The Bones of You by Debbie Howells

Ok, this is an awesome book, but first, can we stop comparing books to Gillian Flynn? Because as soon as I saw her name, I though "Oh, it's like Gone Girl", and the twist was not as surprising as it could have been. I know Gillian Flynn wrote more than one book, but let's face it, Gone Girl is the one that's currently in the public eye.

And surprisingly, I also recognised the name Alice Sebold - The Lovely Bones, right? That wasn't too bad, because what I remember of The Lovely Bones is its narrative style rather than plot twists.

The Bones of You is a murder mystery that's split between Kate, the neighbour of the murdered girl, and Rosie, the murdered girl herself. One day, Rosie, this quiet, good girl, goes missing. Everyone worries, including Kate (because: 1. neighbours and 2. she has a daughter Rosie's age). Sadly, Rosie is found brutally murdered. Kate tries to stay away, but she can't. She gets closer to Joanna, and as things get weirder and the investigation take a different turn, Kate starts to get strange notes.

Basically, Kate is here to live through the aftermath of Rosie's death. Rosie is here to let the reader look into the past. While her family looks perfect, Rosie knows it's not true. As she brings the reader through her childhood and towards the present, just how awful and broken her family is becomes clearer and clearer.

Personally, I thought the twist was well-executed. If I hadn't read the blurb, I would have suspected the wrong person because [milld spoilers] Neal, Rosie's father, is just that horrible a person. I was hoping that he was going to get some jail time. And now, I can't say anymore. Actually, I may have said too much, because if you've read Gone Girl, or have heard about it, you'll probably know the ending.

This was a really well-written and suspenseful book. I just wish I learnt to either ignore the blurb, or to further reduce my ability to recognise author names.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review.