A review by lu_wilson
The Point Of Rescue by Sophie Hannah

1.0

Have just finished this book and if I had to describe it in one word it would be disappointing. I came across this book by chance and read very good reviews of it, along with details that this was to be turned into an ITV mini-series. I love crime thrillers and always want to read books before seeing the TV shows/movies so had to buy a copy. From the synopsis, this should have been a very good read: Sally a busy mum, takes a secret break from family life at a spa and has a brief affair with a man called Mark Bretherick. A year later when watching the news with her husband, she hears that Bretherwick's wife and daughter are both dead. However, the picture of Mark Bretherick on the news, is not the man that Sally had an affair with. Sounds gripping, right? Wrong! I just couldn’t get into the characters. They did not seem real and Sally and her husband were quite annoying. Without meaning to give too much away, how can Sally, who has been held prisoner, escape, then nip back to the place she is being held to have a shower and change of clothes before escaping again? And how can her husband just accept that Sally knew the man that had abducted her and honestly believe they spent a secret week at a spa ‘just talking’ and did not have an affair?! [return]The plot line seems to jump from character to character making it confusing and difficult to follow and the two main police characters investigating these crimes, Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer seemed very fake. There was a constant reference to something happening the year before, but no further details, which was very frustrating. I have since found that this is the third crime book written by Sophie Hannah, and is actually a series based around Simon and Charlie. However, none of the books hint at this in the synopsis and neither does Hannah’s own website. If I had known this, then I would have read the first two books before this one and maybe I would understand the history behind Simon and Charlie a bit better. But with the way this has been written, something inside me says I won’t……..[return]I really wanted to like this book but it was a let down. I may try another Hannah book from the library, but I certainly wont buy it.