This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Amanda Keats
For thirty years, Steph and Pip have been best friends. Steph has always been the sensible one, the stable one who Pip could always turn to when her life was crumbling around her. So when Pip finally starts getting her life in order, she is shocked to discover that it is Steph who is watching her life crumble and she needs Pip to cover for her when the police ask her whereabouts. But will she lie?
Adele Parks is a highly successful writer and it's easy to see why in this latest addition to her books. She knows how to write great characters and really look into what drives them and connects them to each other. She writes their quirks, their annoyances, their strengths and their undeniable flaws without painting anyone as a straightforward good-guy or villain.
The big surprise for me though was that this book was not what I signed up for. The blurb suggests that the drama lies in the bond of friendship between the two central characters but it does not. The main drama of the story lies in the event that causes Steph to ask the question in the first place and the relationship between Steph and her family. And what drama it is! It's the kind of whodunnit that is compelling because the guilty party could have been one of any number of people.
Unfortunately, I personally prefer for the drama to kick off a lot sooner and in that lies the problem I had with About Last Night. It didn't really get going for me until half way through the book – but when it did it was a gripping read and a race to get to the end. This mis-placed pace, I fear, would mean that many readers would not stay with it long enough to get to the really good part. Parks works so hard to focus on the backstory that she over-explains what is going through the minds of our two leads. Though there was not a single sentence I could bring myself to call unnecessary, overall the first half just needed cutting. None of it is patronising or assumes that the reader needs things spelt out – there is simply just too much back-story.
Parks is a brilliant writer and if you like books with a character focus, then this may be the one for you. If, though, you prefer more action and drama than character exploration you may not like how long it takes for the drama to begin.
7/10