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HER ONE MISTAKE
by Heidi Perks
Gallery, February 2019
320 pages
$26.00
ISBN: 1501194224


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

HER ONE MISTAKE is a rivetting read. The book begins benignly with Charlotte taking her three children and a friend's daughter to the fair. She is delighted that her friend Harriet has allowed her this privilege, since Harriet has never before let anyone care for her four-year-old daughter. Within minutes of arrival, Charlotte looks at her iPhone for a minute, the child vanishes and the novel's rollercoaster ride begins.

Perks evokes powerful empathy for both the distraught Harriet and the guilt-ridden Charlotte.

As police interrogate the two women, we learn increasingly disturbing details of their lives and relationships. Family members act strangely, for obscure reasons. Friends and neighbors, slow to accept newcomers like Harriet, are quick to judge and condemn their own when tragedy strikes. It becomes difficult not only for the women but also for the reader to know whom to trust, as themes of abuse, deception and entrapment are explored.

One of the book's fascinating features is that although the police are constantly present, this is not a police procedural. We have little idea what the detectives think, only what the protagonists fear. Perks focuses exclusively on the inner lives of the two women, which are fraught and convoluted – and ultimately hold the key to the mystery of the girl's disappearance.

The novel is deftly plotted and highly suspenseful. Its twists and turns are unexpected and increasingly chilling, but the author has carefully laid her groundwork, so the story always seems credible. Her characters are unusual and intriguing, and the pace is so relentless that one flies through the book.

All in all, an insightful psychological thriller, with a satisfying conclusion. If you want to be totally distracted for a couple of days, HER ONE MISTAKE is the book for you.

§ Meg Westley is a writer and retired educator living in Stratford, Ontario.

Reviewed by Meg Westley, December 2018

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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