This book fits precisely into the "police procedural" category and follows the disappearance of an 8 year old girl (Daisy) from her Oxford home. It is quickly ascertained that her parents are both pretty awful - the mother vain, selfish and uncaring, the father a philanderer. Much is cleverly revealed in the flashbacks, starting with the recent past and gradually going further back in time so that we discover more and more about the family and their circumstances.

The book is well written and could certainly be described as a page-turner. I became intrigued with the story and looked forward to each new reveal, wanting to know what happened to lead the family to where they were. Needless to say, the dramatic opening left much to the imagination and gave rise to assumptions that were not necessarily borne out later (a technique well established in crime literature). There was also a sub-plot involving the Detective Inspector assigned to the case, who had lost a child less than a year previously. However, I did not feel that this sub-plot meshed with the main plot that well.

I did enjoy the many voyeuristic Twitter and Facebook extracts, witnessing the trolling and abuse the family had to endure from the nastier elements in society, egging each other on with their assumptions and uninformed opinions. What I did not enjoy about this book was the character of Daisy herself - basically she was far too sophisticated, clinical and impartial for someone of that age and this did not ring true. Her behaviour and attitudes were more like a sulky teenager than an 8 year old.

Overall this book is definitely worth a read and the ending came as a surprise.

CLOSE TO HOME by Cara Hunter

Real twist at the end, and not who'd you think!

I read this book more or less in one sitting. In fact I couldn't put it down. It does go backwards and forwards quite a bit, but it is one of the best books I've read for a while.

I have to say, I did find the child Daisy quite precocious at times, and not quite as saintly as everyone thought. I felt sorry for her brother as he seemed left out a lot. The mother and father were something else!!! However, as an avid crime reader, I would never in a month of Sunday's suspected the end. It was jolly well written, even I was surprised!!

I hope there is more from Cara, and my thanks to the publishers and net galley for the advance copy.