51sclfe1B-LWhen she finds out that her husband and children aren’t quite as excited about her pregnancy as she is, Cara Burrows packs her bags and flies to America to create some space between herself and her family. Breaking into the family savings to spend some time at a five-star resort, Cara is shocked when, arriving at her room, she finds it already occupied by a man and a teenage girl. Initially accepting it as an oversight, she soon becomes troubled when she recognises the girl as Melody Chapa whose parents are currently serving life sentences for her murder. Can the most famous murder victim in the USA actually still be alive and will Cara be able to find out the truth before her own fate is sealed?

I had seen some glowing reviews of this book and so couldn’t wait to to read it myself after being intrigued by the very novel premise – a murder victim who isn’t actually dead. Initially, Cara seemed a very impulsive character, not really caring about the consequences of her actions but we soon discover that this is all a front and that she is experiencing great inner turmoil and has placed herself in a very vulnerable situation. In contrast, Tarin Fry, a woman befriended by Cara at the resort is her complete antithesis – headstrong, impetuous and wise-cracking. I enjoyed the relationship between Tarin and her daughter and found their nicknames for the other resort patrons very funny.

Although I did find the interludes detailing the transcripts of various television programmes slightly lengthy in parts, it did demonstrate how, in recent years, the media has played a big part in the justice system and, in some cases, TV can help to sway the opinions of people before a trial has even taken place. One example is the OJ Simpson case – it is hard to think about this without visualising the high speed chase, broadcast on US television. In Did You see Melody? we see Melody’s parents being more or less convicted as a result of ongoing television coverage of the case.

It is essential to suspend reality when reading this book as quite a lot of it veers towards unbelievable. This did not spoil my enjoyment of the book, though, and it was an entertaining summer read.

With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Net Galley for the ARC.