Layers of Mystery Keep the Pages Turning

Where is Sarah Hopewell’s body? This is the fifteen-year-old mystery that Sarah’s crime reporter younger sister is obsessed with solving, as she enlists the help of a convicted serial killer, in Charlotte Roddy’s debut novel, A Sorrow Called Sarah. As the protagonist delves deeper into uncovering the truth, however, she begins to question whether she really knew her sister at all. At the same time, it seems the San Francisco police have their hands full trying to track down a new potential serial killer, whose victims are all hauntingly similar in appearance to Sarah.

A brief, albeit creepy, journal entry, author unknown, sets the suspenseful tone of this novel from the first page. These private entries, offered up only to the reader and not to any character in the story, are peppered between chapters. They add an extra layer of tension and intrigue, inviting the reader to play detective, which is something I do enjoy.

At the beginning of this novel, I got vibes of the blockbuster 1991 movie, The Silence of the Lambs, when the protagonist (Clarice Starling in the movie) interviews the serial killer (Hannibal Lecter in the movie) in hopes of gaining pertinent information. This similarity, for me, is a positive takeaway from the novel, as I found that film diabolically riveting and high on my creep-o-meter scale. Like Lecter, Roddy’s convicted serial killer, a decidedly well-groomed and refined Bradley Stanfeld II, wants to strike a deal (a little quid pro quo) with his interviewer, in exchange for the information she is seeking: specifically, the whereabouts of her sister’s body, whom Stanfeld was convicted of murdering, 15 years ago.

Roddy’s skilled use of simile and metaphor, particularly in the descriptions of various settings throughout the novel, add elements of colour and texture. The story moves along at a good pace, offering up more details about our protagonist, particularly her relationship with her sister Sarah, her family members and other significant people in her life, all of which either act as clues to help our protagonist on her quest, or foibles that add to the mystery. All the while, those cryptic journal entries become increasingly disturbing, and more dead bodies keep turning up in Golden Gate Park

I would rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 and would recommend it to lovers of the thriller/suspense genre, with a caveat: Some content is sexually explicit and graphic, as it deals with violence against women. At times, reading these scenes made me feel uncomfortable, and I wondered if they could have been dialled down a notch. Also, I do wish the protagonist had a name, as there are areas where I felt the use of “she” gets repetitive. Lastly, although I am no detective, I found myself questioning how realistic a certain part of the story that deals with police investigation, would be. Regardless of those critiques, I thought this was a decent debut thriller, with unexpected twists that kept me guessing right to the end.

On the whole, I think Charlotte Roddy wrote a solid, tight story with a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading her next thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I thought this was a good read with great twists and turns throughout. I did not expect the ending, which I greatly appreciated.

Wow, A Sorrow Called Sarah by Charlotte Roddy was just a creepy story. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting as I grew up in the area. The author did a great job of providing false clues, suspense, and page-turning drama. I had no idea what was going to happen next.

Sarah Hopewell had it all—popular student, loving sister, and her parents’ favorite child.
Until weeks before her high school graduation, Sarah vanished from her San Francisco home. An infamous serial killer was convicted of her murder. Justice was served. Or was it?

Fifteen years later, Sarah’s younger sister embarks on a dangerous mission to finally confront her sister’s killer. But as she begins uncovering secrets that threaten to tear her world apart, the bodies of young women start turning up in Golden Gate Park.

This book is by a first-time author; I hope there are more. I would rate this a 4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded to 5).

#ASorrowCalledSarah #NetGalley @LPOBryan

What?!! What the what??!! I did not expect that! Whoa! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, serial killers, mystery, and some crazy twists and turns and a Crazy shocking who done it! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I was blown away with the ending! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I didnt put this book down until I read the whole thing.
It was fast paced, twisty, tension filled.
It was sad too at times.
I guessed a few of the plots, but then they got turned right on their head when the "why's" came out.
Builds up to an explosive final, that left me thinking it could not have turned out better.
Great entertainment.