Precious Thing-Colette McBeth

Precious Thing Colette McBeth Minotaur, Mar 4 2014, $24.95 ISBN: 9781250041197 In Brighton, England, Rachel’s dad vanished from the moment she was born and her resentful alcoholic mom Niamh despised her; blaming her child for her man leaving. At school, lonely Rachel meets dynamic Clara and they become BFFs. Niamh adores Clara and treats her as her child rather than her biological mistake. However, due to a nasty incident the friendship dies; Niamh blames her offspring. Years later Clara and Rachel reunite as friends but their situations are radically different than when they were teens; as the former has had a tough go while the latter has become a successful reporter. Clara calls Rachel to meet her and other school friends at a club. Rachel arrives, but Clara fails to show. The police suspect Rachel harmed her BFF due to envy re Niamh. Now, the journalist must use her skills to learn what happened to Clara to stay out of prison. This strong psychological thriller looks deep at the good, the bad and the ugly of friendships. The enjoyable storyline starts leisurely paced in order for the audience, through a Rachel filtering, to fully understand how each of the female trio thinks. Once the plot turns to the friendship renewal, the twisting tense tale soars into suspenseful first gear. Harriet Klausner