‘Look for Her’ by Emily Winslow

Published by Allison & Busby,
19 October 2017.
ISBN: 978-0749022662

Look for Her is a mystery novel about a cold case. Teenager Annalise Wood went missing from the small town of Lilling near Cambridge in 1976 and, although her body was later discovered in a shallow grave, the police never found out who was responsible. In the following decades, for the community of Lilling, the teenager has become something of a celebrity and for one troubled young woman an obsessive jealousy. When new DNA evidence comes to light the case of Annalise Wood is reopened.

Part of a series, the characters of Detectives Morris Keene and Chloe Frohmann are already established as they re-examine the cold case details of Annalise Wood. Chloe Frohmann is a first-time mum juggling work and the guilt of leaving her child to go off on the investigation. Morris Keene, the lead investigator, is adapting to life after an horrific injury that has seen him moved out of a job he loved and onto the side-lines. There are elements of the police procedural, but a lot of the book is also told from viewpoint of the other main characters: Dr Laurie Ambrose, a University counsellor who is still grieving for her husband even though she has remarried; and her obsessive and manipulative patient Anna Williams. With these four viewpoints the reader can then understand the coincidences that trigger the events of this story.

The writing style of this book is unique as it feels as if it is set in small town America rather than in the UK, so it came as no surprise to find out that Emily Winslow is American but now living in the Cambridge. This is a light read that focuses on the domestic situations of the characters but with a fast-paced climax where the story of what happened to Annalise Wood is revealed.

Reviewer: Christine Hammacott

Emily Winslow is an American writer who in 2006 moved to Cambridge, England, with her British husband and two little boys. Falling in love with Cambridge, its gorgeousness and quirkiness and way the University permeates the city, Emily’s first book began as her attempt to describe it The Whole World was published in 2010.

http://emilywinslow.com/
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Christine Hammacott lives near Southampton and runs her own design consultancy. She started her career working in publishing as a book designer and now creates covers for indie-authors. She writes page-turning fiction that deals with the psychological effects of crime. To read a review of her debut novel The Taste of Ash click on the title.

website: www.christinehammacott.com

twitter: /ChrisHammacott

Facebook: /christinehammacott.author