The Missing Body by Kerry Wilkinson
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 15th July 2024
Published: 12th July 2024
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
I ran to get help. But her body disappeared. Will anyone believe me?
Megan is unpacking in the spare room of her sister’s house when she hears the scream.
Racing to the nearby woods, she is shocked to see a young woman’s unconscious body: her pink top bright against the earth, her long, dark hair wet from a nearby stream. But when desperate Megan returns with the police, all they find is empty woodland.
She’s been through so much, her sister whispers, welcoming her home with a kind smile. You can’t blame her for seeing things.
But Megan knows what she saw – and her past shouldn’t come into it. Was the young woman dead, or dying? How can a body just disappear?
Megan left home for a good reason. Now, confronting the past could be the only way to find the truth.But what if Megan is in danger, too? And what price will she have to pay, to find the girl from the woods?
An absolutely gripping mystery thriller that will make you question who to trust and have you racing through the pages. Perfect for fans of Mark Edwards, Claire Douglas and T. M. Logan.
MY THOUGHTS:
I ran to get help...but her body disappeared...will anyone believe me...?
Having just learnt her husband had misplaced the part of their marriage vows which promised to "forsake all others" and "to be faithful", and with her best friend no less, Megan left the remnants of what was her marriage behind and hightailed it to her hometown of Hollicombe Bay where she is now staying in the stifling attic room of her sister's house. It's where she now sits trying to let some air in when she hears a scream. She listens in the stillness. Nothing. Maybe she imagined it. But no, she is sure she heard a woman scream. And so she goes to investigate which thus leads her to the woods behind her sister's house and there in the stream lay the unmoving body of a young woman...maybe nineteen? Twenty at most? Is she dead? Megan isn't sure and so she drags her out of the stream and recalls the adverts on TV that transposed CPR with the Bee Gees "Staylin' Alive"...and so she does that.
"Ah-ah-ah, stayin' alive...stayin' alive..."
1-2-3...breathe...1-2-3...breathe...
And yet the woman remained silent and still. Megan pat her pockets for her mobile phone remembering that it was plugged in on charge in her attic room. She really needs to get help, but she doesn't want to leave the young woman.
Making a dash, she races into the house and up the stairs where she retrieves her phone and makes a breathless plea to emergency services who ask her to remain on the line and outside the address from which she's calling so the services get the right place. All the while, Megan is worried about the woman in the stream alone. When the services finally arrive after what seemed like an endless wait but was probably no more than ten minutes, Megan rushes off leading them back to where she found the woman's body.
But now she's gone.
And now no one believes that she saw a body in the stream, believing instead that she was having some sort of mental breakdown in light of the current status of her marriage. But Megan knows what she saw. And she will stop at nothing to prove she was right. Until she begins to doubt herself too.
Did she really see the body? Or was it just the stress of recent events that she is projecting figments of her imagination into reality? Megan is certain of what she saw...isn't she? And now she must dig for the truth but in doing so uncovers something sinister hidden in the bowels of the sleepy town.
Can she escape this nightmare? And find out the truth behind what is really going on? Before it's too late...
Another gripping read from Kerry Wilkinson. I loved how we returned to the area of Whitecliff for this as he incorporated that are into the neighbouring Hollicombe Bay. And whilst remaining a standalone story.
The characters were all a bit meh. None of them really likeable. Megan was wishy-washy. Nicola was a bossy britches. Ben was blasé about everything. Jessie was a typical moody teenager. Pam was nosey and gossipy. Trevor was creepy. Daniel was probably the most OK one out of the lot...which in itself was highly suspicious. LOL
As always, the tale is peppered with Kerry's trademark dry wit and humnour which is what makes his books so entertaining. I love his humour. And while this was a fairly predictable read (I worked out fairly early one what was going on), it was his witty quips and trademark humour that kept it fresh and interesting. Without it I doubt I would enjoy his books as much. I hope we return to Whitecliff and Hollicombe Bay again.
I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMissingBody in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018 and Close To You won the International Thriller Award for best ebook in 2020.
As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.
Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.
When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.
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