Found Object
Anne Frasier
Thomas & Mercer
Published October 18th, 2022
201 pages
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Found Object is an atmospheric stand-alone suspense thriller set in Savannah, Georgia, about a journalist recovering from a breakdown, who returns to her home town to discover the truth about her mother’s murder twenty years earlier. I’ve enjoyed the Elise Sandburg and Inland Empire series by this author, so was keen to read this, then put off my some rather lukewarm early reviews. Thankfully, this exceeded my expectations – it’s a clever twisty mystery with a heroine who grew on me as the story progressed.
After a disastrous undercover investigation went horribly wrong, leading to the death of her lover, Jupiter Bellarosa’s editor sends her home to do a story about legendary cosmetics company Luminescent. Her mother, a famous movie star, was the face of the brand, until she was killed in her home, leaving Jupiter to be raised by her aunt when her father fell apart. Meeting up with the police officer who was first on the scene that fateful day, Jupiter learns just how much of the past is a lie.
I’m generally not a fan of journalists as main characters in fiction, with their “anything goes in pursuit of the story” ethos, and Jupiter certainly starts out badly, feeling sorry for herself after her actions caused a tragedy, but her wit and willingness to face her demons made her interesting at least, and her courage and compassion soon had me invested in her story. There’s a whole host of creepy suspects here, and I defy anyone to guess who the killer turns out to be. There are some sweet support characters too – fainting goat Ian and his adorable niece Poppy. The plot does get rather far-fetched, but I liked how it turned out, and that things are left just open enough for a sequel. Recommended.
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