Book reviews: Irish intrigue with Andrea Mara

I recently received a little gift box, including two books… promising some Irish intrigue from Andrea Mara. Mara is new to me as an author and I’m always happy to find a new author with a good backlist. I’m interested to know more about them though as both books here are similarly themed around children going missing… as is All Her Fault,  a miniseries I recently watched, based on Mara’s book of the same name. I think the whole not having kids myself and not relating to parenting stuff means I’m less into books about that as it’s not a fear I’ve had to deal with IRL…

About this book

Hide and Seek
by Andrea Mara
Published by Bantam Press
on 04/08/2022
Source: Penguin Australia
Genres: Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller
ISBN: 1787634523
Pages: 337

Goodreads

The game of hide and seek is over, everyone has gone home, but little Lily Murphy hasn't been found. Her parents search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn't happened - but deep down they know this peaceful Dublin suburb will never be the same again.

Years later, Joanna moves into a new house. It seems perfect in every way, until she learns that this was once Lily Murphy's home. From that moment onwards, a sense of dread seems to follow her from room to room.

As Joanna unravels the secrets at the heart of this close-knit community, her own dark past begins to resurface. Because she thinks she knows what really happened to Lily - and if the truth gets out, it might be her undoing...

My thoughts

This unfolds in two timelines, the present (well, 2018) and 1985 when Lily Murphy disappeared. As a result we meet several of the characters when young and old(er).

Joanna’s husband and most of those she meets after moving into the Murphy’s house were around at the time Lily went missing. Indeed her own in-laws were regulars at social gatherings which included the Murphys, foisting kids of varying ages together. And now, some are reluctant to talk about the past, but Joanna is determined to learn more, while keeping secrets herself.

And spoiler, which isn’t a spoiler as it comes up early in the book (p. 8)… readers are also thrown for a little loop as (in the present) this is unfolding from Joanna’s point of view, when she casually/bluntly shares her fear that she killed Lily. (Despite the fact she would have been only six years of age at the time and didn’t grow up in Ireland). It makes no sense, does it? Until Mara brings worlds together and we learn of the connection.

There’s quite a lot happening here, in the present and past and quite a few threads to follow, but I really liked where Mara ultimately takes readers.

About this book

No One Saw a Thing
by Andrea Mara
Published by Bantam Press
on 11/05/2023
Source: Penguin Australia
Genres: Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller
ISBN: 178763650X
Pages: 384

Goodreads

You stand on a crowded tube platform in London. Your two little girls jump on the train ahead of you. As you try to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away, leaving you behind.

By the time you get to the next stop, you've convinced yourself that everything will be fine. But you soon start to panic, because there aren't two children waiting for you on the platform. There's only one.

Has your other daughter got lost? Been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home than you think? No one is telling the truth, and the longer the search continues, the harder she will be to find...

My thoughts

I really enjoyed No One Saw A Thing as it was resplendent with twists I did not see coming. Obviously it’s a novel of suspense but I appreciated that it also provides some commentary on friendships, particularly those that kick off when young and somehow survive over the years. Here Sive ponders the fact that her husband Aaron and his four old friends might have little in common had they met now rather than at university.

The focus is, however, six-year old Faye who’s disappeared on a crowded train. Sive’s juggling baby Toby, Faye and two-year old Bea when the two girls board a train ahead of her and the door closes. Sive is understandably frantic but staff reassure her they will board the train at the next stop and find the girls. But of course Faye is nowhere to be found and Bea not a lot of help as a witness.

Mara does a really solid job here of blending the search for Faye (in the present) with events that have taken place across preceding days during the old friends’ reunion in London. There are also many references to their shared past as rivalries, secrets and lies are all revealed.

Sive’s supported here by a journalist friend Jude – very likeable and pragmatic – who does a lot of digging to help the police. Mara throws us many false leads here although consistently linked however… to Sive and Aaron’s pasts. I certainly didn’t guess where this was heading and Mara keeps the twists coming, even after you think you’re done.

Hide and Seek and No One Saw A Thing by Andrea Mara (and her full backlist) were published in Australia by Penguin.

I received copies of these books from the publisher for review purposes.