When Lily Caldwell died she didn’t float above herself, or see a bright light or walk down a tunnel - she saw the face of her murderer. Unfortunately, when the doctors brought her back to life, no-one believed her. For she had identified Governor Robert ‘Nob’ Stevens as the murderer of her partner Danny Donovan and for the attempt on her own life. She doesn’t blame anyone for not believing her, or for Chief Pulizzi for firing her from the police force, but she does blame Grayson Caldwell for not sticking by her.
Thirty years old and jobless, with her marriage over, Lily sets out to prove Nob Stevens’guilt - but why would the Governor of the state want to kill her? It makes no sense, even to Lily. She has just one piece of knowledge from the shooting - the name of a girl she didn’t know, a teacher who’d been dead for seventeen years: a girl called Emily Martin.
Told from multiple points of view, the book switches effortlessly between the main characters, sending the story along at a cracking pace. Although we know the name of the perpetrator from the outset, there is a deep secret at the heart of the story. As Lily draws nearer to discovering what it is, she puts herself in the gravest danger from someone who must keep this secret at all costs and will stop at nothing to keep it hidden.
A good mystery, with a strong element of romance and an interesting plot. I hope that this is the start of a series because I liked Lily Caldwell, she is a strong and determined woman. - go girl. Recommended.
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Lizzie Hayes
The Dark Backward is Julie Buckley’s first novel.