The Right Side by Spencer Quinn

LeAnne has returned from Afghanistan mentally and physically scarred. Her rehabilitation will be long and slow but she is an impatient girl  LeAnne also knows that her memory is shaky and faulty and that chunks of what she should remember as being imperative to her well being are missing.

Losing her room mate suddenly whilst in hospital triggers LeAnne into going back to the same town from which Marci came. Arriving there the distressing news that Marci's little girl has gone missing adds to the trauma. Adopted by a dog who is determined not to leave her side and who becomes more a guardian angel than a pet LeAnne now embarks on a dangerous mission, almost as dangerous as the Afghan one which she came back from. Will this finally help her to fill in the gaps in her memory and make her more at peace with not just the military but herself.

A very descriptive thriller combing the combat scene of Afghanistan alongside the peaceful little village in Washington State the contrasts in the two scenes could not have been more apparent. From the people inhabiting the two scenarios Americans in a village and Americans in the military the contrast was huge and added to the heightened tensions in the story.

The story moves in fits and starts, very much like the character of LeAnne who has moods of her own. It did not deter from the flow of the story at all.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Atria Books.


PS On an exciting note, I leave for Paris tomorrow with family. I have dreamt of this for years and though it is sad that my husband is not joining me on this trip, I am determined to enjoy this as much as I can. From Paris we journey to Switzerland and then return back to Sri Lanka on the 25th of this month.