Darkness over Dartmoor
PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller Just Before I Died is the new offering from SK Tremayne, the UK author whose debut, The Ice Twins, was picked for the Richard and Judy Book Club in 2015 and went on to become a huge bestseller.
Set in one of the most remote parts of Dartmoor, in south-west England, this novel tells the tale of Kath Redway, who miraculously escapes from her car after it skids on ice and plunges into a local reservoir on a cold winter night. Suffering from short-term amnesia, she is delighted to be alive and back in her isolated moorland farmhouse with her husband and daughter.
But Kath struggles to understand why her family don’t seem so happy to have her home. Her normally loving husband is cold and distant, while her shy and gifted daughter is acting more strangely than usual. As fragments of her memory begin to return, Kath starts piecing together what really happened that night. Realising that her ‘accident’ was nothing of the kind and that she can trust no one — especially not her husband — Kath is in a race against time to solve the jigsaw puzzle contained in her broken mind before it’s too late.
This is a slow-build plot that initially focuses on getting to know the characters and setting the scene. Each chapter, however, expertly succeeds in tightening the tension just enough, so that by the time you reach the middle of the book, you will find yourself racing through the pages just to get to the truth. There are plenty of plausible twists, turns and red herrings along the way, and, for me, the ending was a surprise that was well executed.
As well as strong characterisation, Tremayne also delivers an evocative portrayal of Dartmoor. While the atmospheric setting is beautiful and vast in one chapter, it is menacing in the next. In fact, Dartmoor becomes a character in its own right, reminding me of John Banville’s depiction of 1950s Dublin in his crime novels. If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that leaves you guessing, this is for you.