Sharp Glass by Sarah Hilary

 

A young woman is hired to pack up an isolated empty house. When she arrives she is knocked unconscious and wakes to find herself held captive in the basement. Her captor is convinced she knows something about the murder of a teenage girl. 

Having purchased a ticket for the crime and thriller festival Bay Tales 2025 I was acutely aware that I hadn't read anything by some of the authors appearing. In an effort to rectify this, I've added a few  books to my TBR pile. Sharp Glass by Sarah Hilary was next on my reading list in preparation for the event.

I went into this book completely blind. Obviously, I knew it was a thriller, but other than all the praise it has garnered on Twitter I knew nothing about it. Dare I even admit I didn't read the blurb beforehand, not that it would have made any difference to me selecting the novel.

This is one of those twisty thrillers where you really have to keep your wits about you as you read. We are faced with not one but two unreliable narrators. Grace Maddox (or is it Gwen Leonard?) is hired to pack up the contents of an empty house. As she arrives at the isolated property she is knocked unconscious. When she wakes she finds herself trapped in a basement. Her captor, Dan, promises her she is safe, all he wants is information from her.

Dan, a gifted doctor, is grieving. The daughter of close friends was murdered a year ago. The murder remains unsolved and desperate for some closure for himself and his friends he's kidnapped Grace, convinced she can shed some light on the murder.

Over a number of days, the questioning goes back and forth. I was reminded very much of two well-matched fighters circling each other; ducking, weaving, and feinting. Trying to land a decisive blow that would bring their opponent to their knees. Both characters are tenacious and neither can be relied upon for total honesty and reliability. Various suspects are offered up as the interrogation continues, suspects who have means and opportunity. There are red herrings galore though, not just in the unreliable narrators. 

By the conclusion I felt as if I'd been a punching bag for both characters, my head was reeling. I didn't like either character at the beginning but by the end I had some sympathy and respect for both.

Author Details

Sarah Hilary’s debut, Someone Else’s Skin, won the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year Award and was also a World Book Night selection, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a finalist for both the Silver Falchion and the Macavity Awards in the US. No Other Darkness, the second in her DI Marnie Rome series, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. The series continued with Tastes Like Fear, Quieter Than Killing, Come and Find Me and Never Be Broken. Black Thorn is her second standalone novel, following Fragile.