Clear My Name

This is a slow-burning psychological thriller. This book is written very differently to what I'm used to reading from Daly, and perhaps that' why I didn't feel as connected to the protagonist as I usually do. It's also written in third omnipresent and that's a POV I continually struggle with. That said, from a third of the way through the novel picks up speed, and the pace increases to a level that prevents you putting it down. Though I guessed early on what the twist might be, there was a double surprise I wasn't expecting, though I had correctly guessed where the blood had come from, having remembered a case reported in the media last year- you'll know when you read it what I mean. All in all a good psych thriller. I always look forward to Paula's novels, she's one of my top shelf authors.

Clear My Name is a powerful novel by Paula Daly. It is also the first novel by Paula which I’ve read, and I can see what I’ve been missing out on.Paula Daly tells a haunting story. Tess and Avril both work for Innocence UK, a charity specialising in helping people wrongly convicted of a crime. They are facing a particularly tough case. Carrie has been found guilty of killing her husband’s lover. But Carrie continues to insist that she is innocent. When Innocence UK takes up the case, Tess is convinced that Carrie is telling the truth. Tess is determined to help Carrie, just as she is to find the real culprit, who Tess believes is walking around free and is a potential danger. This is what she must do to prove Carrie’s innocence.I thought Tess and Avril were both very well rounded characters. I think a lot of readers may struggle to warm to Tess, however. Tess can be quite spiky but what I really liked about her is her determination to see the case through. You can see how much she cares about delivering justice for Carrie. I think her character did improve towards the ending of the book, which is what made the ending feel, for me, very satisfactory.I found it fascinating as I read the scenes when Tess and Avril set about trying to prove Carrie’s case. You can really sense Tess’s frustration as she begins to unravel the true backstory, and what the police potentially may have missed. As the reader, it made me feel really angry, and I wanted Tess and Avril to succeed. It made me think about real-life cases when this has happened as well; I can’t imagine what must go through a person’s mind when they know they have been wrongly convicted of a crime. This is what makes the book really intriguing, as well.Although I could see that Tess really believed that Carrie was innocent, I still couldn’t quite make up my mind about her. Carrie is definitely a troubled character. As the plot thickened, I began to wonder if I could trust what she was really saying.I found Clear My Name to be a really suspenseful read, and I could not put it down; I finished it in just a couple of days. I thought it was a really refreshing take on a crime thriller and I’m eager now to read more of Paula Daly’s novels. Highly recommended!

Loved this book. This is based in the town where I live.

This book had me on the edge if each page trying to sneak onto the next as i was so eager to find out what happens next.. i read this is nearly 1 sitting! You really get into character with Paulas books!

As a fan of Paula Daly books, I enjoyed this read.