Sewing The Shadows Together - Alison Baillie

"Can you ever get over the death of your sister? Or of your best friend? More than 30 years after 13-year-old Shona McIver was raped and murdered in Portobello, the seaside suburb of Edinburgh, the crime still casts a shadow over the lives of her brother Tom and her best friend Sarah. When modern DNA evidence shows that the wrong man was convicted of the crime, the case is reopened. So who did kill Shona? Sarah and Tom are caught up in the search for Shona's murderer, and suspicions fall on family and friends. The foundations of Sarah's perfect family life begin to crumble as she realises that nothing is as it appears. Dark secrets from the past are uncovered, and there is another death, before the identity of the real killer is finally revealed...Set in Edinburgh, the Outer Hebrides and South Africa, Sewing the Shadows Together is a thoroughly modern murder mystery that keeps the reader guessing to the end. Filled with characters who could easily be friends, family or people we work with, it asks the question: Do we ever really know the people closest to us?"

I have to say, I thought I had this one sewn up (haha pardon the pun) all the way through. I was convinced, absolutely convinced, that I KNEW who the murderer was. Surely it was obvious - very tiny little subtle hints pointed me in one single direction - til it turns out that it was just a very clever red herring and I was completely wrong. Something that I love in a book.

This was very well-written and I did really enjoy it, however I did feel that some of the characters could have been a bit bolder, for want of a better word. I liked Sarah, but I think I would have liked her more with a bit of fire in her belly, she just seemed to take her lot lying down, with no argument.

The killer was a shock - but perhaps would have been more of a shock if that person had had more of a presence through out the novel - this is in no way a criticism, in fact if there had been more of a presence it might have ruined the whole thing. I never guessed it though and that's the main thing! 

An enjoyable read, I will definitely look out for more by Alison Baillie.

Sewing the Shadows Together is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

**My thanks to Alison for my review copy**