Book Review | Limelight by Graham Hurley

Limelight is a slow-build mystery with a big message.

What I Liked

I loved how the story covered a hot button topic in euthanasia. Even as modern as medicine is, there are still some diseases that medicine can do very little for, and it is scary. Most of us are lucky, and we will never have to face any of these diseases/disorders. But, how about the ones who do have to face a fate worst than death? The big ethical dilemma still exists about euthanasia and a person’s right to choose not to have to endure the unendurable. The story explores both sides of that debate in-depth, and though it is obvious which side the story leans on, it does an excellent job of showing why.

At the beginning and end, it is a story about friendship. I have not often seen the importance of enduring friendships in a mystery novel, so exploring it in Limelight has a refreshing element. Enora and Evelyn have been friends for many years, and watching their friendship throughout the story is heartwarming and gives the reader a message to take with them well after the story ends.

Technically, the story is slow to build – almost atmospheric in that slowness, with a languid pace that belies its thrilling events. The crime does not take place until about a quarter of the way into the story. The police action is contained within the second half, making this book a good choice for people willing to take their time and meander through the mystery with Enora Andressen (the main character). It is in the first person from her perspective.

To Read or Not to Read

If you enjoy stories that explore legal and political gray areas and you don’t have to have the roller coaster ride that defines most thrillers, you will enjoy this quiet mystery with a big message.

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About the Book

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Life is dangerous. No one survives it. Enora Andressen makes a series of mind-blowing discoveries when her friend disappears.

Actress Enora Andressen is catching up with her ex-neighbour, Evelyn Warlock, who’s recently retired to the comely East Devon seaside town of Budleigh Salterton. The peace, the friendship of strangers and the town’s prestigious literary festival . . . Evelyn loves them all.

Until the September evening when her French neighbour, Christianne Beaucarne, disappears. Enora has met this woman. The two of them have bonded. But what Enora discovers over the anguished months to come will put sleepy Budleigh Salterton on the front page of every newspaper in the land

Purchase Links:

http://severnhouse.com/book/Limelight/9121

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Limelight-Andressen-thriller-Graham-Hurley/dp/072788980X

https://www.amazon.com/Limelight-Andressen-thriller-Graham-Hurley/dp/072788980X

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About the Author

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Graham Hurley is an award-winning TV documentary maker who now writes full time. His Faraday and Winter series won two Theakstons shortlist nominations and was successfully adapted for French TV. He has since written a quartet of novels featuring D/S Jimmy Suttle, and three WW2 novels, the first of which – Finisterre – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. The first three titles in the Enora Andressen series, Curtain Call, Sight Unseen and Off Script, are also available from Severn House. After thirty years in Portsmouth, Graham now lives in East Devon with his wife, Lin.

Social Media Links –

https://www.grahamhurley.co.uk/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/135794.Graham_Hurley

https://twitter.com/Seasidepicture

https://www.facebook.com/grahamhurleyauthor/