The Sophie Hannah Collection Books 1-3: Little Face / Hurting Distance / The Point of Rescue

by Sophie Hannah

The first three novels from bestselling author and queen of psychological suspense, Sophie Hannah: LITTLE FACE, HURTING DISTANCE and THE POINT OF RESCUE.

Little Face

She's only been gone two hours.

Her husband David was meant to be looking after their two-week-old daughter. But when Alice Fancourt walks into the nursery, her terrifying ordeal begins, for Alice insists the baby in the cot is a stranger she's never seen before . . .

Hurting Distance

Three years ago, something terrible happened to Naomi Jenkins - so terrible that she never told anybody.

Now Naomi has another secret - the man she has fallen passionately in love with, unhappily married Robert Haworth. When Robert vanishes without trace, Naomi knows he must have come to harm. But the police are less convinced, particularly when Robert's wife insists he is not missing . . .

The Point of Rescue

Sally is watching the news with her husband when she hears a name she ought not to recognise: Mark Bretherick.

Last year, when Sally's work trip was cancelled at the last minute, she decided not to tell her husband that the trip had fallen through. Instead, she booked a week off work and treated herself to a secret holiday. All she wanted was a bit of peace - some time to herself - but it didn't work out that way. Because Sally met a man - Mark Bretherick. All the details are the same: where he lives, his job, his wife Geraldine and daughter Lucy. Except that the man on the news is a man Sally has never seen before. And Geraldine and Lucy Bretherick are both dead . . .

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Thriller

1156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2013

About the author

Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling writer of psychological crime fiction, published in 27 countries. In 2013, her latest novel, The Carrier, won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. Two of Sophie’s crime novels, The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives, have been adapted for television and appeared on ITV1 under the series title Case Sensitive in 2011 and 2012. In 2004, Sophie won first prize in the Daphne Du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition for her suspense story The Octopus Nest, which is now published in her first collection of short stories, The Fantastic Book of Everybody’s Secrets.

Sophie has also published five collections of poetry. Her fifth, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the 2007 T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A-level and degree level across the UK. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 she was a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She is forty-one and lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, where she is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. She is currently working on a new challenge for the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective.

Reviews

[Femke Verstraete · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 very intruiging short stories
I recommend !!!
Fun read

[Grainne Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed "The Point of Rescue" with some reservations - the storyline was good and certainly kept me gripped as I wanted to find out 'who dunnit'. Nearing the end of the book though, I found it quite confusing and found it hard to keep up as it seemed quite rushed - I'm referring in particular to a point when 2 police persons (if that's a term) were discussing where they were with it. Also even though it's set in the UK, I was convinced it was set in the US, not sure why. But I would read another Sophie Hannah book if their plotlines are as unique as this one was.

For info, I only read "The Point of Rescue" but couldn't find it listed as a separate book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like psychological drama detective stories then these will satisfy. The recurring characters and their development are the real bonus.

[Saadia Asif · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book is the saving grace of this collection. The first one (reviewed separately) is just anticlimactic and the third seems to just keep going without reaching a point till you get to the last few pages.

I agree with some of the reviews that the author does not appear to be a fan of her own gender. The women seem universally unhinged and needy - incapable of making their own decisions. When they do act it appears to be irrational and with very little grounding in the "why". Characters are introduced and dropped. The forced first and third person narrative separation can be frustrating and I often felt as if entire pieces of story were being brushed over.

The relationship between Simon and Charlie is just depressing. She loves him...the statement is made repeatedly and yet there does not appear to be a single reason why any sane woman would be able to sustain their feelings in the face of ongoing weirdness....run Charlie run... is the phrase that comes to mind. Simon on the other hand seems to have two qualities - brilliance and weirdness. Sherlock Holmes he is not... and yet we are repeatedly reminded of his intelligence and how he sees things that others don't. Anyway...overall the books were a disappointment. I don't think I'll be picking up another Sophie Hannah anytime soon

[Gaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve just completed Sophie Hannah’s ‘The Point of Rescue.’ I enjoyed the intrigue of the storyline and the story was well-written. The different points of views were confusing to me as a first time reader of this author. There were diary entries of one character, a police perspective and a mother’s. Another reviewer just enlightened me about the banter and evolving romance between two police officers. I didn’t understand the significance of the police in the story at all- until I learnt that it’s at the heart of other stories of the author’s. The ending was a little confusing but I loved how unpredictable the climax was. A great story overall but I needed more clarity so I didn’t get bogged down in the story at times.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plots are really twisted and it is very hard to guess the endings which is always a bonus when you are reading a crime novel. The style of writing is a pure gem and the stories unfold from different point of views. Chapters are divided in different naration styles, the more intimate (written in 1rst person) being one of the suspect/victim whom you get to feel very close to, then the CID team with in depth characters development around Simon and Charlie and finally some distant voices (reports, emails, secret narrator) peppering some clues. It is beautifully crafted, with an accent on the why rather than the who.

[Lindsay Bruce Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Decent yarns. Good twist or two. A good read overall. Not great literature, but gripping enough to read all the way through.

[Sandra Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a favourite of mine

[Kitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 52 Book Club 2022: A Book With Less Than 2022 Goodreads Ratings.

[Phil On The Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the first book in the series as I actually didn't know they were a series and only bought the 2nd and 3rd.

Hurting distance- hhhmmm didn't really like this if I'm honest.I liked the authors style of writing and humour. I'm not sure why I didn't like it,I didn't gel very well with the characters and I didn't really think about the book much .I wasn't anxious to finish it or wondering where the plot was going.The actual story was slightly bizarre so I wonder if that's why I didn't really like it,most of the lead suspects/characters were slightly insane so it made it hard to like them.

Point of rescue- this saved the series in my opinion. characters were easier to like,same CID team as the last book also ,so it was good to see them progressing as well.when I wasn't reading this book I was thinking about it a lot,it defiantly had me gripped wanting to know who done it and what the big twist would be. Also the strange relationship between Charlie and Simon would make me want to read further books in the series as I would like to see where the author goes with this! I'm basing the four stars on the average of the books,I would probably rate the 2nd one a lot lower if it was a stand alone.

[Lauren Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sophie Hannah's books. I find the characters engaging and amusing, the plot fast paced and the twists and turns impossible to guess. This book is a collection of her first three books and I could not put it down, desperate to find out how and why. I would highly recommend this collection.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Points of Rescue.

[Ullagummans Läsgodis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nej, ingen bok för mig när det är barn inblandade i storyn på ett negativt sätt.