What She Left

Really liked this book and how it highlighted how much one life can affect the lives of others around them. The characters were diverse and loved the idea of multiple narratives. Clever, well paced and incredibly gripping. I look forward to the release so I can push it into everyone's hands! Thank you for letting me read this.

What She Left is a cracker of a read. T.R. Richmond has delivered one of those stories that you don't want to stop reading until you reach the end because it becomes so tense and the chain of events and revelations keep you hooked. I found the examination of the digital footprint a person leaves once they're gone really interesting. If like me, you are a keen fan of psychological thrillers and mysteries then I can highly recommend this book.

Alice Salmon is found dead. She drowned whilst under the influence of alcohol. Question is, was Alice’s death a suicide, accident or did someone kill her? Professor Jeremy Cooke has taken it upon himself to write a book about Alice’s life and death. In What She Left, we get to know Alice through her diaries, emails, text messages, and voicemails but also through letters, emails, blog posts etc. from her friends, family and acquaintances.

This book was recommended for fans of Gone Girl and that was the main reason why I decided I needed to read this. Of course, it’s a very different story and the format is completely different, but it does have the same kind of vibe as Gone Girl. It’s bleak, and from the beginning you just feel that something is off. Nothing is really what it seems and you almost expect there to be some kind of plot twist. Not one of the (very intriguing) characters is perfect, and everyone has secrets. Alice’s death is first deemed a suicide or at least an accident, but when more and more secrets come to light as the story turns into a whodunit. And just as Gone Girl, What She Left will not disappoint. I, for one, didn’t see that one coming!

I took my time reading this one, because it’s not a book to rush through. Every email, letter etc. has a date. I found it a tad difficult keeping up with those as they kept jumping back and forth in time, and after a while I gave up. I just focused on the titles and puzzled the story together as I went along. In the end I was actually surprised at how much this felt as an actual story, since you only get bits and pieces and have to put them together yourself (if that makes any sense at all).

Overall, this book really made an impact. Not only was the devastation of Alice’s family and friends portrayed really well, it also showed how much of ourselves, our lives, we put online for everyone to see. It makes you think about how this can be a good thing, but also how this can be a bad thing. In the end you have to realize that everything you do online is out there for everyone to see, and they can do with that information what they want so be at least a bit thoughtful about what part of yourself you put on the world wide web. Very, very, very good stuff.

Publication Date: April 23rd 2015 from Michael Joseph.

Source: Netgalley

Gone doesn’t mean forgotten.
When Alice Salmon died last year, the ripples were felt in the news, on the internet, and in the hearts of those who knew her best.
But the person who knows her most intimately isn’t family or a friend. Dr Jeremy Cook is an academic whose life has become about piecing together Alice’s existence in all its flawed and truthful reality.
For Cooke, faithfully recreating Alice’s life – through her diaries, emails and anything using her voice – is all-consuming. He does not know how deep his search will take him, or the shocking nature of what he will uncover…
Teaser Review: Full review to follow next year.

An absolutely brilliantly constructed story, compelling and actually really quite scary when you can see, all in one go, how much of our lives are just out there in the ether for people to see. The little things and the big, the people who know you and who do not but will speak as if they do, even the smallest of details that you would not think twice about. When Alice Salmon dies, Jeremy Cook starts putting together her life and death through a series of interviews, online information and personal knowledge. Shocking and insightful this is a book you will NOT want to miss!

There is some wonderful writing, wrapped up in an almost matter of fact documentary style story, with surprises and emotional upset along the way,, exploring some extremely intriguing themes beyond that of the digital footprint and I was entirely wrapped up in the story of Alice from start to finish. A truly great read.

Very Highly Recommended. A full and in depth review will appear in a feature day for the novel nearer the time of publication. But if you are the type of person who likes to Pre-Order so you do not forget things, then here is a handy link.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-She-Left-T-Richmond/dp/0718179366/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418921820&sr=1-1&keywords=what+she+left+t+r+richmond

Happy Reading Folks!

We are introduced to the ‘she’ of the title, Alice, in an article she wrote for a magazine when she was 15 years old. Directly after that a student forum post discusses an accident at a local river, and from then on the account of Alice’s life, and eventually death, is crafted from reproductions of various media created by her and those around her – the things she left.
The plot may not be that much different from any that examines an unexplained death, but the method T. R. Richmond uses to craft this novel is really original. The forum posts, emails, tweets and even lists of music from online music streaming sites each reveal a snippet about Alice and the incidents that lead to her death.
I didn't find any of the characters particularly appealing but despite that cared enough about them to want to find out more.
I liked how the documents weren't arranged in a chronological order which meant incidents were revealed gradually and and as soon as I thought I knew how Alice died, a new piece of information took me on a different tangent..

A good suspense novel is one where you don’t see the ending coming, and this was certainly the case with this title. It is one I’ll be recommending to many.