Joe Hart NEVER COME BACK

 4* Decent intro to this author. Sad that the characters weren't really likeable.

This has good bones, decent writing and had me into the tale enough that I read it in a couple of hours, despite not liking Tess or her use of Nora. The characters felt real, none more so than Kenny, the pre-teen caught between her warring parents, but I was also a bit irritated at how little the police and characters, especially the ones being 'used' (trying not to spoiler here) didn't protest more and seemed OK with non-answers. 

It also felt like the parents gave up on their marriage far too quickly, with the mother moving on to a new lover, and the father existing in a sort of limbo. Nora was decent and blurred the lines a little for what seemed like not-unreasonable reasons, and yet at the same time, she knew something was amiss with a particular event that had to involve the cops, yet stayed quiet about it. In a case where cops themselves were already not looking top shiny. Still, it ended half decently, but I didn't warm to Tess and I didn't see why Nora didn't challenge her machinations sooner.

Arc courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for my reading pleasure.

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