Black Thorn, by Sarah Hilary - David
An enjoyable thriller with a good ending to pull it together. The time shifting of chapters before and after the key event was a good way to tell the story and let the truth emerge rather than tell it in chronologically. Telling the story mainly from Agnes’s viewpoint in the first person was also effective, and although she was the central character, her imperfections and struggles were still fully covered.
All the key characters were well observed, with their backstories emerging over the course of the novel, leading to the conclusion, with some good twists at the end. There were also vivid descriptions of the Cornish scenery around the housing development and campsite that gave it a time and place. I also liked that although they were in the background, the police didn’t feature in the novel’s detail that came through Agnes’s descriptions of events.
Overall I would recommend the book to others and would read other books by the same author.
David
