This is my so late it’s missed the 20th train stop for Rob Gittins and his new book I’m not There for Hobeck Books. Massive apologies to both Hobeck and Rob Gittins. Thanks as well for the invite to the tour with my copy of the book.
Two sisters abandoned
It was a treat, she said. An adventure. A train journey to the mainland. Six-year-old Lara Arden and her older sister Georgia happily fill in their colouring books as their mum pops to the buffet in search of crisps. She never returns. Two little girls abandoned. Alone.
Present day
Twenty years later, and Lara is now a detective inspector on her native Isle of Wight, still searching for answers to her mother’s disappearance.
A call comes in. A small child, a boy, has been left abandoned on a train. Like Lara, he has no relatives to look after him. It feels as if history is being repeated – but surely this is a coincidence?
A series of murders
Before Lara can focus on the boy’s plight, she’s faced with a series of murders. They feature different victims in very different circumstances, but they all have one thing in common: they all leave children – alone – behind.
So who is targeting Lara? What do these abandoned souls have in common? And how does this connect to the mystery of Lara’s missing mother?
The first book in a brand spanking new trilogy I’m Not There is a crime thriller that kept me on my toes. Rob Gittins certainly knows how to engage a reader that’s for sure!
There is a dual timeline that is so intriguing. I always appreciate a duel timeline and this one definitely raised my curiosity levels. It’s been written in such a skilful way I can’t help but marvel at how it was done. I can tell he has written for top dramas and soaps just with this.
Set on the Isle of Wight we meet six year old Lara and Georgia, her elder sister. Left on a train by their mum. Fast forward twenty years and Lara is a DI, still trying to find out what happened to their mum. When a young boy is found abandoned on a train it brings memories flooding back for Lara and she feels like history is repeating itself. Then a string of murders happen and they all have a connection, they all leave children behind. Lara wonders if there is any link back to her past. Only time will tell.
What a novel! Rob Gittins has expertly created a story that is a definite page turner. With plenty of characters to get to know who are well fleshed out, which add even more depth to this multi- layered story.
A tense crime thriller that is blended with a police procedural too. I was addicted to this book, from start to finish. I can’t wait to read the next book!!
Author Bio
Rob Gittins is a screenwriter and novelist. Rob’s written for almost all the top-rated network TV dramas from the last thirty years, including Casualty, EastEnders, The Bill, Heartbeat and Vera, as well as over thirty original radio plays for BBC Radio 4.
He’s previously had six novels published by Y Lolfa to high critical acclaim. Rob’s first novel for Hobeck, I’m Not There, is a crime thriller and the first of a new series set on the idyllic, if occasionally sinister and disturbing, Isle of Wight.
Rob’s second book with Hobeck, a psychological thriller, The Devil’s Bridge Affair, is publishing October 2022.
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