Review: Still Here

Usually I'm a purist when it comes to a series. Sometimes, though, needs must and I jump into a series in the middle. That's what happened with Amy Stuart's novels. I hadn't read Still Mine but I had the chance to review Still Water for Niagara Life and jumped at it (I love featuring female Canadian authors, especially with those magazine reviews). While Stuart's novels do follow the same character, you could go into the latest, Still Here, without reading the rest, but I think you should do yourself a favour and read all three together so you make the most out of this really great thriller series.

Here's the synopsis:

From the bestselling author of Still Mine and Still Water—PI Clare O’Dey is on the hunt for two missing persons. Little does she know she’s the one being hunted.

Malcolm is gone. Disappeared. And no one knows where or why.

His colleague and fellow private investigator, Clare, is certain she can find him, as she holds the key to his past. She arrives in the oceanside city where he last lived and starts digging around. Not only is Malcolm gone without a trace, so is his wife, Zoe. Everyone who knew the perfect couple sees Malcolm as the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Everyone except Clare. She’s certain there’s more at play that has nothing to do with Malcolm, a dark connection to Zoe’s family business and the murder of her father years ago.

As Clare pulls back the layers, she discovers secrets the entire community is trying desperately to leave in the past. As for Malcolm, his past is far more complex—and far more sinister—than Clare could ever have imagined. He may not be innocent at all. As she searches for the man who helped her build her career as a private eye, Clare discovers that many women are in grave danger. And she is among them.

As I said, each book could be read alone but I think you get more out of the linked novels if you read all three. By not reading the first book, I missed out on some of Clare's early motivations as well as learning more about the husband and life she escaped from. I knew enough, though, to be surprised by the twist Stuart threw into the third story. Surprised in a good way. I didn't see it coming but it made total sense and worked well. 

Stuart keeps you guessing with her characters. Each one has had some pretty serious shit mess them up and they've all struggled in various ways with what happened to them. Those pieces of their past also make you wonder how much you can really trust each character. Is everyone who they say they are? Almost certainly everyone is hiding something. But how much? And who is going to get hurt, or even killed, in the end?

Still Here wraps up Clare's story in a way that will satisfy readers without being too tied-up-in-a-bow perfect (though it's close). Amy Stuart gave readers a character who evolved before our eyes - with a few slip ups along the way - as well as three separate thrillers that come together in a pretty epic conclusion. This is definitely a series worth reading.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*