An irresistible, twisty new thriller from the author of Where She Went, perfect for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Gillian Flynn.If everyone is lying, who can you trust?The Halfway Inn is closed to customers, side-lined by a bypass and hidden deep in inhospitable countryside. One winter’s night, two women end up knocking on the door, seeking refuge as a blizzard takes hold. But why is the landlord … blizzard takes hold.
But why is the landlord less than pleased to see them? And what is his elderly father trying so hard to tell them?
At the local police station PC Lissa Lloyd is holding the fort while the rest of her team share in the rare excitement of a brutal murder at an isolated farmhouse. A dangerous fugitive is on the run – but how can Lissa make a name for herself if she’s stuck at her desk? When a call comes in saying the local district nurse is missing, she jumps at the chance to investigate her disappearance.
The strangers at Halfway wait out the storm, but soon realise they might have been safer on the road. It seems not all the travellers will make it home for Christmas . . .
‘Claustrophobic and infused with menace. B. E. Jones creates a sinister world of secrets, twists and revelations’ Alison Bruce
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Very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Cannot wait to read more form this author.
Well, if you like a good crime fiction thriller and don’t mind a bit of gore, Halfway by B.E. Jones may just be the book for you!
What it’s about: Told in the space of one day, this book switches mostly between a hitchhiker trying to get out of town, the “old man” who is bedridden due to a stroke, and a young police officer named Lissa Lloyd who is trying to make a name for herself on the police force. Set in a small village in the heart of Western Wales during a snowstorm, this is a book about murder, lies, theft, and the connections between our players.
I don’t want to say more about the plot because I think Halfway is another one of those novels where it is best to go in pretty much blind and let the story unfold. I will also warn people that the blurb for this book, in my opinion, is a bit deceiving and not completely accurate to the story. My suggestion is not to read it at all if you can help it, and just read the book (or read it and forget it like I did!).
I loved the concept of the whole book being set in one day. Besides the prologue and what I would consider an epilogue, it starts on December 22 at 9:30 AM and ends the same day at 5:30 PM. I thought it was a very clever novel, and I was pretty blown away by how everything turns out in the end. This book reminded me a bit of movies like Crash, which isn’t something I’ve read much before.
I don’t know if I was a huge fan of any of the characters, and Lissa annoyed me, but that wasn’t really a problem and I think it was part of the point. I was very into the story and it was a very fast read for me. Halfway does get a little gory, but there are really only a small number of scenes like this and it didn’t gross me out too much. You also get a lot of backstory on some of the characters, so I would say the pace of this book isn’t particularity fast, and some people may find it slow. For me, I just couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next and I didn’t really spot anything coming.
The only thing that I really had any issues with was that I thought the ending got a tad confusing. The details of the jewelry robbery got a little convoluted for me and I didn’t understand the significance of all the names the author ends up mentioning. Overall, this book is pretty easy to follow along with, but the end threw me for a loop when I started hearing a bunch of people’s names I wasn’t familiar with and how they were supposed to all tie together.
Final thought: Halfway is a bit of everything – crime, a character study, psychological thriller, and mystery. It was cleverly written, if a bit slow-paced, and had a very unique concept that I enjoyed. I would recommend this book to mystery fans that don’t mind character detail, a slower pace, and some gore (mind you, NOT Karin Slaughter gore). Overall this was a very interesting and unique book, and I definitely look forward to reading more from B.E. Jones!