The Wrong Boy by Cathy Ace

Title: The Wrong Boy Author: Cathy Ace Publication Date: 9th January 2019 Genre: Mystery and Thriller Buy on Amazon

It had been quite some time since I read a psychological thriller and The Wrong Boy was just the perfect book to read to fill in this gap. I still get shivers down my spine when I remember the ending. The identity of the perp is shocking and bone-chilling!

The story starts with an introduction of the characters – Nan Jones, Helen, Sadie, Evan, and Betty. Each chapter is divided into narrations by each of these characters.

Nan Jones owns a pub in the village. Her daughter Helen works at the pub while Sadie, Man’s granddaughter is seventeen and goes to school. The trio has a dark past and their present lives are no better. What I observed amongst these characters was a pattern. Helen dislikes her mother. Sadie dislikes Helen (Sadie’s mother). Nan is controlling in nature to her daughter and so is Helen to her daughter. Nan Jones also has sad memories of the times she spent with her husband while Helen has the same with her ex-husband, Bob. Meanwhile, Sadie maintains contact with her father, and Helen is unaware of this.

Aled is Sadie’s boyfriend. Just like any other teenager in puppy love, Sadie cannot stop thinking about Aled. John Watkins looks out of the window and sees fire on the hill above the village, near the old RAF listening station. He and his wife Dilys are about to celebrate their diamond anniversary the next day but Dilys passes away soon after.

Meanwhile, Hywel Evans takes his dog – Nip, on a walk. The dog runs away from Evans and sits near the rubble of what was previously an RAF listening station. Someone had lit a fire and there are bones. Though burnt and crushed to pieces, they look like human bones. The police are informed about this ‘murder’. Evan is interested in this case but he’s retiring the next day. He still goes to the scene of the crime with Liz, a deputy sergeant.

On further analysis, it is found that the DNA matches that of a drug dealer. Aled is initially taken for questioning and then arrested.

I liked the way the story is portrayed. Each character and their narration of what happens as the story proceeds was an interesting touch. In fact, This is what made the story engaging. There were times when I thought – why on Earth are these people just speaking their mind and nothing’s being done about solving the murder. But it all made sense in the end.

Bob, Helen’s ex-husband is a stalker and much more. Helen is still scared of him but Sadie wants to keep in touch with her father. In fact, I can say that Sadie worships him. Nan and Sadie are portrayed as strong and controlling types while Helen’s a weakling. She’s emotionally weak, she can’t speak up for herself. Basically, she plays the role of a victim and not a survivor.

I must say that the author has done a lot of research on the working of a human mind – People and their behavior, the views of a psychiatrist and many more. Almost at 70% through the book, I had this feeling that the murderer is not someone whom I thought they would be. The murderer has psychological issues – they burned the body, pulled all teeth from the body, crushed the bones and burned it again! And not just that, something sinister happens just before the ending and that really made me pull my blanky closer.

I absolutely loved the story. The Wrong Boy, as the title suggests, was indeed about the wrong boy.  Betty, Evan’s wife is a psychiatrist and when Aled reveals to her the truth, it makes you shiver!

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There’s a giveaway for this tour. If you like to win a print copy of The Wrong Boy by Cathy Ace, then do participate in the giveaway. Giveaway link here. Thank you, Lori Caswell from Escape With Dollycas, for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this blog tour.