Review by Booklist Review
Ten years earlier Alison Smith, a first-year student at St. John's College in Dublin, fled her past for a new life in the Netherlands. Five young Dublin women had been murdered, with their bodies found in the Grand Canal, the last of them being Alison's best friend from childhood, Liz. When Will Hurley, Alison's first real boyfriend and inseparable companion for months, confessed to being the Canal Killer, Alison desperately needed to escape the label of the girlfriend who suspected nothing. But when apparent copycat murders begin again in Dublin, and police want assistance from Will (who's confined to a psychiatric hospital), they need Alison's help, for Will refuses to talk to anyone but her. Alison reluctantly gives up her anonymity when she returns to Ireland, assuaging guilt about giving testimony that incriminated Will by turning investigator as she tries to sort through her emotions and revisit her complex relationship with Liz. Howard (Distress Signals, 2017) toggles smoothly between past and present, and between Alison and the perpetrator, revealing the extent of the lies only in the final pages. Another impressive writer to watch in the thriller genre.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Alison Smith, the narrator of this exceptional thriller from Irish author Howard (Distress Signals), is a student at St. John's College in Dublin. After a friend of Alison's becomes the latest victim of a serial killer who knocks women on the head and drowns them in Dublin's Grand Canal, Alison's boyfriend, 19-year-old Will Hurley, confesses to the crimes. Alison flees to the Netherlands to escape the shame she feels over not knowing the "true" Will. Ten years later, two women are found in the Grand Canal, killed in the very same way as those before. At the request of two detectives, Alison reluctantly returns to Dublin, where the imprisoned Will claims to have information pertaining to the murders that he will tell only her. Thrust back into the nightmare of her past, Alison assists the police in their effort to uncover whether a copycat killer is at work-or whether Will was unjustly convicted. Howard keeps the reader turning the pages right through to the shocking and satisfying resolution. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.). (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Howard's (Distress Signals) latest thriller is read by Alana Kerr Collins, Alan Smyth, and Gary Furlong. All of these Irish voice artists do an excellent job, and the audiobook moves seamlessly from one character to another. Alison Smith was a freshman at St. John's College, Dublin, when her boyfriend Will was charged with murdering five women, including her longtime best friend. She thought he was innocent at the time, but when he confessed, she accepted his guilt. Ten years later, Alison is living in Amsterdam when the Dublin Garda contact her, asking her to talk with Will. Similar murders have begun and Will refuses to talk with the police until he can speak with her. Not having been back to Dublin for ten years, she decides to return and fulfill the Garda's request. Her trip turns out to be full of unexpected twists. Will told Alison he was innocent. She believed him these ten years later. Should she have? VERDICT This deliciously creepy read is recommended for those who enjoy mysteries. It is appropriate for young adults as well. ["Readers of Paula Hawkins, Tana French, and Ruth Ware will love this exceptionally well-crafted thriller": LJ 1/18 starred review of the Blackstone hc.]-Cheryl Youse, Norman Park, GA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Twenty-nine-year-old Alison has lived in the Netherlands for the past 10 years, finishing college and starting her professional life. She has never been back to Dublin, not even to visit her parents. Ten years ago, her boyfriend, Will, confessed to multiple murders, and the knowledge that she was in love with a convicted serial killer sends Alison reeling. Will is behind bars, yet the killings have resumed, and the Dublin police are desperate to stop them. Alison agrees to come back, speak to Will, and try to get helpful information. But all is not as it seems, and Alison is shocked to learn the truth. This novel is fast-paced and intriguing, keeping readers guessing until nearly the end. However, Alison prefers to hide rather than face up to reality, which makes sense when she is 19 but wears thin by age 29. Also, readers might get tripped up on the Irish vernacular, if they are only familiar with American English. VERDICT Overall a fun mystery. Purchase where fans of crime fiction abound.-Kristen Rademacher, Marist High School, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An Irish expatriate steps back into a nightmare from her student days.Alison Smith left St. Johns College in Dublin two days after her boyfriend was arrested for murdering five female students, and she's stayed away for nearly 10 years. She's found contentment of a sort at a job in the Netherlands, though she continues to resist a friend's attempts to set her up with eligible men. Then two Irish detectives come to her door and ask her to come home and talk to her ex, Will Hurley. He's been in a psychiatric hospital ever since he confessed to being the killer who preyed on lone female students. But now another victim's body has been found in Dublin's Grand Canal, and Will says he has information he'll share only with Alison. Even though she's spent the last decade pretending her year at St. Johns never happened, Alison agrees to help Will prove his innocence. It's a plus that Michael Malone, one of the two Garda detectives who brought her back to Dublin, also thinks Will is telling the truth. In flashbacks, we see Alison's excitement at leaving her childhood home in Cork for Dublin, searching for student digs and going to parties, her romance with Will, and her growing doubts about her BFF Liz's friendship. But she never doubted Will, never suspected him, and never thought that her desire to tell the truth would lead to his guilty plea. It's partly to right that unintentional wrongand partly because of the encouragement from Detective Malonethat she tries to find the real Canal Killer. Amid distracting details about clothes and cushions, she confronts not only a past tragedy, but a current threat.Although Howard (Distress Signals, 2017) meanders a bit through the streets and shops and pubs of Cork and Dublin, she picks up the pace when it most mattersand tosses a lovely curveball at the end, too. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
