THE NECKLACE

4 stars out of 5

Despite the plot being a little bit predictable and characters who tend to err on the side of overwrought, I really enjoyed this book. Had the Tokyo Olympic games on TV not interfered, in fact (I'm a die-hard fan), there's no doubt I'd have polished the whole thing off in two sittings or less. In part, I suppose, that's because it taps into the nightmares of any mother.

It was that kind of heartbreak that happened to Susan Lentigo and her husband Danny 20 years ago, when their young daughter Amy went missing one day in Glens Falls, New York. Soon thereafter, their worst fears were confirmed: Amy's body turns up. The killer is nowhere to be found, nor is the beaded necklace Susan and Amy made that Amy wore around her neck every single day. Later, though, a suspect is identified; he confesses, and despite a subsequent recant, he's convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

Fast-forward to the present as Susan - who's long been divorced from Danny - makes her way to North Dakota to witness the murderer's execution. Most of the story focuses on the tribulations of her journey (which, trust me, are plentiful) with chapters flipping back to the time of the murder to add background and insert Susan's recollections of what was going on at that time. During her in-the-here-and-now trek to the prison, though, she unearths evidence that rouses her suspicion that the wrong person may have been found guilty. Now, instead of deriving satisfaction at watching the life of a man she's hated all these years come to a welcome end, she's intent on finding out who really killed Amy and, ultimately, preventing a wrongful death.

Needless to say, there are some twists and turns along the way, and the whole thing comes down to a nail-biting end as I expected. It was a thoroughly engaging adventure, but I'd be remiss if I didn't note one potentially serious glitch: at one point, a person in law enforcement hands a half-empty bottle of liquor to a character who is about to get into a car and drive. I know the laws in my home state, but just in case I checked New York's as well. And yes, there, too, drivers and passengers in cars are prohibited from possessing a container of alcohol that's been opened. So readers, please do not try this at home (and on the off-chance that you run into a clueless officer like the one in this story who tries to give you one, Just Say No).

All in all, well done - and many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. If you read it, see if you agree with me that this one has the makings for a terrific motion picture (or perhaps a TV series).

The Necklace by Matt Witten (Oceanview Publishing, September 2021); 304 pp.