BOOK REVIEW - The Anniversary by Laura Marshall

 

                                                                     BOOK SYNOPSIS

Eleven murders. Twenty-five years ago.
Are some truths better left buried?

On 15th June 1994, Travis Green - husband, father, upstanding citizen - walked through the streets of Hartstead and killed eleven of his neighbours. The final victim was four-year-old Cassie Colman's father.

As the twenty-five year anniversary approaches, Cassie would rather forget the past - even as her mother struggles to remember it at all. Then something hidden in her mother's possessions suggests those eleven murders were not what everyone believes.

Once Cassie suspects she's been lied to about the most important event of her life, she can't stop digging up the past.

But someone will do anything to keep it buried . . .

The lives of the residents of the town of Hartstead were changed forever on the 15th of June 1994 after Travis Green went on a rampage through the streets, killing eleven people in cold blood before turning the gun on himself. Cassie Colman's dad had been one of the killer's victims and the terrified four year old had been found clinging to her mother, distraught and spattered with blood. The subsequent police investigation had uncovered no links between the victims and to the outside world, the tragic event had just become another case of a crazy man going berserk with a gun.

In the present day, Cassie had moved back to Hartstead from London not long before the birth of her fifteen week old daughter Amy. Her life had always been haunted by the events of that shocking day and she would much  rather prefer that the past was left alone. But, with the twenty fifth anniversary approaching, a journalist called Alison Pitchett arrives in town saying that she wants to interview people for a article that she is writing about how towns recover from traumatic events. Alison asks Cassie to help with her investigation because she feels that the residents would be more open with Cassie than with a journalist. At first Cassie is initially reluctant to get involved but as it gradually become apparent that the events of that day were not as clear cut as they appeared to be, she finds that there is questions that she wants answered herself. People in the town were harbouring secrets in the past and the present and someone is prepared to go to any lengths to stop those secrets from being uncovered.

This gripping thriller is written predominantly from the perspective of Cassie who when we are first introduced to her was struggling with being a single parent due to lack of sleep and dealing with a baby who just seemed to be constantly screaming. She was also struggling with her conscience over wether it was time to find a care home for her mother who was suffering from dementia and gradually getting worse as time passed. Cassie felt that to some of the residents of Hartstead she would be ' tragic Cassie Colman' and this made it difficult for her to trust people and she couldn't help.feeling alone. But, as the story unfolded, she began interacting with a variety of realistic characters including, amongst others, Alison, Chloe with whom Cassie had been friends with whilst they were at school. Natalie and James who she met at the pub and Paul who was Travis Green's son.Various individuals who seemed to take a lot of interest in Cassie's life but were they just being friendly or was she sharing her secrets with the wrong people? Or was one of more of her new friends really a dangerous enemy who was hiding in plain sight?

Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were written in italics and  narrated the events of the 15th of June 1994 as seen through the eyes of each of the victims and Travis Green. They were all just innocent people who were just going about their lives so why did the killer chose those particular people as his victims? 

Laura Marshall is a very talented author and in my mind is one of the queens of the psychological thriller genre. I loved this book just as much as her two previous books Friend Request and Three Little Lies. The story is extremely well written, gripping and addictive, hooks you in from the first page, keep you captivated, glued to your kindle and frantically turning the pages. The characters were vivid, realistic and relatable and the plot had a number of twists, turns and misdirections. This is a captivating, addictive thriller that is very very highly recommended.

                                                                       AUTHOR INFO

Laura Marshall is the bestselling author of three psychological thrillers. Her debut novel, Friend Request, was a Kindle No.1 and Sunday Times bestseller, with over half a million copies sold in the UK. Laura's books have sold in twenty-four territories around the globe.

She grew up in Wiltshire, studied English at the University of Sussex and currently lives in Kent with her family.

For more information visit Laura's website www.lauramarshall.co.uk or find her at www.facebook.com/lauramarshallauthor or on Twitter @laurajm8.

PURCHASE LINK....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled-Laura-Marshall-1-ebook/dp/B07SZL4STG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XQE39Q2V0RYX&keywords=the+anniversary+laura+marshall&qid=1646344249&s=books&sprefix=The+anniversary%2Cstripbooks%2C209&sr=1-1