Before I Left (Ruby Baker #1) by Daisy White
Genre: Mystery
Read: 5th July 2018
Purchase: Amazon
★★★★ 4 stars
BEFORE I LEFT is a new series featuring Ruby Baker and her friends, set in Brighton in the 1960s - although I didn't find a lot of reference to the era, except for a couple of songs of the time. Although with so few people on the phone and without the immediate contact via mobile or social media, it did resonate an earlier era. Apart from that it could have been set in any time.
Nineteen year old Ruby and her pregnant best friend Mary are on the run. They hitch from London to Brighton (something that certainly wouldn't be safe to do these days) escaping abusive lifestyles - Ruby, her step father and Mary, her husband - as well as a dark secret. Their hope is to stay with Ruby's cousin Pearl, a student nurse (in nursing digs), in Brighton until they can get on their feet.
They soon obtain jobs at a local hairdressing salon owned by Johnnie, a friend of Pearl's, and together they join the party scene with Pearl and her friends, who then become their close-knit circle of friends. And soon Ruby and Mary are enjoying their new found freedom and their friends....until....
....Ruby finds someone watching her. Pearl's bedsit is broken into. Ruby's stepfather's bloodied signet ring. Who is watching her? Mary is afraid it's her abusive husband. Ruby is afraid it's her equally abusive stepfather. So who is it? And do they know her secret?
The story is slow going for almost half with the only mystery being that of "the watcher" as dubbed by Ruby. It is not until 40% in that a murder occurs, with Ruby stumbling on the body whilst out searching for her clutch bag she lost the night before. What is even more shocking that the victim is someone close to them and Ruby begins to fear for both her's and Mary's safety. Is "the watcher" a murder? Is Ruby or Mary his next target?
Soon after the first murder, another occurs and then Mary goes missing just days before she is due to give birth. Setting up an impromptu investigation bureau in Johnnie's salon, Ruby, Johnnie, staff members and even locals gather every day in the race to solve the murders and Mary's disappearance. All sorts of rumours begin to surface about disgruntled exes, housing developments, witchcraft and human sacrifices. As days pass with Mary still missing, Ruby begins to suspect the murderer is waiting for Mary to give birth, needing her baby for his/her ritual.
Can Ruby solve the mystery and save Mary in time?
BEFORE I LEFT is a well written and interesting read. A little different than the usual style of thriller or mystery but still quite enjoyable. The "watcher" story arc didn't seem to be completed and maybe it will resurface again in future books in the series, though their identity is revealed and why they were watching Ruby but there was no real reason behind why they taunted her (except a loose one). I honestly did not guess the murderer, though I did suspect them at one point but quickly dismissed it. So it was a revealing climax. There are a few twists and turns in the plot and a few red herrings, before a final conclusion emerges.
More of a mystery than a thriller, BEFORE I GO is a well written and enjoyable read.
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