Helen Callaghan's Dear Amy - Review

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Proving a perfect companion for long train journeys over the past week, Helen Callaghan's debut novel is a hugely enjoyable thriller, which keeps you hooked until the final pages. It deftly manoeuvres many twists and turns in the plot, while keeping the characterisation grounded and realistic.

I particularly liked the main character, from whose point of view we experience the majority of the novel, while the opening abduction scene was chillingly effective. Throughout the book, I was often left considering how easy it is to simply one day disappear, whether by your own will or, more frighteningly, by the will of someone else.

What pulled me initially toward this book, was the premise of the mysterious letter writer that began and drove the plot, the initial mystery that gained weight as the story developed. Are the letters from an abducted girl, her abductor, or is the mystery deeper and more complex?

I hope to read more books by Helen Callaghan in the future, and will be looking out for her next novel.



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