Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows abandons her family and escapes to a five-star spa resort she can't afford. Late at night, exhausted and desperate, she lets herself into her hotel room and is shocked to find it already occupied - by a man and a teenage girl. A simple mistake on the part of the hotel receptionist - but Cara's fear intensifies when she works out that the girl she saw in the hotel room is someone she can't possibly have seen: Melody Chapa, whose parents are serving life sentences for her murder. Cara doesn't know what to trust: everything she's read and heard about the case, or the evidence of her own eyes. Did she really see Melody?
Blurb taken from Goodreads.
✼
I was looking for something new to read when I read the blurb for this book, and I wasn't particularly taken with it. It was only as I was putting the book down that I realised it was written by Sophie Hannah, and I had a change of heart. As a rule, I've enjoyed her novels before, and was hoping this would be the same.
And I did enjoy it, but not as much as I was hoping to. It was good; a decent story. But it wasn't great.
That being said, I'm not sure Sophie Hannah is capable of writing a bad book. The story was still good, and the mystery, as ever, is watertight in all its clues and the structure of the plot. Those things can't be faulted. I think the thing that disappointed me most was the main character, who was really very annoying, making it hard to really get invested. The supporting characters were much more interesting, and I'm glad they elevated the story slightly more.
Rating: ✫✫✫
Let's start with the mystery. The drama surrounding the Melody Chapa case was very good. Consistently intriguing, with a number of interesting characters to be suspicious of. A missing girl, presumed dead, who is sighted under odd circumstances. A classic premise for a plot. However, what I really loved was the way Cara looked at information on the case. It's a regular stream of interview transcripts and case files; far more interesting than having the necessary information relayed in a paragraph. It was different, and a great way to put a twist on an average idea. It was a good way of setting the tone between the characters, and it was also a very simple, very easy way of establishing them. Bonnie Juno, for example, was described far better through transcripts than she would have been through Cara's description of her. I loved the way that element of the plot was structured and progressed.
When Cara was kidnapped, it got slightly more interesting, but it was a pretty dull kidnapping. I can't quite work out if I was a fan of the fact that Leon isn't your average kidnapper, and that he's clearly trying to be a good person, or if I found it boring that he wasn't more aggressive; the story really could have used the extra suspense. It was just a bit wishy-washy. The backstory of Melody being Hayley, pretending to be a cancer patient - now that I thought was clever. There were clues throughout the story that could be picked up on, yet I didn't. Those are the bits that I find more intriguing about crime novels; the tiny details that make you kick yourself when you realise you didn't pick up on them!
But, the real problem I had with the book? Cara Burrows - who just so happens to be our main character. She annoyed me from the off and I'm sorry to say it didn't get much better. She abandoned her family, and we find very soon it's for no good reason besides the fact that she couldn't be bothered to have a proper conversation with her husband. It's not a viable reason to clear your bank account, fly halfway around the world, and abandon your kids, and I never really lost that initial disgust in her actions. The only redeeming feature Cara had was that she interacted regularly and primarily with Tarin Fry. Now she was a character I could get on board with. Feisty, curious, and bold. This book would have been a hell of a lot worse if it wasn't for her.
Another problem I had, which is admittedly far less of a grievance, was that many minor characters had discussions surrounding their personalities that ultimately went nowhere. If we take Sanders, for example, the corrupt detective - there is an entire chapter which discusses his corrupt nature, the background of it, the consequences, and his current role. Why? It pads out the story, yes, but in such an unnecessary way. I just don't see the point in putting those bits of detail in for absolutely no reason. Like the last chapter, when Cara comes face to face with Melody again. Melody waits for the coast to be clear, then tells Cara that she didn't say the things that she was supposed to have said, and that all wasn't as it seemed. What was the point in that?! If it had turned the plot on its head in a significant way, or if it had hinted at a sequel, it could have been really special - but they just don't go anywhere! It's almost as if the author had all these good ideas and didn't know what to do with them, so just half-arsed it. Those tiny irrelevant details that are supposed to add intrigue often just scream of amateur.
The Verdict
Clearly, this wasn't my favourite book. The main character was annoying, the story was quite safe and predictable in structure, and the vague, unnecessary details meant the plot as a whole came off as a bit half-hearted. I won't be reading this book any time soon.
But the reason I'm so disappointed in those elements of this book is purely because I had such high hopes for it. Sophie Hannah is such a talented author, and I expected this to be a really great read. And in many ways, it didn't disappoint. The supporting characters are really strong and interesting, the case about Melody was tight and intriguing, and those little details that make a crime story so special were all there.
Alas, those great elements of Did You See Melody, when combined with the disappointments, make for a thoroughly average thriller.
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