My Review of Nothing To Hide by James Oswald

Nothing To Hide by James Oswald is the second outing of DC Constance (Con) Fairchild but was a fantastic introduction that I'd heartily recommend. The first, No Time To Cry, is at the top of my Christmas list: are you listening Santa? 😉

Oswald moves the action between London, Edinburgh and Con's childhood home of Harston Magna near Kettering with each area having its own distinct character imbued by her feelings towards it. London seems to be weighed down with a sense of duty and inability to move forward from the ever present past with the trial of Roger DeVilliers looming like a leviathan everywhere Con goes. Oswald expertly depicts it as somewhere dirty and crime ridden with an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and oppression. This fits well with Con's mood as she's hunted by the press and professionally in limbo. 

However, in Edinburgh, despite the fact that crime finds Con wherever she goes, there's an air of respite and freedom that's invigorating to both Con and the reader. Whilst Harston Magna is a place Con approaches with trepidation but is continually pulled back there over the course of the novel. She's forced to confront issues she'd prefer not to, a salient reminder from Oswald to the reader that we're indelibly linked to family, even if we believe we've cut ties with them the universe has other ideas.

There are good people wherever Con goes reinforcing the idea that it is Con's mood rather than the places themselves that infects the pages. I long to try one of Mrs Feltham's curries, if her sons will spare some, and to pay Madam Rose a visit in Edinburgh. Her house in Leith sounds divine with its Jekyll and Hyde entrances and overtones of magic, I like to think that there's a Dobbie there somewhere!

Nothing To Hide is a multi-faceted read, you'll notice that I have not even mentioned the case that Con finds herself embroiled in yet. Con finds a mutilated young man barely alive and this catapults her into an intriguing and disturbing murder mystery that seems to both follow her as she follows it. Oswald depicts the universe as having a will that eventually has to be obeyed in this fast paced thriller that sees Con naively heading closer and closer to danger. It's expertly plotted and I particularly enjoyed all the different pieces of the puzzle that only coalesced into a full picture with the very satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to Anne Cater and Headline Publishing for my gifted copy of the book.