MURDER GROVE

SYNOPSIS

Two bodies. Thirty years. And a secret that connects them both…

 

1990

 

A woman’s body is found brutally murdered in the woods, and next to it, a shallow grave hiding a terrified young girl.

 

2021

 

When Mia and Rich move to an eco-village in Spain, they’re looking for a new start. Val Verde is everything they wished for – at least to begin with. But when someone is murdered in an olive grove, Mia realises the village isn’t the safe haven she was hoping for…

 

There’s a killer in the village – and they’ll stop at nothing until they get revenge.

Title: Murder Grove

Author: E.V. Adamson

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication date: August 4, 2022

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Five Strangers, E.V. Adamson’s debut (debut under that pen name, cause author Andrew Wilson had proved his worth more than enough with his other works under his real name), was such a fantastic and tense psychological thriller with one of the most shocking openings I’ve ever read, so when I saw announced Murder Grove, his latest book, I jumped for joy! And best of all, it is set in my country!

The story follows Mia and Rich, a couple in their 30s who decide to leave their lives in London and move to an eco village in Almería, Spain. Val Verde seems like the perfect place until a body is discovered, buried in an olive grove, and with several similarities to an event in Mia’s tragic past.

The story is told in dual perspectives from both Mia and Rich’s POVs. While both of them turn out to be pretty unreliable narrators, all the sympathy I had for Mia, was loathing for Rich. What a pr*ck! The first person narrations really helped me create a bond with the characters, making my reaction to them much more stronger.

A few day ago I wrote in another review how much I like stories set in Spain written by foreign authors, cause that’s a great way to find out how they see us, and in Murder Grove it was clear the author has first hand knowledge about living in Spain. The countryside descriptions were fantastic, but even more those about the Spanish characters and their homes. I could perfectly see in my mind the objets described, as they were exactly what you would expect to find in a house in the Spanish countryside.

I liked how the story brought to light some of the atrocities that happened during the Spanish civil war that, although well known here, maybe are not so well known outside of Spain.

The plot was tight, the chapters quite short, and the characters unreliable enough for me to keep turning pages like mad. There were moments with quite a haunting atmosphere that made of Murder Grove a very gripping read.

And those last few lines! They gave me goosebumps!

Solid psychological thriller with an interesting setting and a taut plot that I seriously recommend. E.V. Adamson a.k.a. Andrew Wilson can write under whatever name he wants, I will read it anyway.

Thanks to the NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.