Wink Murder

By Ali Knight



Wink Murder is a well-plotted and fast moving murder mystery, and I found that it kept me guessing all the way through and the revelation of ‘whodunnit’ was a genuine surprise.

But, it is also more than that. At the centre of the story is the examination of a marriage in deep crisis. The story looks at the issue of trust. Who can you trust? How do you know you can trust them? And ultimately, what is the nature of trust?

The story is written in first person, present tense which can be hard to pull off. But for this story it works well, especially in the later chapters where it lends a sense of immediacy to the plot.

Whilst the story is very plot-centred, I also found the characters very real and well realised. We spend the entire novel inside the head of the main character, Kate, and see the other characters through her eyes. Her relationships with other characters, and the extent to which she feels she can trust them is central to the story. The issues of trust between husband and wife are well-explored but Kate’s feelings about her husband’s ex wife and her husband’s brother also impact heavily on the outcome of the story.

The fact that ‘Wink Murder’ is set in the world of television adds an extra dimension as it raises questions about the power of the media and the nature of reality TV.

I recommend this book to all who like crime and mystery writing which is intelligent and well-rounded.

The book is published by Hodder and I’m grateful to them for providing a review copy.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt