The Other Passenger
By Louise Candlish
Blurb
It all happens so quickly. One day you're living the dream, commuting to work by riverbus with your charismatic neighbour Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn't turned up for the boat and his wife Melia has reported him missing.
When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit arguing on the boat home the night before and the police say that you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends - ask Melia, she'll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your lives?
No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.
Aren't you?
Our Review
When I requested The Other Passenger I had never read anything by the author but the blurb captured my attention and I decided to give it a try, especially because there already seemed to be a lot of praise for the book.
The first chapter drew my attention but then there was a little bit of a low point where I really struggled to want to read more. This was in part due to the author’s deliberate creation of some pretty unlikeable characters and a heavy emphasis on money – who had it and who didn’t. At times this made it feel a bit repetitive, but I chose to persevere, and I am glad I did because the twists in the plot certainly packed a punch.
The Other Passenger begins with Jamie being interviewed by police over the disappearance of his friend and fellow riverboat commuter, Kit. Jamie is adamant he didn’t kill him but his memory of the night is sketchy and another passenger has come forward who saw them argue.
Kit and Jamie’s friendship is quite an antagonistic one full of little resentments. Kit is much younger than Jamie, arrogant and jealous of Jamie’s monetary situation.
Jamie’s partner Claire works with Kit’s partner Melia and that is how the couple met and began to spend time together.
There is a definite sense of Jamie and Claire trying to recapture some of their youth by spending time with the younger couple.
For his part Jamie is jealous because Melia Is a very attractive woman and although he knows it is wrong, he can’t help feeling a big attraction towards her.
The more the story builds the more the author has us wondering did Jamie have motivation to kill Kit after all or is he being set up?
One of the things that made me interested in The Other Passenger in the first place was the use of the Thames riverboat as a setting for a large amount of the action. It struck me as unique.
I felt that the panic attacks felt by one of the characters during the book were described very well and with a lot of detail.
The Other Passenger is not a book to read if you just want to skip through it but if you are willing to put some effort in it will be rewarded as it has some brilliant twists.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 10 Times.
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