Lucie Whitehouse: Keep you close, Bloomsbury, 9781408867327, paperback

I previously read “Before we met” by Lucie Whitehouse  which was a Richard & Judy summer pick for those familiar with the British book world.  I enjoyed the suspense, a book for one of these more lighthearted reading moods and although I hate comparisons as they never do justice, Lucie Whitehouse’s psychological  thrillers are for those readers who enjoy “Gone girl”, “Girl on the train” as they always hold a twist. But she does not quite reach the level of mastery of these aforementioned novels.  I picked up “Keep you close” from my book pile the other day looking forward to a suspenseful read.  Lucie Whitehouse did not disappoint me; she knows how to keep you guessing, always on the verge of discovery.

When Rowan Winter’s best friend, the brilliant young painter Marianne Glass falls to her death from the roof of her childhood home where she lives and has her studio, Rowan knows something is terribly wrong as her friend suffered badly from vertigo.  She must have not set foot outside her studio onto the roof without a very good reason, as in the dead of winter the roof was slippery and she was literally scared to death of heights.  Marianne’s warm hearted artistic family had always been a surrogate family to Rowan who lost her mother early and had a very absent cool father. During her studies in Oxford she and Marianne became as close as sisters and her family adopted her readily. But something happened; they had not spoken a word to another for years and then days before falling to her death Marianne sends Rowan a written message only saying “I need to talk to you”.  After the funeral, Rowan offers to stay in Marianne’s house, particularly when Jacqueline, Marianne’s mother  starts worrying that her daughters valuable art work stashed in the house might get stolen.  For Rowan it is a chance to dig into the past and the lost years, trying to unravel what might have led to Marianne climbing onto the roof leading to her tragic end.  What importance did James Greenwood, Marianne’s boyfriend and gallerist, his daughter, Rowan’s and Marianne’s old friend Turk, Marianne’s brother Adam and especially the famous painter Michael Cory have in Marianne’s life?  While Rowan meets them all,  Whitehouse masterfully drags out the reason for Marianne’s and Rowan’s fall out for about 2/3^rd of the book , the real cliffhanger,  and this is when the book starts to turn into a very different direction which I will keep to myself.  “Keep you close” is an excellent psychological thriller for autumn weekends.