Review - Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah

Did You See Melody? by Sophie Hannah
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release date: 24 August 2017
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: She's the most famous murder victim in the country. What if she's not dead? Did You See Melody? is a different kind of Sophie Hannah novel. It is a stand alone. It is pure psychological suspense, with a chilling hook and a killer central mystery. It combines Sophie’s critically acclaimed writing with a pacy and twisty plot.

When Cara Burrows arrives at the luxury Five Star spa resort in Phoenix, Arizona that she can ill afford, she is bone tired and just wants to sink into what is bound to be the most comfortable bed that she's ever slept in.

Sadly, the receptionist gives her the key to the wrong room, one that's already occupied. Mortified at having disturbed its residents, swiftly apologised to and upgraded to superior accommodation, Cara thinks nothing of it until the following day when she goes to ask the receptionist a question.

She is distracted by an older lady, acting a little crazy and asking 'Did You See Melody?'.

Cara has no idea who Melody is, until through overhearing snippets of conversations and befriending others in the resort, she realises she knows exactly who Melody is. The teenage girl sharing the room of the man she disturbed on her first night in Arizona.

But it's an impossibility. Because Melody Chapa is dead, murdered by her own parents in a case that shocked America. Cara realises that she should forget what she saw. But she can't, and becomes obsessed with the Melody Chapa case, researching old youtube videos, newspaper articles; basically anything she can get her hands on online.

Cara had come away to escape her family life, but finds herself drawn into another. A world of suspicion, paranoia and frustration - as she desperately tries to discover the truth. But at what cost?

Did You See Melody? is a clever novel, as Sophie Hannah's so often are. I can't say too much more without giving anything away, but I will say that it didn't see the ending coming. Pretty much all of the suspicions I had, were way off! In a literary world so full of psychological thrillers, this novel is a breath of fresh air.

Did You See Melody is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.