Mosaic

by Caro Ramsay

"A skilfully written thriller with a palpable sense of dread and disaster that will grab readers from the first page through to the shocking conclusion" - Booklist Starred Review

"Terrific . Suspense fans won't want to miss this chiller" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review

From the acclaimed author of the Anderson & Costello series, a compelling standalone psychological thriller.

Megan Melvick has returned home after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa, for the last time. As she approaches the grand Scottish country estate where she grew up, the memories come flooding back. Just what did happen on the night of Melissa's wedding five years before? Where has Megan and Melissa's mother disappeared to? And why does Melissa whisper that solitary word before she finally slips away: Sorry.

In order to overcome her demons, Megan must confront her painful recollections of that terrible night, the night of Melissa's wedding. The night somebody died. But can she really trust her memories? And who is it who's determined that she should forget .?

• ISBN10: 0727888927
• ISBN13: 9780727888921
• Publish Date: 28 June 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Mosaic is a standalone crime thriller set in Scotland and expertly written by Caro Ramsay. Released 1st Oct 2019 by Severn House, it's 256 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

This one has a wonderfully gothic + golden age Christie-esque feel. There is even a manor house (on an island!) and a wealthy upper-class family with a tragic history. The narrative itself is written in alternating points of view, but the characters are so well delineated that it's never a problem keeping them straight whilst reading. The plot is full of tension and red herrings and I read the whole thing in awe of the author's control of plotting, drama, atmosphere. This is a technically scintillating book as well as being entertaining and a good read.

I have read so many thriller/crime books lately which had absolutely been written with film adaptation in mind. The scenes were set up and written as staged and directed for film. This book, refreshingly, was written as a book. The scenes and dialogue were not film sequences.

Really well written, dramatic tension and plot arc work well, characters are interesting and varied, setting is wonderful, the author (in my opinion) bobbled the denouement a bit, but overall the book is superb.

Four and a half stars, rounded up for the writing. One of my best reads for the year.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.