“Daisy in Chains is a delicious puzzle of a book – kept me guessing right up to the very end, then pulled a surprise I never saw coming.”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

This book delves into the phenomenon of men serving life in prison and the inexplicable adoration they command from ordinary women.

Hamish is a serial killer who claims he is innocent. Women profess undying love to him, but the only one he is interested in is Maggie Rose, a formidable lawyer, who he hopes will be able to cast doubt on his sentence. Maggie, however, does not believe him to be innocent and is not prepared to risk her reputation.

D.I. Pete Weston is the detective who put Hamish behind bars and he has no intention of the conviction being overturned. He is troubled that Maggie’s interest could be piqued, so he visits her to warn her against taking on the case, and thus begins a very interesting relationship between the two, both dancing around each other to avoid being the one caught out.

Sharon Bolton’s forte is to create deeply engaging, if not always likeable, characters and embed them in superb plots that twist and turn effortlessly.

This book is no exception.

As well as the narrative, police reports, letters, emails, etc are used to drip feed information and drive the plot on.

The three central characters are brilliant. You never really know if Hamish is guilty or not and the way he draws Maggie in slowly, charming her and placing doubts in her head, is riveting.

This is hard to review without giving the plot away but I loved every page-turning moment of it and the ending is just superb.

Highly recommended.