Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder

5 Star

Imagine finding yourself divorced and penniless, with no skills and a teenage daughter to support. What if the only way to survive was to do things you never thought possible?

These are questions Sally Benedict has never thought about. Married to a successful businessman, she’s always been a bit of a dreamer. Until now.

Her sister, Zoë, is a detective in the city of Bath. She is fiercely independent, loves her job, and oozes self-confidence in spite of a crippling secret that dates back twenty years and which—if exposed—may destroy her.

The two women haven’t seen each other for almost twenty years, but the horrific murder of a teenage girl is about to change that. Then Sally’s daughter gets into trouble, and Sally suddenly needs cash—lots of it—fast. With no one to help her, she is forced into a criminal world of extreme pornography and illegal drugs; a world in which teenage girls go missing.

Two sisters intent on survival find themselves confronting situations they never expected to face . . . until one of the sisters does something so horrific and desperate that there’s no way back.

Amazon Kindle Kobo Kobo

Sabrina-Kate - 5 Star

I'd never heard of Mo Hayder before and I'd hesitated about starting Hanging Hill for a few days but as soon as I picked it up, I was hooked. One very big plus for me is the chapters are fairly short and keep the action moving between all of the characters at a quick pace so you're never wondering for long what is going on in the entire picture.

I'd hate to live in the small village where this book is set since it seems like there are quite a few devious characters but it definitely wasn't a book where I could figure out the ending and I appreciated that very much. There were new twists and turns that kept me on my toes and had me racing through pages to get to the next revelation.

This author definitely has a firm grasp on the psyche of humans and the different ways we can close ourselves off, hurt others and generally just be human. Some of the characters are neurotic, some are a bit OCD, some are controlling but all are definitely very believable. The plot is a bit dark, a bit twisted but with momentum that just keeps going and that sucks you in.

Hanging Hill brought up some pretty interesting questions in my mind - how far would you go to protect your family? What would you do if you felt you had no other choice? Definitely food for thought and definitely a book worth picking up (as long as you're prepared to not want to put it down)!

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for our review copy! All opinions are our own.

Follow Mo Hayder:
Website
Facebook