4 stars out of 5
Nadeeka
Prasanna, a Pakistani divorcee with two young daughters, is living with James
Golding (Jamie) with hopes for a bright future together. But seemingly out of
the blue, Jamie begins to act strangely like her ex; not so strangely, Nadeeka
begins to suspect he’s having an affair. One day, she’s pretty sure she can
catch him in the act and makes a beeline for their residence. She’s surprised,
all right, but in the worst way; Jamie, the love of her life, has been murdered
right in their living room. Police are everywhere, one of whom, Detective
Inspector Burton, politely asks that she turn over her phone and laptop, saying
it will be returned soon. Shortly thereafter, she’s relieved to find those same
police have thoroughly cleaned up the entire mess and restored some semblance
of order.
Unable to
return to her home despite the clean-up, Nadeeka stays with her former
mother-in-law, with whom she remained friendly. And her mind wanders wildly; is
it possible Jamie was at home with his new lover – when she called him on the
phone, she’d heard a female voice, after all? And why had he brought home – and
put away in a drawer - a photo of him, her and the girls that he’d had on his
desk at work?
Hearing
nothing from Burton about her electronic devices after several days, she visits
the police station to ask if she can have them back. Here, she gets yet another
shock: according to the desk clerk, no such detective is employed here and – even
more puzzling – they have no record of Jamie’s murder. Nadeeka is turned over
to Detective Lauren Caldwell, head of the Major Crimes Unit; she and her
lower-grade partner, Fraser Hogan (also Lauren’s significant other and near-future
husband) will be taking over the case. But investigation won’t be easy since
those phantom police thoroughly cleaned up the crime scene, destroying any real
or potential evidence.
What they do
find, though, is both confusing and deeply upsetting to Nadeeka. Jamie worked
for a company involved with brownfield development; police learn the firm’s head
honcho deleted some of Jamie’s files, raising significant questions. But more
disconcerting is what they learn about Jamie himself; could it be that he isn’t
the loving, accepting partner Nadeeka believes in her heart of hearts that he
is?
The answer
to that and other weighty questions is for other readers to find out; suffice
it to say there are more than a few twists as the investigation progresses and
a whopper at the end. The whole thing was a bit heavy on the political aspect,
but I’ll give that a pass just because it really is an important issue. And the
story itself is well-written enough to grab my attention and hold it throughout
(actually, that part came as no surprise; I’ve read five of this talented
author’s other books and enjoyed every single one). Many thanks to the
publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release
copy.
It’s Not
What You Think by Clare Mackintosh (Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2026); 413
pp.
No comments:
Post a Comment