THEY SAW TOO MUCH

Two English teens undoubtedly see too much when they witness a murder and become the targets of ruthless hit men.

Classmates John and Ceri are on Liverpool’s Mersey shore, home to sculptor Antony Gormley’s eerie Another Place installation, working on a school photography project, when they see three men behaving strangely. Acting on instinct, John takes their picture. Soon, John and Ceri are running for their lives, but whom can they trust when the bad guys have an apparently preternatural ability to locate them just when they think they’re safe? How are the dead man and the killers linked to John’s father and his past? What is John hiding from Ceri—and readers? Ceri isn’t exactly an open book herself. What prior trauma causes her to lash out for no reason John can see? The questions and tension mount, leading to an exciting denouement. John narrates beginning a year after the events with an “if I knew then what I know now” attitude, keeping readers glued to the page. Retention of British spellings and idioms and detailed descriptions of real locales lend authenticity to the setting. The narrative is linear and easy to follow. John and the murder victim are black, and Ceri is white. Assume whiteness for everyone else.

A fast and furious thriller for readers looking for a quick, engaging mystery.