Cara Hunter brings the reader on a convoluted and twisty path, as new disturbing information is drip fed as you turn each page. They are quite dysfunctional and at times quite cold, resulting in me travelling down many a cul-de-sac with my ‘Oh so wrong’ conclusions. The Mason family are not one that I warmed to in any sense. Adding a more complex side to this new protagonist makes a great theme that I have no doubt will run through the series, with the second book. Yet he manages to push his personal problems to one side and focus on the search for Daisy Mason. It’s Trial by a Thousand Tweets.Īdam Fawley is a man fighting his own private demons and there are times you wonder if he is the right person for the job. Sharon and Barry Mason are ripped apart as accusations fly, based on their demeanor, their words, what they are wearing, the emotions expressed. The case is discussed, with it’s own hashtag #finddaisy, and conclusions are drawn. We live in a world that is always ‘on’ and where everyone now has the opportunity to publicly express personal opinions as and when they wish. How could Daisy Mason just disappear? Was she taken or did she wander off? How is it possible that no guest or family member saw anything untoward?Ĭara Hunter makes great use of social media in Close to Home, highlighting the impact of Twitter trolls on societal opinions and the affect it has on the case.

He picks up on personality quirks and as a reader we get a great insight into his thought processes and his interpretation of actions and events.Īdam is very wary of all that were present at the party, as it’s soon very apparent that the facts don’t add up. The mannerisms, the clothes, the relationships. They know.’įrom the get-go, Adam is analyzing the behaviour of the family. Perhaps not consciously, and perhaps not yet. However distraught they look, however unlikely it seems, they know who did it. Family, friend, neighbour, someone in the community. Nine times out of ten it’s someone close to home.

Fawley has plenty of experience in the area of missing children and his initial thoughts immediately set off an alert in the reader’s mind. A child is missing at night time so a full team is promptly called in. It’s 2am and at this point the house and garden have been searched. But at midnight, on the evening of the party, their lives change forever as it’s discovered that Daisy has vanished.ĭI Adam Fawley is called to the scene. It’s an opportunity for them to get to know their neighbours a little better and for Sharon, it’s a chance to make an impression. Sharon and Barry Mason live in Barge Close, a new estate, with their two children Leo and Daisy.

Close to home a novel cara hunter