Book Description
No body, no motive, no name…so who did she kill?
When wealthy divorcee Stephanie Kuler asked a private detective to investigate a murder, he told her to go to the police instead.
But when she told the rest of the story, he took the case.
There was no body, no reason to kill and no name for her supposed victim, but she knew she was the murderer.
Solving the mystery meant jail for her and a headache for him. Premonition, false memories, déjà vu…the mind playing tricks or reality distorted through time?
The unmissable new thriller from David Roy explores the dark side of memory and its impact on us all
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Absent Victim' by David Roy.
Read and reviewed for David Roy, ZooLoos Book Tours and Hobart Books.
Publication date 7th June 2021.
This is the first book I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its unique cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Hobart Books. I have yet to read a book published by Hobart Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 28 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have holidayed in Ireland on a couple of occasions so am looking forward to see if I recognise anywhere.
This book is written in first person perspective. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them.
This book is well written leaving me feeling that I was being told their story while sitting in the room with them and feeling everything each was going through or feeling themselves. The cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.
The storyline was intriguing, multi-layered and unique. I really have never read a book like this one before!!! I would class this book more as a mystery than a thriller. The book seems to be murder mystery but the author seems to use the storyline to put forward his views on several controversial subjects that have been the talk of the news since 2020 when this book was set. The protagonist, whose name we never do learn, along with Billy, speak alot of Covid, Vaccinations, Lockdown, Masks, BLM, the Troubles (this one is obviously a long time before 2020 but something that is also discussed) and Brexit. I did find these "chats" quite interesting and did make me wonder what the authors true view points are on them. I've never read a book that features so heavily on Covid as most of the ones I've read don't discuss it at all and some mention it at the end of Covid. I've read some where as the book ends Covid and lockdown has just begun. Along with the main storyline of trying to discover whether Stephanie has killed someone there are several sub plots to keep the reader engaged. There were several parts where I laughed out loud at some of the things the characters were saying or what happened. I will say that the book did take a while to get used to but once I got used to it the story flowed and it became an enjoyable, intriguing and unique read filled with controversial subjects, mystery, false memories, twists and much more.
The characters were all realistic, strong and well defined each with their own unique personalities. I must say that the character who stood out for me the most had to be Billy and his "Billy isms" that had me in stitches. Some of the words he came out with to describe every day objects really were amusing such as Gongled (Google), Interweb (Internet), Interweb machine (computer), Individual/Linked/Corporate machine (Car, Train and Bus in that order). Billie also had an obsession with zombies which also made me chuckle. I liked our main protagonist too but it was Billie that stood out the most for me. It would have been nice to find out the name of our protagonist but at the same time not knowing seems to add to the mystery in some way.
Overall an intriguing and unique story filled with mystery, false memories, twists, controversial subjects and more that will leave you thinking about it long after it ends.
Genres covered in this book include Mystery, Thriller, Private Investigator Mysteries, Suspense and Crime Thriller amongst others.
378 pages.
This book is just £1.95 to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@Bookworm86 @bookworm1986 @ZooLoosBT @DavidRoy @HobartBooksLtd
Author Bio
David Roy was born in Bangor, Northern Ireland in 1965. After a number of years in the army he left a life in uniform to read for a degree, ultimately qualifying as a secondary school teacher.
He is the author of many books, the first written in 1994 as an account of his service in the first Gulf War. His book 'The Lost Man', the first of his Ted Dexter adventures, featured on ITV's 'The Alan Titchmarsh Show' where it was shortlisted in the 'People's Novelist' competition.
As well as being a soldier, David has been a dishwasher, a teacher, a civil servant, a security guard, a welfare assistant and an ambulance crew member. He is married and now lives in England with his wife and two daughters.
Social Media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigdaveroy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidRo02674885
Purchase Link
Amazon: https://geni.us/PYFx
