His and Hers by Alice Feeney

HQ | 28 May 2020 | 384 pgs

Source: Library 

His and Hers gives readers three sides of a story - a divorced couple's POVs and the mysterious killer surrounding a murder(s) investigation. 

Anna Andrews has finally gotten the job of her dreams as a newsreader at BBC after her predecessor, Cat Jones, has gone away for her maternity leave. Anna thought she'd get the job permanently through her good performance, but her hope is dashed once Cat decides to return and take back her place. Feeling bitter and dejected, Anna goes back to being a correspondent and her big break finally came when she's assigned to cover a murder in the woods at sleepy Blackdown.  

DCI Jack Harper is Anna's ex-husband and their relationship is torn apart from a tragedy involving their little girl years ago. Jack's life has been mundane until he finds himself entangled in a murder case. It turns out that the murdered victim is someone he knew intimately and it seemed he might be the last person who'd seen her alive. Although the investigation team finds a shoe print around the crime scene, they've yet to pinpoint the perpetrator. Jack and his rookie partner, Priya, are assigned to this case and he's surprised (though not so pleased) to see Anna again under this circumstances. To complicate matters, Anna knew the murdered victim, too. They were high school friends and their friendship was great at some point until Anna saw through her motives. Jack knew about their past friendship but Anna didn't know that Jack was seeing her.  

Through alternative POVs, the reader gets to learn about the thoughts and mindset of Jack and Anna. The killer's narrative was understandably vague for suspense reason, but it does add some doubts about the credibility between Jack and Anna. There're also flashbacks of the past featuring Anna's high school days and her friendship with a few girls; as well as all the bullying which would come back to haunt them all as Anna soon finds her ex-school friends turn up dead one by one. Will she be next? Or are there something more behind Anna's and Jack's mind? Then there's Priya, who is working so hard to please Jack yet she's not totally upfront with him at times. 

Overall, this twisty psychological thriller kept me on edge and the plot and suspense was quite well-paced and nicely executed. The "whodunit" took me by surprise but I didn't really buy the "howdunit" as it seemed a bit far-fetched to me. That said, this minor complaint didn't deter me from enjoying the book. 

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