Kill A Stranger by Simon Kernic

‘To save a life….could you take another?’ This is the intriguing premise of Kill A Stranger by Simon Kernick. Matt comes home to find his pregnant fiancée missing and a corpse occupying their bed. In order to save the woman he loves and their unborn child he must first dispose of the dead woman, then find and murder a nominated person. After a jaw-dropping opening sequence the plot advances at breakneck speed. Most of the short chapters are narrated in first person by one of the protagonists, but a few are the observations of a police officer who is trying to figure out which of several characters, if any, are telling the truth.

Kernick’s prose style is simple and unpretentious. Events and locations are presented factually, with description kept to a bare minimum. Some of the characters occasionally reflect on their own actions, but only in order to insert chunks of back story that drive the plot onwards. There is little attempt to create atmosphere or build up tension, except by means of the cliff-hangers that conclude each chapter. Every word in this book contributes to a gradually increasing fund of information about the relationships between Matt and Kate and the shady characters involved in the kidnapping.

I found Kernick’s story-telling technique extremely effective. The first few chapters are very dramatic and fast-moving. I wanted to carry on reading to find out whether anyone was going to come out of this complex and bloody situation with their innocence intact. There are enough twists, turns and thrills in the narrative to satisfy the most demanding reader.

Speaking personally, I found the conclusion far-fetched, but that’s only my opinion. Fans of fast-paced thrillers with inventive and twisty plots fuelled by adrenaline will find plenty to enjoy in Kill A Stranger by Simon Kernick.