When I buy a book, I normally buy based on recommendations from my friends, which means I rarely read new releases, unless they’re from a series I’m already invested in, or an author I have a prior relationship with.
This probably means that I miss out on a lot of good books. Since having children, I don’t have the time, nor the money, to peruse the New Release section of a book shop, or even enter a book shop at all.
Of course, since Pan Macmillan started sending me books, I’m read more new releases, from authors who are completely new to me and this is a good thing. It also pushes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to think a little harder about WHY I enjoyed/didn’t enjoy a book and then articulate that in a way that leaves everyone happy.
Today’s book was The Invisible Ones, by Stef Penney and I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting of it. The cover has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the book, so in that case, cliche fulfilled and you should not be judging the book by its slightly out of place cover.
I started reading it last night, when I was struck down by the flu and too hot/cold to sleep and too achey to do anything internet related. I finished it this afternoon, so it wasn’t a heavy, or involved book by any count, and that suited me perfectly.
Ray Lovell is a private investigator, who is hired to find Rose, who disappeared sometime after marrying Gypsy, Ivo Janko. Rose’s father hasn’t heard from her in seven years and would (finally?) like some closure regarding what happened to his daughter.
Ray himself is half Gypsy, which appears to grant him access to the Gypsy family involved, in a way that someone else wouldn’t be.
Through twists and turns, Ray uncovers more and more pieces of the puzzle, and seems to end up with more questions than answers.
Fear not however, the book manages to tie up all of the plot twists and intrigues into a nice little bundle at the end, leaving me feeling satisfied with the entire book.
I’ve not read anything else written by Stef Penney and mysteries aren’t normally my genre of choice (see above: re pushed out of my comfort zone), but the author made this a highly pleasant reading experience for me, someone who isn’t enamoured of the mystery genre.
I found myself sucked into the story completely and wanting to keep reading, so that I could find out what happened next.
You can buy the book from The Book Depository, or any good book store.