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A review by paulabrandon
The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish
3.0
Jamie Buckby and his partner, Clare, befriend younger couple, Melia and Kit. Jamie and Kit even start catching the same ferry to work in the mornings. But after some Christmas/end of year drinks, Jamie is approached by the police who inform him that Kit has been reported missing, and Jamie is the last person to see him alive. Jamie recounts how the couples' friendship began, how it changed, and what led to a fight between Kit and Jamie on the night of Kit's disappearance. Jamie know he's innocent, but how can he convince the police?
This was a decent enough thriller, rounded up from 2.5 to 3 stars. Its biggest drawback is the slow pacing. We the reader know that everything isn't on the up and up, and it's a long time before we get to the anticipated plot twists. While I understand that the first half is necessary to cleverly set up what ultimately gets delivered, I was often thinking, "I know the rug is going to get pulled out from under us, get on with it!"
As far as the twists go, I felt they were mostly predictable. The first twist was a bit different to what I was expecting, but after that I could comfortably anticipate how the rest of it would all play out, and I wasn't wrong. The plot certainly relies far too much on a main character being incredibly stupid and naïve, and thinking with his dick.
Still, I enjoyed the experience of reading it. I was eager to get back to it whenever I put it down, as I wanted to see what would happen, and the plot was at least a little different to the standard now/then, woman with a secret, angle that 95% of thrillers employ these days.
This was a decent enough thriller, rounded up from 2.5 to 3 stars. Its biggest drawback is the slow pacing. We the reader know that everything isn't on the up and up, and it's a long time before we get to the anticipated plot twists. While I understand that the first half is necessary to cleverly set up what ultimately gets delivered, I was often thinking, "I know the rug is going to get pulled out from under us, get on with it!"
As far as the twists go, I felt they were mostly predictable. The first twist was a bit different to what I was expecting
Spoiler
(I didn't expect Jamie to be in on some of it, which at least made him marginally less eye-rollingly stupid)Still, I enjoyed the experience of reading it. I was eager to get back to it whenever I put it down, as I wanted to see what would happen, and the plot was at least a little different to the standard now/then, woman with a secret, angle that 95% of thrillers employ these days.