Close To The Edge by Anna Britton

 

Close To The Edge by Anna Britton is the sequel to the highly praised debut novel, Shot In The Dark and takes off immediately after the events at the end of the first book. I hate spoilers in reviews but it is going to be impossible to describe the events in  Close To The Edge without reference to the events at the end of  Shot In The Dark. If you haven't read the first book I'd suggest you stop reading this review now and go and read the book now.

I was shocked by the shooting that happened at the end of the first book and I'm sure I echoed many readers when I thought "You can't leave us hanging like that". We join DI Juliet Stern and DS Gabe Martin in the aftermath of the shooting. Both have survived and are in hospital, Stern is the more seriously injured of the two.

The reason for the shooting is the backbone of the story. Is it retribution for the case they've just closed or are they getting too close to the organised criminal gang they are investigating? Added to the mix is the disappearance of a university student. 

Gabe refuses to take time to recuperate, you can feel her frustration at being sidelined. She is desperate to uncover who is responsible for the shooting but also feels guilty that the investigation is pulling staff and resources from the missing persons case. Gabe can't shake the feeling that everything is connected.

While Gabe tries her hardest to insert herself into the investigation we hear little from Stern. Juliet has issues closer to home to deal with. The behaviour of Stern's husband raised quite a number of red flags for me. We know that Juliet is self-contained, doesn't suffer fools gladly and is determined to keep her private life private. Much of this is simply her personality but we now see that there may be something darker lurking in her home life.

The sense of menace and danger pervades the story, I really did fear for the safety of some of the characters. You get a real sense of what it must be like for the police knowing that by simply doing their job they could be putting the well-being of family and friends in jeopardy.

Refusing to be intimidated leads Gabe to a tense showdown and we discover how the different threads are connected. The author does manage to give the reader some happier moments towards the end of the story but then, just as she did at the end of the first book, throws in a closing page that has you desperate to know more.

Close To The Edge by Anna Britton will be published in paperback, ebook and audio format on 12th September 2024. My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo Crime for a review copy.

Author Details

Anna lives on the Isle of Wight with her husband and their chronically clumsy Labrador. An avid reader, she began writing around ten years ago and hasn’t stopped since. Anna works as a freelance editor and loves helping out other authors. When not filling her head with stories, Anna enjoys baking (and eating) cakes and exploring rivers in her kayak.