Rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Riverflow Press
Publication Date: October 12, 2017
In Downside Up, Jane Thornley delivers a thrilling page-turner that had me up late, frantically turning pages, trying to figure out who the killer was.
Summary:
Jenna Elson had a troubled childhood, which she escaped from at every chance she could. When she was young, with Aunt Clair’s urging, and to Uncle Dan’s chagrin, it took the form of “roofing”—scaling Marlytree Terrace, where they lived, and spying on the lives of the people below. Now that she’s older and found her escape by traveling the world, Jenna finds herself drawn back to London, and things have changed.
To start with, Uncle Dan is dead, and though it was ruled accidental, Aunt Clair seems to think it was murder. To make matters worse, Aunt Clair has enlisted the help of two young men—Jake the gardener and Harry/Henry the tech wiz—and immediately starts making changes to the house.
But not everything’s changed. Jenna had thought her roofing days were past her; she was wrong. She revives her childhood game with help from her aunt to try to uncover her uncle’s killer. The suspect: Brian Dunn, an artist with a penchant for brutal nude slasher paintings.
Things become even more complicated when Jenna takes a dive through the skylight of one Nicholas Hewitt, a handsome actor with a killer voice—potentially literally. After sustaining a mild concussion, Jenna wakes to find her memories scattered and fragmented. All she knows for sure is that it’s vital to regain her memories, because that night holds the key to uncovering the truth behind her uncle’s death. And one thing’s for certain: the killer’s not done yet with the residents of Marlytree Terrace.
The Good:
- The storytelling is fantastic. There’s a wonderful blend of description rooting you firmly in each scene and character voice and action. The plot unfolds naturally, in a way that keeps the reader engaged but constantly guessing. I’m usually pretty darn good at figuring out the killer in mysteries, but I was slightly off. I mean, I was almost right. Sort of. Okay, I’d give myself 50 points, and the other 50 points I’d give to Jane Thornley for stumping me (unfortunately for her, just like Whose Line Is It Anyway, the points don’t matter).
- The characters. There was not a single bad character in this story, each with their own unique voices and depth of character, right down to the dog, Mac, who almost seemed hellbent, in his own way, on solving his master’s murder. Jenna is a strong, independent lead who is extremely relatable. Oftentimes in the story, she was thinking what I was thinking. The whole cast has a way of growing on you, especially Aunt Clair. There’s much more to her character than meets the eye, and I loved the way her character unfolds throughout the book.
- The mystery was very well done. There were just enough clues and just enough red herrings (but not the annoying sort). Like I said, I’m pretty good at guessing, in general, but I only got partial credit for this one. Definitely did not predict the ending. I wasn’t thrilled with the motive, either, as it felt sort of weak, but people like that do exist, and I don’t have to like them, either. So it was believable, at least.
- Can we talk about that romance, though? This isn’t a romance book, not by any means, and Jenna isn’t looking for love. I mean, she’s successful in her career, has all the money she needs, isn’t looking to be the “perfect little wife.” She tried dating, found it wasn’t for her, and decided to focus on her career. But she falls into romance, sort of literally. I’m not saying it’s love (and neither is she), but there’s a definite attraction there. She’s built up this ideal of him in her head, and is not at all surprised to find that he doesn’t live up to the dream hunk she’s fantasized about, but that’s real life, isn’t it? There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I loved every minute of it.
- IT’S A TRILOGY. Sorry, but the crushing realization that I’d have to rejoin the real world and leave Marlytree Terrace came crashing down around me as I read the last page. But huzzah! All hope is not lost. It turns out that there will be two more books, and I, for one, cannot wait.
The Bad:
- There were a few things, when all was said and done, that had me shaking my head, trying to figure out why someone didn’t discover X, Y, Z sooner. There were definitely a few moments where it seemed like mere convenience that the police didn’t turn up certain things when they obviously should have. The biggest one it opens with is Uncle Dan’s murder (an autopsy should have raised suspicions about homicide versus accidental for a halfway decent coroner). There’s another big one toward the end that raised red flags and had me going, no way it wasn’t uncovered in the investigation. The lack of explanation in these instances annoyed the crap out of me, but weren’t so far out that they couldn’t be forgiven (and probably, they could have been explained in plausible manners; they just weren’t).
- There’s two other books and I don’t have them yet? I mean, this is seriously one-sided, but there’s not a whole lot I have to say that counts as a negative. Boo for not giving me more negatives? (Just out of spite, I’m taking back those 50 points from earlier for writing such a flawless book.)
Overall:
If, for some reason, you can only read ten books in 2018, I would recommend Downside Up be on the list. It’s a really quick, light read, fairly short, but lots of action and mystery packed into it. Once I started reading, I just couldn’t get enough, and I had to know who the murderer was and if my suspicions were true (they weren’t, so I guess I shouldn’t be rushing out to become a police officer, huh?). I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequels.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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