In Helen Callaghan’s chilling, tightly-spun debut novel of psychological suspense, a teenage girl’s abduction stirs dark memories of a twenty-year-old cold case…Margot Lewis is a teacher at an exclusive high school in the English university town of Cambridge. In her spare time, she writes an advice column, “Dear Amy”, for the local newspaper. When one of Margot’s students, fifteen-year-old … of Margot’s students, fifteen-year-old Katie, disappears, the school and the town fear the worst. And then Margot gets a “Dear Amy” letter unlike any of the ones she’s received before. It’s a desperate plea for rescue from a girl who says she is being held captive and in terrible danger—a girl called Bethan Avery, who was abducted from the local area twenty years ago…and never found.
The letter matches a sample of Bethan’s handwriting that the police have kept on file since she vanished, and this shocking development in an infamous cold case catches the attention of criminologist Martin Forrester, who has been trying to find out what happened to her all those years ago. Spurred on by her concern for both Katie and the mysterious Bethan, Margot sets out—with Martin’s help—to discover if the two cases are connected.
But then Margot herself becomes a target…
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DEAR AMY by Helen Callaghan
The many twists and turns, uncertain identities, rearranging themselves once again just when I thought I understood who was who, had me stopping to ask questions at several intervals. The book’s plot is an intriguing one:
Margot Lewis teaches at a Cambridge high school and is an agony aunt for a local newspaper in her spare time. When a 15-year-old girl, Katie, goes missing from her school the police launch a massive hunt for her. Margot then starts receiving letters from a girl who disappeared twenty years ago.
Margot, together with criminologist, Martin Forrester, try to discover a connection between the two disappearances. This is a clever psychologic thriller about a serial killer, but one which also deeply probes Margot’s traumatic past and her complex character. The self-analysis is a little lengthy at times, but the pace dramatically accelerates and is exciting, especially in the second half, opening up yet more identity questions. I trusted the author and she did reveal all.
Hellen Callaghan’s writing is beautiful and she has delivered an impressive debut. She has skilfully managed to construct a novel using narratives from more than one point of view. I was engrossed in the story and enjoyed the book. I think she is an author to watch for future reading.
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The opening chapter had me hesitate a bit and wonder if I should continue, as I am always concerned about kids who we read in the news each day that disappear. The author takes the story on a wild ride for the main character, who receives a letter to her advice column from that child. Problem is that event took place many years before. You will be entertained, even if you suspect the outcome.
Very good. Quick read.
Really a good book. I couldn’t put it down
A bit drawn out, but still an interesting twist. Psychological journey.
The overall story wasn’t bad but the author gets tied up with a lot of minutiae that I didn’t feel was particularly relevant. I found myself skimming through slot of the book
Very good.
Margot Lewis is a harried teacher who also works as an advice columnist (Dear Amy) for the local paper. She’s going through a divorce and rattled by the fact that one of her students, Katie, has gone missing. The police think Katie ran off, but Margot isn’t so sure. When Margot receives a letter for her column purporting to be from Bethan Avery, a young girl who disappeared years ago, Margot thinks it must be a joke. But she also thinks of Katie and takes the letter to the police. When more letters show up, Margot is immersed upon a journey that will change her life forever–and endanger it in ways she could have never foreseen.
I have mixed feelings about this novel. It was in no way terrible, but the character of Margot was a tough one to relate to and empathize with. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn’t immediately see the novel’s twist coming, but I found much of the plot implausible and hard to stomach. While the twist wasn’t clear, the connection to Katie seemed to be, and parts were easy to work out. Further, it seems as if Margot is ridiculed and undermined for having a history of mental illness, without given any support or understanding. The novel really does a bit of disservice to those with mental problems. Some of the characters are more enjoyable than others and I really enjoyed parts of the novel, so I hesitated on such a low rating. However, other pieces are just so crazy and out-of-this-world that it was tough to really buy in. Margot grew on me a bit, but the plot didn’t, and I found it hard to reconcile how all of this would come together just so by the end.
In the end, bits and pieces of this thriller are interesting and well-done. The idea and structure are there, but it’s not quite pulled off completely. I truly did enjoy some of it, and I don’t really regret reading it, but I was left wanting a little more, or wishing it was better executed. It may speak to other thriller fans, it just didn’t to me. Overall 2.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!).
There is no doubt that this is excellent work. Sometimes it was a little challenging to deal with parts of the plot in terms of content but writing at a high level, and tension is intriguing to continue reading.
Great Book! Lots of surprises.
Imaginative , story line with in-depth , character development
Am new to this author and have become an instant fan. It helps if you know a few Briticisms, but the writing is tight and literary, with good dialogue to speed the story along. Attention-getting plot builds quickly and takes some twists and turns.
A real page turner, full of surprises
Good psychological thriller
Good beach read
Interesting read…easy to spoil by saying too much …but liked the characters and found the plot believable. Made me think about what happened to the characters after the story ended…my test of a good storyteller.
Interesting ending.
Enjoyed it
As part of my job, I deal with child molestation and sexual assault. Because of that, I try to avoid books with anything on those topics that is more graphic than a statement that something occurred. Early on in this book there are details of a sexual assault. I stopped reading there. It might be a good book but not for a reader who avoids those topics in literature.
This book kept me interested and eager to read more. Liked the twists and turns.