Someone Else’s Skin by Sarah Hilary

Reviewed by Chris Longmuir

After a slow start I became engrossed with this book which turned out to be a page turner.

The main theme is domestic abuse, but it’s abuse with a twist. Detective Inspector Marnie Rome, investigates a potential murder where the victim barely survives. He was knifed in the chest by his wife in the women’s shelter where she has sought refuge. DI Rome is also investigating the abduction of another woman from the same shelter, an Asian girl abused by her mother and brothers. The investigations do not run smoothly, and Marnie’s own troubled past affects her decision making, putting Detective Sergeant Noah Jake at serious risk from a deranged killer.

The women’s shelter had an authentic feel, as did the assortment of abused women, and I liked the characterisation of most of the characters. Among these characters, DI Marnie Rome, is obsessed with her foster brother who murdered her parents five years previously, and the need to know why he killed them. Hope, a downtrodden frail woman who uses a knife on her husband, Simone who befriends Hope, and Ayana, who is partially blind following a bleach attack by her brothers because she was not complying with her Asian culture.

But nothing is what it appears to be on the surface, and the twists are fast and furious. If you like suspense and thrills, this is a fascinating read.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk  or  Amazon.com