Remember Me by
Sarah Diamond
pbk out January 03
(Orion)
at £9.99
Again at the risk of being branded an 'MCP', this is a woman's book, most
of the dramatis personae being young ladies, with details about lip-liners
and bronzers. The crime is right at the very end, though you can see it
coming – and there is not a detective in sight, right to the last page.
It is well-written and very proficient in expressing the stresses and worries
of ambitious career women in the big city. It is largely set in an advertising
agency, which is well-portrayed, as the author herself works in one.
The lead character Rachel is a rising star in her company, with a smart flat, a
new MG and a merchant banking executive for a live-in boyfriend. All is
rosy on the yuppie front until Sophie turns up, a cousin and school-mate
from years ago, back in Dorset. From then on, things become progressively
more pear-shaped, as Rachel has a secret, which is well concealed by the
author in flash-back pages of italics, though the reader can make a fairly
good guess at its nature by half-way through the book.
A combination of employment stress, when she is trying to land a big
advertising contract with Fiat, and apprehension about Sophie, causes
Rachel to crack up. The rather unlikely happening of her taking up with a
schizoid chap who comes in to take the sandwich orders, leads to eventual
nemesis.
The book comes from the 'psychological' stable of genres, not being a police
procedural, nor private eye nor thriller – but is a good read if you're not
addicted to those alternatives.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
