Former editor and features writer Sabine Durrant’s first foray into crime fiction, Under Your Skin had hooked me from the start.

Gaby Mortimer is a morning TV show presenter with a seemingly-perfect life. Of course that’s not really the case as she’s struggling with a difficult nanny to daughter Millie, a husband who’s equally busy and often absent and a competitive and difficult co-host.

When she comes across a body while on a morning run things become complicated and Gaby’s picture-perfect life starts to fall apart. 

The police become increasingly suspicious of Gaby’s involvement when it’s noted that the victim – a Polish-born nanny – looked surprisingly like the TV host who found her body. And then there are a range of coincidences: the victim dressing like Gaby and evidence placing her in the victim’s apartment.

With her husband bizarrely absent Gaby finds herself turning to a fellow journalist to help discover why the police are so sure she was involved.

I actually really REALLY enjoyed the first half of this book. I had to put it down midway and didn’t want to. The idea however, of having it to read the following evening gave me a sense of anticipation I appreciated.

I have to admit however I didn’t enjoy the final third of the book quite as much, though am not really sure why. I ‘sort of’ guessed the plot twist but didn’t – which won’t make sense unless you read it. It’s revealed in such a way that you don’t really see it coming although once it does you get it completely.

I haven’t read Gone Girl, but many reviews I read compared it to Gillian Flynn’s popular novel.

Despite a teensy bit of inexplicable disappointment with the book’s conclusion I still really enjoyed this novel and found myself there with poor Gaby every step of her journey to prove her innocence.

Under Your Skin, published by Simon and Schuster’s Atria/Emily Bestler Books will be available from 4 February 2014.

Buy a copy from Amazon: Under Your Skin: A Novel