I’m
not a fan of crime novels, so I had to suppress a groan when someone suggested
crime as one of this year’s topics for our children’s literature book
club. I confess I haven’t approached the
books with much enthusiasm, and I think part of me was determined not to like
Every Breath. But… I stuck with it, and
I’m glad I did because the relationship between the two main characters, Watts
and Mycroft (modern day versions of Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes) built into a
sizzling romance. I dislike crime but I
love a romance.
Watts
is a country girl having a hard time adjusting to city-life, as is all her
family. Her neighbour, Mycroft, is an
orphan staying with his rarely there aunt.
Watts makes sure Mycroft eats and tries to help him stay out of trouble,
with little success. When a homeless
friend of theirs is murdered, Mycroft is determined to find out the truth,
dragging Watts into the process and getting her into hot water along the way.
Whodunit
was pretty obvious from the moment the villain entered the story, which spoiled
it for me. I really hoped I would be
surprised at the end, but I wasn’t. Teens
investigating murder mysteries is hard to make believable and the main
characters didn’t always seem consistent in the first half of the book. I found the crime scene too grisly for my
taste and there were other minor problems, but being that it’s Ellie Marney’s
debut novel, I can forgive the rest.
In
the second half of the book, there was more action, more consistency in the
characters, the grisly part was over and I could enjoy the tension between
Watts and Mycroft as they gradually gave in to their feelings for each other. There are some great humorous moments too (like
when Mycroft tells Watts he has a dead Jack Russell in his freezer).
Best
bit of Every Breath:
He moves one hand to lift my chin, his
eyes darting across my face. I’m staring
at him now, and his expression seems to fold through so many different emotions
I can’t keep up.
-
Ellie
Marney
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