Marianne Vincent
The Woman On The Pier is the fourth novel by British author, B.P. Walter. Successful screenwriter Caroline Byrne is a little concerned when messages to her teenaged daughter, Jessica go unanswered during a terrorist attack in East London, but reassures herself that Jessica has gone to visit a friend in Somerset, so she should be safe. Police at the door in the early hours tell a different story: Jessica was at Stratford Station, and was shot dead by a terrorist. Her marriage to Alec, already unstable, deteriorates even further, especially as Caroline becomes a relentless irritant to Jessica’s friends, their parents, police, and any witnesses, as she tries to fathom why her daughter was in Stratford. She cannot understand why Jessica lied to her. But then Jessica’s phone, returned by police, offers a clue: a stream of messages to and from a Michael Kelley, whom she was to meet at that fateful place, where he failed to appear. Now a mother who is determined to have something more to blame for the death of her daughter than a bunch of dead terrorists, Caroline seeks to saddle this young man with the responsibility, refusing to listen to reason from her husband. She heads to Southend to track him down and confront him. Walter pack so much into this story that you’ll need to don your disbelief suspenders: a paedophile ring, self-harming teens, terrorists, teen boys connecting with MILFs, infidelity, child abuse, drug abuse, post-traumatic amnesia, mistaken identity, a body at the bottom of a staircase. It seems that not one character leads a plain, dull, ordinary life: each one has major issues. The story is told by two narrators over a dual timeline. The story is populated by unappealing characters behaving badly who mostly fail to redeem themselves, although at least the teens have an excuse. The establishment of the characters’ backstories is, at times rather clumsy, tell instead of show. The lead-up to the events described in the blurb, and the title, is painfully slow. Much of the plot is melodramatic, the dialogue often real eye-rolling stuff; there are a couple of twists, but too little, too late for them to impact on a poor rating. Disappointing. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK – One More Chapter.
Marnie Harrison
A heart wrenching tale of loss and grief, The Woman on the Pier is a dark story that will get under your skin and will stay there long after you have read that final page. At times it can be quite overwhelming, as it deals with some hard hitting themes of abuse, both domestic and verbal, addiction, self harming and terrorism, which could be triggers for some readers. B.P. Walter does a great job of drawing the reader in with well written and engaging prose, which had me flicking the pages long into the night. All round this is a tough read, but one that is well worth reading.
