Know Me Now by C J Carver

KNOW ME NOW

C J CARVER

I am very late to the party here and it has taken me far too long to discover this writer, but there's nothing better than not only finding a new author, but finding one with a back catalogue! Now I have the huge pleasure of being able to go back and enjoy the other two titles in this series as well as the other novels penned by C J Carver. 

This was a great read. I was immediately hooked by the writing. The opening chapter completely had me on the edge of my seat with it's palpable sense of panic, fear and breathlessness as Connor Baird, a teenager out on his bike trying to escape the tension in his family home, ends up lost and inadvertently stumbling upon a shocking discovery. 

There's no let up in the tension and the second chapter introduces us to Dr Grace Reavey who receives a telephone call from a woman who fears she has discovered a dead body. Grace rushes to the scene only to discover the body is that of Connor Baird. 

The police believe it to be suicide - there was a similar case recently and the claim it's a copy cat death but Grace is not convinced. I enjoyed the immediate tension between the local police force and the doctor as Grace refuses to issue a death certificate and requests a post mortem only to be told they are more 'practical' here and without the resources. But Grace will not back down and so begins an investigation into the boy's death.

We're then introduced to Dan Forrester, a man whose father has just died of a heart attack and who is also a good friend of the father of Connor. As they say, the plot thickens, the stakes are raised and the mystery becomes more complex and more intriguing!

I think the thing I enjoyed most about this thriller was that there were two storylines - the death of a 65 year old man and the supposed suicide of a 13 year old boy - and they seemed completely separate plot lines. Dan is involved in both threads and this appears to be the only link so for a long time I was watching, waiting and looking to see how the two stories would converge. Carver manages her plot so skillfully that it as the reader begins to see the connections and join the dots we are absolutely breathless ourselves and on tenterhooks as the truth of both deaths finally starts to emerge. 

 I was also hugely impressed with the way Carver handled her main characters. I really took to Dan, Grace and DC Lucy Davies, who comes up to join the investigation in to Connor's death. The dynamics between them are really well observed, the dialogue is excellent and they felt alive, real and completely believable people. I also enjoyed their back stories, their personal and emotional challenges, their flaws and their strengths. These are multilayered characters to care about and whose journey you want to join. I was impressed with just how intricate the story is, just how many layers there are and just how many angles are explored - yet all executed within highly readable, engaging and gripping prose. Carver's writing is polished, clean and very visual. 

This was a fantastic read. If you are looking for an unputdownable thriller which starts with the death of a young boy and then unravels into something much darker from a past that will not be buried, if you like conspiracy, complex mysteries and a plot that you can totally lose yourself in for hours, then this is the book for you. And if you like characters who are so three dimensional, where their personal life affects their professional duties and challenges them to make decisions or face dilemmas, then this is also the book for you. 

Know Me Now is over 430 pages but I did not notice. It's a story with mystery, suspense, compassion, heartbreak and tension. It's complex plot is beyond impressive and I really couldn't put it down. 

I can't wait to see more of Dan and Lucy and to be entertained with another addictive read from C J Carver. Surprising, gripping and intensely clever, this is one series to look out for!

Know Me Now is the third book in the Dan Forrester series, available now and published by Zaffre. 

C J CARVER 

CJ Carver is a half-English, half-Kiwi author living just outside Bath. Her books have been published in the UK, USA and translated throughout Europe. Her first novel Blood Junction, won the CWA Debut Dagger Award, was shortlisted for the USA Barry Award, and was also voted as one of the best mystery books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Spare Me the Truth, the first book in the Dan Forrester series, has been nominated for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. CJ lived in Australia for 10 years before taking up long distance rally driving – she has driven London to Saigon, London to Cape Town and covered 14,000 miles on the Inca Trail.