If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you. Not right away of course, because where’s the fun in that?
When an empty passenger plane mysteriously crashes in the Lake District, journalist Carly Atherton is determined to get to the truth of what happened – the love of her life was one of the two pilots on board.
But when she contacts the family of the other pilot, the conflicting memories of his wife and his sister draw her into a story far darker than she could possibly have imagined.
As Carly delves into the dynamics of a seemingly ordinary family, she realises that the bonds that shape us can also tear us apart – and that sometimes there are monsters living among us, hiding in plain sight…
Review
Scenes from a Tragedy by Carole Hailey was absolutely gripping from start to finish. It was cleverly written, thought provoking, and had an absolutely fascinating villain.
Scenes from a Tragedy starts in the present, and we immediately know the who and they where. As the story unfolds, we start to understand the why, as journalist Carly gets to know the two women closest to the pilot who appears to have deliberately crashed a plane into a mountain. The way in which the narrative jumps between Carly’s thoughts on her interviews with Izzy and Grace, and Izzy and Grace’s own narratives was really clever.
There is something really fascinating about psychopaths – anyone who has watched Killing Eve will understand this. Izzy’s chapters in particular shone for this reason. Getting inside her head, growing to understand how she thought and viewed the world, developing empathy for her even though she is incapable of the emotion herself – it was masterfully done. She was a brilliant villain.
I absolutely recommend Scenes from a Tragedy for anyone who enjoys a character-driven mystery with psychological elements. It is phenomenal.
