REVIEW: Who She Was by Tony Parsons

Who She Was by Tony Parsons

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 23rd August 2023

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Published: 17th August 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A bonfire burns on a Cornish beach in the middle of the night.

Nearby, a young woman waits for morning, and for the estate agent to arrive with the keys to her new life in the peaceful fishing village.

She carries with her no trace of her previous life or the past she has left behind.

Quickly she becomes an object of fascination among the locals; one in particular finds that he is falling in love with her.

But can anyone really have a new life?

What happened to this woman's old life?

And what price did she pay to escape it?

When secrets long buried explode into the light, they will change the lives of everyone around her.

MY THOUGHTS:

Obsession...lies...murder...

Now THIS! THIS is much better than my first foray with Tony Parsons that I read yesterday. "The People Next Door" was such a disappointment and so far fetched even the elasticity of my imagination could not stretch that far. But this...this is so much better. And I love the Cornish setting which is a character in itself. The windswept seas and the jagged cliffs only add to the atmospheric chills that are felt within these pages.

A bonfire on the beach captures the attention of locals. An incomer, emmet, townie no doubt hunkered down for warmth only to be taken out on the next tide if they're not careful. And so locals Bet and Will Farthing bring young Clementine home and give her shelter for the night as she awaits to collect the keys to the blue and white cottage she's taken a lease out on for the year. She carries nothing with her to identify from where she's come or what she's left behind. But it isn't long before the young redhead becomes a source of fascination amongst the locals in the fishing village of St Judes she has chosen to call home.

But one man soon falls under Clementine's spell and his fascination soon becomes obsession. Tom Cooper, owner of the Lobster Pot restaurant, cannot keep his eyes or his thoughts from the beautiful young redhead. Even when she took Charlie Farthing home and they stayed in her cottage all night. Even when her past comes looking for her in the furtherest county in the country. Even when he hears rumours of her life before. Even then. Tom is obsessed with Clementine and will do anything for her. Anything? Even murder?

But Tom finds himself in a quandary as he tries to separate the truth from the lies about Clementine's somewhat complex past. Is she all she appears to be? And then when a body is discovered in the waters of the estuary, the people of St Judes find they have the police digging around when the Cornish have their own way of meting out justice. But DCI Graves won't be put off...nor will she be fooled. She may be about to retire but she won't rest until she solves the case.

This sweeping tale had me feeling a but like I was in Portwenn but with the ruggedness of Poldark and the chilling atmosphere of du Maurier, whom I am pleased to see been given a nod throughout the story. Even Winston Graham gets a mention. But the secret is in the setting. There is something mysterious and atmospheric about Cornwall. The perfect setting for psychological thrillers and this one was no different.

I was so pleased to have enjoyed this one so much more than the previous one though the ending does leave a few questions. I'm still not sure how to take it but I think Parsons must like the open-ended conclusions, leaving the reader to make up their own minds maybe. Either way, this was an enthralling tale that kept me intrigued throughout that I devoured it in a day. And a few good twists thrown in to keep you on your toes also.

I would like to thank #TonyParsons, #Netgalley and #RandomHouseCentury for an ARC of #WhoSheWas in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Tony Parsons was born in 1955 in Essex. Although he had already written a novel at the age of seventeen, he worked at the Gordon's gin distillery in London until summer 1976, when he started working for the NME (New Musical Express) as a punk journalist. This took him on the road with bands like The Sex Pistols.

He married Julie Burchill, a fellow NME journalist, and they had a son, Bobby, before divorcing.

He has a regular column in The Mirror and participates in the BBC arts programme, Newsnight Review. He has also written for, among other publications, The Face, Marie Claire, The Daily Mail, Arena, The Guardian, Elle, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Sunday Times, GQ and Red.

He has now re-married, and lives in London.

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