The Ex (DS Jenna Morgan #4) by Diane Saxon
Genre: Crime fiction, Psychological thriller
Read: 24th February 2021
Published: 2nd March 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Sometimes your past just won't let go...
As a heat wave grips the country, DS Jenna Morgan is called to a domestic incident at the home of a young family in Ironbridge.
Pregnant Imelda Cheetham-Epstein has been found unconscious by her husband, Zak with serious head injuries.
When Jenna arrives on the scene, she discovers something even more disturbing – the couple's eleven-month-old son, Joshua, is missing and the race against time begins to find him.
Is this an accident or something more sinister?
Are the two incidents linked?
Or has something in the Cheetham-Epstein's past caught up with them?
Diane Saxon is back with a gripping new psychological crime novel, perfect for fans of Cara Hunter and Carol Wyer.
MY REVIEW:
I didn't know this book was part of a series when I signed up for it but, admittedly, it doesn't matter because it works well as a standalone with just enough backstory from previous books to suffice. But what I really like about this book is that the procedural part is not the forefront of the story but rather is secondary to the main focus, which is the disappearance of a child and the woman who took her. THAT is what makes THE EX addictive reading.
The story begins with Emily at a work function when she overhears a conversation regarding her ex, the love of her life, Zak had remarried. She then locks herself in a toilet cubicle with a bottle of rose wine ruminating over where it all went wrong. Zak. She hadn't seen him in so long. She used to sit outside his house for hours at a time, watching, waiting to catch a glimpse of him. But she hadn't done that in so long now. But now...in a moment of clarity, Emily knows what she will do. She will go and see Zak. As soon as he sees her he'll realise his terrible mistake and they can be together again.
Zak Cheetham-Epstein (a bit of a mouthful) used to work at the accountants where Emily is still employed. The two had hooked up and had some fun together but then Emily started to get a little clingy. She moved into his flat and started questioning where he had been and who with. She accused him of seeing other women and became volatile. Zak was only having some fun but for Emily, he was her true love, her soulmate. So when he ended things with her and left the company, Emily is devastated. But Zak never saw her again and in the two years since has met and married Imelda who has given him a son, Joshua, and is pregnant with her their second child. They live in a beautiful Victorian house overlooking the gorge in Ironbridge that has been in his family for three generations and were in the process of renovating it.
When there is a knock at the door one Sunday morning, Zak is upstairs sanding a door ready to repaint while Imelda answers it with a smile in place. No one expects things to go so horribly wrong...not Zak, not Imelda and not Emily.
Despite being on her day off, DS Jenna Morgan is called to the home of a reported domestic incident. When she arrives, she finds pregnant Imelda Cheetham-Epstein unconscious with serious head injuries. Her husband Zak stands nearby in shock, an obvious suspect despite reporting that his wife had fallen. The gash on her cheek and bruising to her face suggested something far more sinister as the team attempted to preserve what they could of the scene after the paramedics left with Imelda. It's not until she questions Zak further that Jenna discovers the couple have an 11 month old child that was apparently sleeping. Jenna and her team find it unlikely a child could have slept through the noise created by police and paramedics treating Imelda, but checks the rest of the house anyway. No child. So where was baby Joshua? Had Zak done something to the child and he and Imelda were arguing about it when he struck her and she fell?
Jenna and her team, DCs Morris King and Ryan Downey, search the bushland surrounding the house and into the gorge to no avail. They are about to call it a day when a woman approaches Jenna, a frantic expression on her face. She has been out all day and has only just returned to hear the news but feels she may have some information that will help. It seems her son insisted she have CCTV installed and on her camera was a figure carrying what appeared to be a child. The image was so blurry they weren't able to tell if it was male or female...but they very definitely were carrying a child. So who was this person? Did they attack Imelda? And why did they take baby Joshua?
Fern awakes to the sound of a baby crying believing it to be another dream, her subconscious torturing her with her desire for a child. But as she wakes properly she realises the cries are real. Tentatively, she pushes open the nursery door...the nursery her sister Emily decorated and that she has never entered. In the cot was a toddler screaming their little heart out. Fern rushes forward and picks up the screaming child and attempts to soothe it with a lullaby she makes up as she croons. Slowly, the child quietens and Fern wonders what on earth has Emily done? Then when Emily appears in the doorway she informs her that she wanted a child and now she has one. This child is her gift to Fern. There is only one problem...this child is a boy but Emily insists she is a girl and she is called Angel. To ensure the child's safety, Fern must think and treat the child as a girl.
While investigating Joshua's disappearance, Jenna is reminded of the time when her sister Fliss was kidnapped previously and their beloved dog Domino injured. It also brings back memories of when her partner was killed right in front of her eyes, the trauma of it haunting her for a long time after. Although these incidents took place in previous books, we are not left in the dark as the author gives us enough information to keep us informed without us being confused, making this one easily read as a standalone.
THE EX is a compelling mix of crime and psychological thriller that keeps us engaged from start to finish. And what better way than to give readers a psycho ex? And there is also something not quite right about sisters Emily and Fern...
I love all the characters in this book, even the ones you love to hate! Jenna and her team are not weighed down by rank and hierarchy pissing contests, but rather have a camaraderie that reflects on their ability to get the job done and to do it well. The support of her family and loved ones are also a refreshing touch, without the bid for attention between partner and job. It certainly makes a refreshing change.
And then there is Emily. How well she was portrayed. As much as as love to hate her, her depiction was memorable to say the least. I also felt a little sorry for her although I was also a tad scared of her and what she might do. It is clear she was unstable but what exactly the problem was is not made clear until the end. And the final twist was a spectacular turn of events I began to put together myself. But wow!
An addictive read from the beginning, THE EX was so much better than I anticipated it to be and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved meeting Jenna, Fliss, Morris, Ryan, Adrian and even the DI who was surprisingly personable, as is so usually not the case in crime fiction. A refreshing change which made the procedural aspects a pleasure to read. Although I really loved that that was only a part of the story with readers being privy to Emily and her twisted mind. Although we know what happens from the start, we still don't really know what is happening. It is a very clever ploy to lull readers into a false sense of security thinking we know what's going to happen...when we do and we don't.
Cleverly written with plenty of twists throughout, THE EX is ramps up the thriller aspect a notch with a real sense of fear and helplessness in the midst of a wild and emotional thrill-ride. The issues surrounding mental illness were sensitively navigated and in a way that the reader feels empathy for the guilty party. Diane Saxon is a new author for me but I will be hunting out her previous books in this series and add them to my never-ending TBR pile.
Absolutely addictive read that I could not devour quick enough, I have no hesitation recommending THE EX to fans of police procedurals with a difference as well domestic and psychological thriller fans. A solid 5 star read.
I would like to thank #DianeSaxon, #RachelsRandomResources, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheEx in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Diane Saxon lives in the Shropshire countryside with her tall, dark, handsome husband, a retired policeman. She has two gorgeous daughters, a Dalmatian, two cats, numerous rare breed chickens, and a black Labrador called Beau—a name borrowed by her hero in For Heaven's Cakes.
After working for years in a demanding job, Diane gave it up when her husband said, “Follow that dream.” She subsequently has 12 Romances published for the U.S. market.
Inspired by her long, lonely walks in atmospheric woodlands, Diane has gone over to the dark side to write British psychological crime thrillers. With a four-book deal through Boldwood Books, her first in series Find Her Alive was published October 2019 followed by Someone's There in February 2020 and What She Saw is due in September 2020.
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