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bookworm_94's Reviews (351)
After reading Diamond’s previous publications I simply had to read her first standalone. It would certainly be worth it, I told myself, no brainer. And, even though I missed DS Adrian Miles and DS Imogen Grey, I have to admit The Heatwave did not disappoint. It delivered, it lived up to my expectations and it once again proved that Katerina Diamond deserves to keep her crown in the psychological crime-thriller kingdom of fiction.
The book follows the lives of Felicity Musgrave and Jasmine Burgess – two best friends, who grew up in Sidmouth and were forever bound by an unforeseeable tragedy. Felicity tells her story in the Present Tense, whilst Jasmine’s story is told from a Third-Person POV in the Past Tense. Brilliant choice of technique from Diamond as this was the biggest clue for me, personally, which made me eager to put the pieces together and figure out the table-turning twist at the end. Little did I know that there were more than one twists, which not only proved that I wasn’t entirely ready for the Detective Academy just yet, but also that Katerina Diamond’s talent to throw in a curve ball, which you don’t see coming until the very end, is truly fascinating.
Felicity Musgrave lives in the Lake District with her husband Prince Charming (a.k.a. Chris) and their two children: a teenage daughter Daisy and a seven-year-old son Lloyd. Her normal and comfortable life gets turned upside down when she hears the news report about a young girl – Mandy Green – who disappears in Sidmouth, Devon – Felicity’s home town. This tragedy brings back memories from her old life, which Felicity has worked long and hard to bury so deep that they would never be able to float their way back to the surface. And she was successful. Until the sixteen year-old-skeletons in her closet started mercilessly scratching the door and threatening to jump out in the open any minute now.
Felicity ups and goes, literally in the middle of the night, leaves Chris and their children behind without as much as a half-decent explanation and drives to Devon to face the demons of a previous life, even though she is concerned that this could cost her everything, including her husband and their adorable family. Despite her fears that she might be recognized walking down the streets of Sidmouth, she conducts an investigation of her own and it soon becomes clear that she knows a lot more about what might have happened to Mandy Green than the police (or anybody else in Sidmouth, for that matter).
Jasmine Burgess’ story begins when a stranger invests himself in her seemingly quiet and uneventful life. Her parents, Frank and Lisa, hire Tim to do jobs around in the house for them and even allow him to move into their guest house, which shares the same garden as their family home. Jasmine’s radar sets off immediately – there is something fishy about Tim. She finds it incredibly unbelievable how blind her parents are when it comes to the dangerous man that they have invited into their lives. However, due to a misunderstanding with her English teacher a year ago, which led to an unwelcome and uninvited kiss, unemployment for him and hours of counselling for her, Jasmine is confused and cannot tell for sure whether or not her judgement of Tim is correct.
Restless and suspicious of Tim, but also curious and attracted by his mysterious persona, Jasmine makes it her life’s mission to figure him out and confront him about his real intentions when it comes to her family. When she does eventually force the truth out, however, Jasmine fears that she might not be ready to face or accept it. The confession she gets from Tim is what turns her life of an innocent teenager with “do-gooder” parents upside down. She soon realizes that she could never be the same person she was before Tim moved into their guest house.
The Heatwave is a well-written, entertaining and shocking thriller, which I would strongly recommend not only to fans of Imogen and Adrian, but also to everybody, who enjoys good quality story, brilliant plot twists and the unravelling of old secrets, which keep you on your toes from the beginning till the end.
The book follows the lives of Felicity Musgrave and Jasmine Burgess – two best friends, who grew up in Sidmouth and were forever bound by an unforeseeable tragedy. Felicity tells her story in the Present Tense, whilst Jasmine’s story is told from a Third-Person POV in the Past Tense. Brilliant choice of technique from Diamond as this was the biggest clue for me, personally, which made me eager to put the pieces together and figure out the table-turning twist at the end. Little did I know that there were more than one twists, which not only proved that I wasn’t entirely ready for the Detective Academy just yet, but also that Katerina Diamond’s talent to throw in a curve ball, which you don’t see coming until the very end, is truly fascinating.
Felicity Musgrave lives in the Lake District with her husband Prince Charming (a.k.a. Chris) and their two children: a teenage daughter Daisy and a seven-year-old son Lloyd. Her normal and comfortable life gets turned upside down when she hears the news report about a young girl – Mandy Green – who disappears in Sidmouth, Devon – Felicity’s home town. This tragedy brings back memories from her old life, which Felicity has worked long and hard to bury so deep that they would never be able to float their way back to the surface. And she was successful. Until the sixteen year-old-skeletons in her closet started mercilessly scratching the door and threatening to jump out in the open any minute now.
Felicity ups and goes, literally in the middle of the night, leaves Chris and their children behind without as much as a half-decent explanation and drives to Devon to face the demons of a previous life, even though she is concerned that this could cost her everything, including her husband and their adorable family. Despite her fears that she might be recognized walking down the streets of Sidmouth, she conducts an investigation of her own and it soon becomes clear that she knows a lot more about what might have happened to Mandy Green than the police (or anybody else in Sidmouth, for that matter).
Jasmine Burgess’ story begins when a stranger invests himself in her seemingly quiet and uneventful life. Her parents, Frank and Lisa, hire Tim to do jobs around in the house for them and even allow him to move into their guest house, which shares the same garden as their family home. Jasmine’s radar sets off immediately – there is something fishy about Tim. She finds it incredibly unbelievable how blind her parents are when it comes to the dangerous man that they have invited into their lives. However, due to a misunderstanding with her English teacher a year ago, which led to an unwelcome and uninvited kiss, unemployment for him and hours of counselling for her, Jasmine is confused and cannot tell for sure whether or not her judgement of Tim is correct.
Restless and suspicious of Tim, but also curious and attracted by his mysterious persona, Jasmine makes it her life’s mission to figure him out and confront him about his real intentions when it comes to her family. When she does eventually force the truth out, however, Jasmine fears that she might not be ready to face or accept it. The confession she gets from Tim is what turns her life of an innocent teenager with “do-gooder” parents upside down. She soon realizes that she could never be the same person she was before Tim moved into their guest house.
The Heatwave is a well-written, entertaining and shocking thriller, which I would strongly recommend not only to fans of Imogen and Adrian, but also to everybody, who enjoys good quality story, brilliant plot twists and the unravelling of old secrets, which keep you on your toes from the beginning till the end.
