"The Necklace", by Matt Witten

The story in a few words:

A small town waitress, Susan Lentigo, sets out on a road trip to North Dakota to witness the execution of the man who killed her daughter twenty years ago. This is a heart-pounding crusade for justice and as the clock ticks down on Curt Jansen`s life we follow Susan on a journey towards the inevitable. Along the way she meets people pulling her out of multiple predicaments she faced.... especially meeting her ex and the retired cop who made the original arrest.... Janson always maintained he was innocent, now at the last hours Susan wonders if they have the right man behind bars and pinpoints all her energy on finding the truth.

My thoughts:

This story if very predicable I easily pictured what was coming long before I read it. Haven said this, Mr. Witten has nevertheless written a very suspenseful and captivating drama I enjoyed quite a bit. We follow two timelines: one set twenty years ago, when the crime occurred. The second timeline is present day when Jansen is days from being executed.

“The necklace” is a fast-paced thriller hard to put down and is told from the point of view of Susan. The writing style is very direct no flowery language to slow down the prose. Even with its dark and dreary subject matter the story is not a depressing read. Susan character is multi-layered and human. She makes mistakes and takes risks; it is so easy for us to root for her all the way.

The necklace plays a key part of the plot and why is this simple piece of beaded jewellery made by Susan and worn by the daughter just days before her murder so special.....the simple answer: the necklace was never found during the investigation....an intrigue that follows us till the very end.

Although this story is a fiction, the author has based some parts on different events and people and had made a true page-turner with few twists to derailed most of us.

This is a good read I enjoyed passing time with.

I wish to thank Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.