BOOK OF THE WEEK

Raven Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, £12.99

Greenwich Park is the debut novel by Katherine Faulkner and centres around thirty-something Helen in the final months of her pregnancy. Having had a series of miscarriages, Helen is signed off work early, and with her workaholic husband, Daniel, always busy, and her friends cancelling plans, she finds herself bored and lonely. To make matters worse, Daniel has arranged disruptive renovations of their Grade II Listed home in Greenwich, which seems to be never ending.

Helen is set to attend her local antenatal classes with her sister-in-law, the perfect, and also pregnant, Serena, her brother Rory, and Daniel. However, when none of them turns up, she is forced to talk to Rachel who is the opposite of Helen in every way. Where Helen is quiet and eager to please, Rachel is brash and makes no qualms about drinking a glass of wine in front of the class. We see Rachel begin to weave her way into Helen’s life, turning up everywhere Helen goes until suddenly Rachel is moving in, much to Daniel’s horror. When Rachel goes missing after a particularly heated argument with Helen, she and her family are all in the frame.

This thriller was a slow burn, and the countdown through the weeks of Helen’s pregnancy brought another level of tension as we unravel the motives of each of the characters. At first, Rachel appears as something of a caricature (I’m not quite sure what 25-year-old would still have a Playboy phone case in 2018), however as we start to unpick the links between current events and past traumas, we realise this front is hiding a much darker secret.

Narration shifts between Helen, her journalist friend, Katie, and Serena, with occasional flashbacks and chapters simply titled “Greenwich Park” where we follow two mysterious figures. Perhaps more could have been made of the titular Greenwich Park setting, as aside from these chapters and some extraneous mentions of local landmarks, it didn’t feel that the park was an essential part of the plot. Despite this, it’s clear Faulkner’s career in journalism has helped her to write a well-crafted and meticulously thoughtout mystery. While some dialogue felt a little trite at points, the pace of the plot moves perfectly and although there are certainly plenty of clues, she keeps us guessing until the big reveal.

Overall, a great psychological thriller and an impressive debut. Faulkner is clearly one to watch.