A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE A BODY
LAURA MARSHALL
*****
Can you come round?' Dad says tremulously.
'Of course. Are you OK? Is it Mum?'
'No!' He almost shouts it. 'Just come quickly. The garden...the...body... we need you, Penny.'
For women of Penny's generation, being on hand for elderly parents is just part of life. But for Penny, things have become a little more serious...
When she receives a frantic phone call from her parents one night, with express instructions NOT to call the police, Penny rushes over at once. But they haven't had a fall. They haven't forgotten their computer passwords. They've killed someone. And his body is lying in the garden, right next to the rose bushes.
Everyone is capable of murder. They just need to meet the right person.
MY REVIEW
*****
When Penny’s older parents ring her, she is expecting to help fix their Wi-Fi, but when they ask her for help disposing of a body, her life takes an unexpected turn.
This is my first read from Laura Marshall, but it won’t be my last! The writing was fast paced and engaging, and I was hooked throughout, finishing it in 2 days. The book starts with Penny receiving a call from her parents to bury a body and then goes right into flashbacks with them opening their home to lodger Cooper. Cooper is thoroughly dislikeable, and this part of the book is actually difficult to read at times, as you can see his manipulation and how helpless the family are to stop him. The second half then becomes a cat and mouse chase as they try to quite literally get away with murder. There’s a lot of twists and turns, particularly in the second half which left me gasping as I read.
I really like Sissy, the mother who used her age to her advantage - it was sad to see how easily people would discount the parents for being old (including their daughter). They more than proved how capable they were by the end though! Penny as a main character makes a lot of mistakes which are frustrating at times for the reader but also felt quite realistic for someone who felt lonely and betrayed by her husband. Although it’s a very dark theme, it was told so well and made for a truly compelling read – a Kindig Gem for 2024.
Overall, A Good Place to Hide a Body is a gripping and compelling read and one of my books of the year. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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