Book Stop Corner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”




Flynn Berry, an American author, pens a gripping debut psychological thriller, Under the Harrow that unfolds the tale of a sister who finds her elder sister brutally murdered in her house, who then decides to investigate her sister's murder in order to give justice, but this sister is not a huge believer in police's modus operandi and therefore she must find the killer with or without the help of the local authority.






Synopsis:

When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she expects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks into Rachel’s familiar house, what she finds is entirely different: her sister has been the victim of a brutal murder.

Stunned and adrift, Nora finds she can’t return to her former life. An unsolved assault in the past has shaken her faith in the police, and she can’t trust them to find her sister’s killer. Haunted by the murder and the secrets that surround it, Nora is under the harrow: distressed and in danger. As Nora’s fear turns to obsession, she becomes as unrecognizable as the sister her investigation uncovers.

A riveting psychological thriller and a haunting exploration of the fierce love between two sisters, the distortions of grief, and the terrifying power of the past, Under the Harrow marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.


On her visit to her sister, Rachel's house in Oxfordshire, Nora Lawrence finds her elder sister brutally stabbed eleven times along with her pet dog. Immediately Nora decides to find the killer of her sister and will give justice to her dear sister, but she has less faith on the modus operandi of the police who long time ago could not find the person who assaulted Rachel, thus she checks in to a local hotel from where she keeps a close watch of the murder investigation done by the police and Nora is sure that the long time ago assault on Rachel is somehow connected to her murder, so behind the backdrop of the investigation, Nora launches herself on the analysis of her own to know about her sister's secrets and as she goes through her sister's life, it becomes clear to Nora that she hardly ever knew her sister from the inside. So aside her gut-wrenching grief over her sister's death, can Nora find her sister's killer?

The author's writing style is fantastic and is very well structured and laced with a mixture of suspense and emotions. Although the story opens with a lot of ramblings through the main character's thought process, eventually, after few pages, the author pours intense tension with a bit of raw violence that will immediately take the readers up on a roller coaster ride filled with sister drama, edgy thrill and enough excitement. The narrative is also very intense, although most of the time, the readers will find themselves inside the head of the main character, who gradually goes crazy with the weight of her sister's brutal murder and the secrets those set them apart. The dialogues are honest and has power to grip the readers' minds. The pacing varies from being slow to being bit moderate to being fast near the end.

The mystery is concocted with tension and layers those are peeled away by the author eventually with the course of this mind-twisting thriller. The mystery has it own elements to make itself riveting, like other than its usual suspense, it has a lot of anticipating moments and lots of twists that will only intricate the plot if the readers try to build this puzzle on their own. The readers will be taken by surprise with that unexpected climax which is so much depended on this sister relationship that plays a major role in the story.

The characters in the book are well developed and are kept closer to reality. The main character, Nora is a very authentic and everyday character, whose life is not highlighted by anything new or exciting, but one day, this boring lifestyle person's life drastically changes as she comes face-to-face with a heinous dead body of her darling sister, whom she thought knew so well. Nora bravely acts like a mature adult to take responsibility to find out the killer, but it seems the grief and the secrets evolved her into someone different and rather impulsive. All through out the story line, Nora will have this strong psychological grip on the readers' minds and will twist their minds like her mind is getting twisted with each passing day. The sister relationship between Nora and Rachel is depicted evocatively with passion, trust and friendship, and also the author has cleverly strained that relationship by igniting an untold secret between them.

In a nutshell, the story explores a bond that is not only defined by blood but is also defined by love and trust between two sisters and also portrays a spell binding psycho thriller in the foreground of the sisterly tale.

Verdict: A compelling read!

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Flynn Berry's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Flynn Berry is a graduate of the Michener Center and has been awarded a Yaddo residency. She graduated from Brown University. Under the Harrow is her first novel.
She is represented by Emily Forland at Brandt & Hochman. The editor of Under the Harrow is Lindsey Schwoeri at Penguin.
Visit her here



Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US
• Amazon India