Book #57 Anything You Do Say

Anything You Do Say by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House UK for the opportunity to read this ARC. Opinions expressed are entirely my own. Anything You Do Say will be published in January 2018.

Laura and Joanna. Enjoying a Friday drink as they do most weeks. A crowded bar. A swarthy bloke with a smart-phone. Pushes in for a selfie. Takes an aggressive fancy to Joanna. Grabs her, pushes against her. A frisson of fear invades the atmosphere. “Leave us alone…” The girls escape and leave the bar. They go their different ways. Joanna takes Warwick Avenue, away from Little Venice and towards the canal. She is being followed and her life is about to change - forever. A moment of panic, on the bridge over the canal, she pushes him. A bad fall - hits his head, lands in a heap at the bottom of the steps.

Two ways to go, two choices. Fight or flight. Call the emergency services or leave him and run? Parallel lines, different outcomes. Two stories in one book. Damned if she doesn’t, damned if she does.

Comparisons to ‘Sliding Doors’ are inevitable. Two stories, two outcomes, one final destination. But Gillian Mcallister handles this with tremendous skill. To develop two outcomes with such credulity and power is masterful. The pace, whichever route you follow, is relentless. Reveal or conceal. Beautifully written with a forensic eye for detail.

I cannot say much else for fear of giving away too much. I can say that you won’t read a better book this year…

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