes as she involves the police. Understandably shaken the actress takes refuge a form of solace in her habitual running - the only activity beside acting that she truly loves.
Aimee is nervous in her dealings with the police, which is gradually explained by a secondary narrative that begins in Galway in 1987 when she was six.
Aimee reveals herself as a complex character, with secrets and vulnerabilities making it difficult to feel trust. It is not until Ben disappears that she realises three things, (a) how little she knows about him (b) the lack of warmth in their marriage and (c) just how much he controlled her.
Aimee has to continue working whilst trying to cope with the situation, as the filming is winding to its close. She tries to behave normally but begins to suspect everyone of trying to implicate her in Ben's disappearance: an unpleasant rival actress, a bitchy journalist and a handsome co-star that she can't decide whether or not to trust These supporting characters add additional extra colour, but appear to have come from central casting.
I didn't find Aimee a particularly likeable character but still felt sympathy for her.
The complex plot is well-developed with peaks and troughs striating and augmenting the tension that develops.
I thought I knew where the resolution was headed, but this is a novel that certainly has the ability to blindside the reader, doing so several times along the way, and is a worthwhile read, but not a comforting one.
