To be honest I kind of borrowed this book from
NetGalley by accident. Some years ago, I read Kate Medina’s brilliant debut,
White Crocodile, a thriller set in the legacy mine fields of Cambodia and loved
it (she was writing under K.T. Medina then). I’ve read nothing from the author
since and was unaware that she had turned to psychological thrillers (which
perhaps explains why she now writes as Kate rather than K.T.). Personally,
psychological thrillers have always left me a little cold and so despite the
cover and title – which perhaps I should have taken as a hint that this was a
psychological thriller – I borrowed Two Little Girls expecting something more
akin to White Crocodile.
That said, once I started reading I decided to
plough on. It wasn’t just that I hate to leave a book unfinished, it’s also
that Two Little Girls, while not strictly my cup of tea, is well written and
compelling. Apparently, this is the latest in a series of novels to feature
psychologist Jessie Flynn and DI Bobby “Marilyn” Simmonds of Surrey and Sussex
Major Crimes.
In Two Little Girls, Jessie has just been
invalided out of the army where she was a psychologist (I presume in previous
books she was still in the army) and is now in private practice. When a young
girl, Jodie Triggs, is found strangled on the beach, it transpires that the
murder is similar to that of Zoe Reynolds, an unsolved homicide that haunts DI
Simmonds. One of Jessie’s patients, Laura, turns out to be Zoe’s mother and the
chief suspect in her death (her real name is Carolynn Reynolds). Jessie and DI
Simmonds now work together to solve the latest murder and in turn the former.
The novel is structured in alternating chapters
told from the perspective of the various characters. Some of these are
straightforward, such as those chapters that are from Jessie’s perspective or that
of DI Simmonds. Others, especially those from the perspective of Carolynn are
less so; we quickly realise that she is an unreliable narrator.
At heart, as with most psychological thrillers,
Two Little Girls sits firmly within what’s been called “domestic noir”. The
Reynolds – Carolynn, her husband Roger, their murdered daughter Zoe – was a dysfunctional
unit, especially so after Zoe died; we, the readers, turn the pages wondering
if either husband or wife killed their daughter, whether they have gone on to kill
Jodie, and if so, why?
The characters in Two Little Girls are well-crafted
and believable, and the author plots her tale deftly. Despite liking my crime novels
a little harder-edged and noirish – as indeed White Crocodile was - I read this quite quickly and enjoyed it. So,
if psychological thrillers are your thing, and they’re incredibly popular, then
you’ll love this.
3 out 5 stars
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