‘The Point of Rescue’ by Sophie Hannah
Published by ISIS Audio Books. ISBN 978-0-7531-3122-0 ( 11 Cassetts)
Read by Charlotte Stevens

Sally Thorning is having a hard day, the children are appalling and to top it all, she believes that somebody has tried to kill her. That evening, whilst watching the news with her husband, she sees the story of a mother and daughter that have been found dead; Geraldine and Lucy Bretherick. The husband’s name is Mark; this a name Lucy never thought she’d hear again. All the details are the same: where he lives, his job, everything except that the Mark Bretherick on the screen is a man Sally has never seen before. Sally knows that the man she sees is not the "real" husband because she spent a week with Mark Bretherick last year. And if she knew the real Mark, who is the man on TV and did one or the other of them just try to kill her?

The police accept the idea that Geraldine drowned her daughter and then slashed her own wrists. But DC Simon Waterhouse and Sergeant Charlie Zailer can't see it as a murder-suicide.

Sally realises that she looks exactly like Geraldine, was that why she was almost pushed under a bus and is being followed by someone in a red Alpha? She can’t go to the police, her husband, Nick knows nothing of her illicit week away, but feels she has do something. Sally decides to poke about a bit, starting with a visit to Mark Bretherick at his house.

The Point of Rescue is Sophie Hannah's third crime novel. It is an unusual mixture of a menace thriller, a humorous story of a harassed - housewife, a damaged-cop novel and a few other things I am unable to mention without giving away too much. The elements of the story are separated by three narrative styles.

The first person narrative is that of Sally, who is trying to cope with two jobs, a clueless husband, and a couple of demanding young children.

Extracts from a diary written by Geraldine Bretherick, this is an interesting juxtaposition since the diary's narrative is an extreme version of Sally's comedic take on her own life.

The police part of the book is told in third person, this involves DC Simon Waterhouse and Sergeant Charlie Zailer and their various colleagues, a story which has run through all three of Hannah's books.

Sophie Hannah combines all the elements above with great skill. I highly recommend The Point of Rescue as an enjoyable crime novel that is at the same time funny and involving, with a good twist or two at the end.

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Sue Lord