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Monday 19 July 2010

Hurting Distance



by Sophie Hannah

Hurting Distance is a twisty psychological thriller that makes Lynda La Plante's stories seem like they're filled with fluffy kittens and bunnies. Predictable it is not; I didn't see what was coming at all.

The main characters are very well portrayed and often contrary ― in terms of their believable attributes, rather than plot errors, of which I found none. Some of the minor characters are a little weaker, though this doesn't much mar the overall story.

The plot is wonderfully dark and convoluted, just how I like a thriller to be. I had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few good twists and shocks along the way. Hannah has a new fan and I now intend to read 'Little Face', an earlier novel. Her style was unusual (to me) at first, using second-person narrative in some chapters, but I very quickly acclimatised to it.

Some of the themes are disturbing, as they cover rape and its mental aftermath, so this book is probably not suitable for the faint hearted.

Hurting Distance is available from Hodder, ISBN 978-0-340-84034-4.

Reviewed by Captain Black

6 comments:

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

I've never read anything by Sophie Hannah, but have been told they're good books. Maybe I should read this one.

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Karen said...

I really enjoy Sophie Hannah's novels, but weirdly I skip the detective sections as I'd rather read the story from the main character's POV!

HelenMWalters said...

That's really interesting Karen. I wonder how much you're missing by doing that? I haven't read any of hers, so I probably should.

Unknown said...

Hm, I've never read anything by Sophie Hannah either. Sounds as if I should rectify that.

Suzanne Ross Jones said...

I've never read any Sophie Hannah books, either - but will start with this one.