The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
‘Your job is to find a killer, not to vilify the victim.’
Officer Miranda Rader has worked hard to establish herself as a valued and respected member of the Hammond PD in Louisiana. Miranda grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but made a choice not to stay there. The past is history, or so Miranda thought. But when she and her partner are called to a murder scene it isn’t just the gruesome scene that concerns her. Why would a popular college professor have a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night in Miranda’s past? And why has he been murdered in such a brutal way?
When another man is murdered, Miranda is even more concerned. Clint Wheeler was the policeman who took her statement on that terrible night some fifteen years earlier. Could it just be a coincidence? Miranda‘s fingerprints are found at the scene of the first murder, and her every action is being scrutinised.
‘You need to figure out who is doing this to you.’
Miranda needs to try to work out what is going on. In the meantime, her past is rushing in and threatens to overwhelm her. Family members with whom she has had no contact want to meet with her. Her friend Summer is ill, and Miranda is worried about her.
Is Miranda being set up? By whom, and why?
Ms Spindler held my attention in this fast-paced novel. The story shifts between past and present, keeping me busy trying to work out some of the connections. I did work out some aspects out before they were revealed, but not all. A couple of aspects of the story didn’t work for me, but the pace of the novel kept me reading. This is a good rainy day read, and I’d happily add another of Ms Spindler’s novels to my reading list.
Note: My thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large 