Book review : Tight Rope - Marnie Riches

As I explained in my Project 366 post this week, life got very hectic last week, which meant I turned to some reading to chill out. I grabbed one of the books that I had picked up in the 3-for-£5 section at The Works (yes, I admit it, I bought more !) and rattled through it in a couple of days.

The book, Tight Rope by Marnie Riches, actually offers a fairly simple story, but it is made more complicated by the structure of the book, with different chapters told by different narrators. The prologue, narrated by The Wolf, reveals the sordid tale of a teenage prostitute being killed and heartlessly disposed of. Then we move on to Bev, who is living in a mouldy basement flat and trying to earn some money as a private investigator. Her heart is in the right place but her methods often left me with my heart in my mouth - surely, in real life at least, a woman wouldn't put herself in such dangerous situations, even if she is trying to get her hands on some proof and earn some much-needed money ? There is also another character, Boo, whose drug and booze-fuelled student days come to a dramatic end when she finds herself pregnant.

The main storyline sees a woman, Angela, desperate to get her hands on proof of her husband's philandering so that she can leave him. He is violent towards her and, despite Angela's lack of readily available cash, Bev can't turn her away and agrees to help out. She soon starts seeing worrying details in her flat though, such as her precious origami models being moved or chairs being replaced differently. Is someone onto her?

I won't tell you any more or it will give the game away, especially as the story is simple enough that I had actually figured out who the bad guys were quite early on. The enjoyment, however, comes from watching Beverley's evolution throughout the novel, both in a professional manner but also, more importantly, on a personal level. She is one of life's fighters and, whatever the world throws at her, she will find a way past it and on to a happier place. Definitely the kind of role model I needed last week !

This appears to be the first in a series of novels, so I'll keep my eyes open for any further books by the author. There seem to be quite a few available so I may be lucky.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £7.99

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Trapeze (11 July 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1409181944
• ISBN-13: 978-1409181941