Title- Beneath Devil's Bridge
Author- Loreth Anne White
Publisher- Montlake
Format- Kindle Edition
Pages- 338
Rating- 4/5
Summary- In a small town called Twin Falls in the Pacific Northwest, fourteen year old Leena Rai goes missing after a bonfire night with her classmates who can remember seeing her with a guy that night but were unable to see his face. After few days, when her severely battered body is found under the Devil's Bridge, there are signs of sexual assault. Eventually her guidance counselor at school, Clayton Pelley confesses to the crime but does not give his motive behind it.
Twenty-four years later true crime podcaster Trinity Scott wants to revisit the case and when she interviews Pelley, he says that he had not murdered Leena so many years back and her killer is still outside! This raises a question in everyone's mind that whether Clay was lying then or is he lying now?
Review- This is a highly suspenseful psychological thriller and a page turner. It is told from the point of view of two characters- true crime podcaster Trinity Scott and one of the lead detectives of the case twenty-four years back, Rachel Walczak. The author has emphasized on the negative impacts of issues like racism and bullying. She has also tried to convey a message that parents should spend quality time with their children so that they can turn to them in times of trouble.
Leena Rai was a girl who wanted to be a part of her group of classmates but turned out to be an outcast which made her to do strange things to gain their attention. Her murder case had greatly affected both personal and professional life of Rachel Walczak because she not only had to quit her job but her marriage also ended and her relationship with her only daughter got strained. So she was not ready to talk to Trinity until she revealed that Clay who did not talk to anyone throughout these years has already talked to her. Trinity on the other hand is excited about the popularity her podcast will gain because of the case. She starts interviewing people who were involved in the case which eventually reveals that Clay is not the only one with a secret.
The story seemed a bit dragged at some points which was tiring. To show that the characters are nervous, the author always comes up with dialogues like "No, I...I'm good", "I...uh...", "I...No.", this "I..." started sounding monotonous after a couple of times. It would have been better if she had come up with alternative expressions to show their nervousness.
Overall I have enjoyed this book very much. If you are in the mood for something thrilling to put you at the edge of your seats, you must check this out.
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