CONCEALMENT by Rose Edmunds

4.5 out of 5 stars

Financial thriller

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's book review team 

When I was about 20% of the way through this novel I described it to someone else as 'immaculate', which is an odd way to describe a book, but it seemed fitting, and still does.  Concealment is flawlessly presented, so well structured, formatted and edited; not so much as a spare half sentence, anywhere!  As someone who hates wading through waffle, I so appreciated that.

Now, I have no knowledge of or interest in high finance, so please note my high star rating and understand that, therefore, it must be extremely good!  It is.  In the first 7% there is a fair bit of explanation about tax shenanigans, and I feared that, despite the fact that it's so sharp and well written, I might not enjoy it so much, simply because I would have to concentrate very hard to understand it.  But if you're a financial dum-dum like me, please don't be put off - it still begins at a cracking pace and soon delves further into the action, the people, the motivations.

This is a murder whodunnit, and protagonist Amy Robinson is determined to find out the answers.  Along the way, though, she has to deal with the repercussions of her psychologically damaging childhood, and a complex tangle of conspiracy amongst colleagues, clients and people she thought she could trust.  It seems that everyone is against her, and worse, but is she just being paranoid?  I loved the way the suspense was built up - nothing like reading that someone will be dead in a few days to keep you reading!

I thought the relationships throughout the book were expertly, and often amusingly, painted.  The characters are all well defined and clear and the writing style made me connect with Amy immediately and root for her throughout, especially as the other characters were all so delightfully unlikeable - some wonderful baddies!  Rose Edmunds has portrayed the slimy boss Ed Smithies, the self-serving best friend Lisa (I hated her!), the two-faced ex-husband Greg and troubled, chauvinistic Ryan so well.  Amy's own descent into psychological hell is fabulously well done, and I found the parts that looked back into her childhood absolutely fascinating. 

If you are particularly fond of financial thrillers you will LOVE this, and if, like me, you don't know your share options from your allocations of divisional overheads (I haven't got a clue what any of that means), you will still enjoy it very much—I read it over a period of two days because (cliché alert!).... I couldn't put it down!

NEVER SAY SORRY by Rose Edmunds reviewed HERE