Beth Murphy is on the run…
For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning–one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.
Sabine Hardison is missing…
A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she’s taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.
As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine’s carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that’s certain is that someone is lying and the truth won’t stay buried for long.
Did you know?
A series of freedom of information requests by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism showed that 1,080 out of 1,319 police officers and staff who were reported for alleged domestic abuse during a three-year period were still working. Replies were received from 41 forces across the UK.
Just 36 officers and staff, 2.7% of the total reported, were dismissed, while 203 either resigned or retired or left for other reasons.
Disciplinary actions, which can include written warnings or suspension, were taken against 120 officers and staff, 9.1% of the total.
The conviction rate of police officers and staff for domestic abuse is 3.4%, lower than the 6.3% in the general population.
When I started listening to this audiobook I was terrified. “Beth” was hiding from a pretty strong abuser. One that had resources to find her and trace her and show up and either bring her back home or kill her. I thought to myself, her husband that she’s running from is a cop. Then we get introduced to Jeoffrey who is the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Sabine went away around the same time “Beth” did but something didn’t make sense.
While Jeoffrey did have a violent streak in him and he did hit his wife back-handed over the face once and did own a gun, he had a solid alibi for when she disappeared.
And the plot thickens – did Sabine run away? Was she killed? She had a lover she was planning on being with. It would have made more sense to divorce her husband and take everything as she owned the house they lived in and had multiple accounts with her own money. But then – what if Jeoffrey tried to kill her to ensure he’s not homeless and poor? What if she ran away? What if “Beth” is Sabine?
I loved the thrill of finding out what was going to happen next and the narrator does a pretty convincing “Beth” voice. I felt so sorry for her. No woman should cower in fear for her life and wonder where the next blow is going to come from. And I kept on saying to myself – why hasn’t she left him sooner? Why wait this long?
As the details of the abuse come out, so did my anger. I started cheering when she bought a gun, but a bit confused as to why she wanted two and only one bullet. Based on how things turned out, I would say she knew her husband really well and could really anticipate his every move and every thought. Just like a victim who knows her jailer well.
Good bits:
- The how to make yourself disappear checklist: https://kevevans.com/how-to-disappear/
- New Name
- New Driver’s licence courtesy of the back-markets for Mexican Illegals in the US
- A fake trail consisting in a fake application for housing
- A cash pot taken from grocery spending over one year
- A guy that travels load to use a daily card in random ATM points
- A safehouse where they don’t ask questions (seedy != good)
- A friend for moral support but the fewer people know the better
- Multiple phones – only one will be used, the rest given away
- Change hair
- Gain weight to change face shape
- New clothes
- New beater car
- The reveal was good – very, very close to the end we find out who “Beth” is. I was right but the satisfaction was short lived as I thought, hey, another statistic.
The bad bits:
- Some of the choices “Beth” made were really silly, but I kinda got it why at the end
- The church connection. I had to roll my eyes pretty hard at some of the priest’s comments.
- 80% of the things she does were done before in GONE GIRL * Gillian Flynn Book review
Uncertainty leaves us open to doubt, yes, but it also opens us up to splendor and joy and wonderful surprise. To the beauty of hope. Nothing is certain, nothing is known, but it is in those moments of our greatest uncertainty that miracles happen.
Please donate if you have some spare cash to Women’s Aid or Rise
https://www.riseuk.org.uk/about-domestic-abuse/survivor-stories/lauras-story-1
One Book a Week (Julia Reads Books) 