As Good as Dead by Elizabeth Evans – a review

I was given a copy of this via netgalley as I’d received an email stating I’d been approved for a copy even though I don’t actually remember requesting it so maybe it was meant for someone else. I’m never one to turn down the chance to read something though so downloaded it.

As Good as Dead starts with Charlotte and Will together, they are both academics and have been married for twenty years. When they were at University together Will went off to do some research in Italy, which is when Charlotte met Esme. They soon became best friends until, as often happens, their lives took different paths. With no contact for years Charlotte is therefore a bit perturbed when Esme shows up at her door and the real reason for her visit is revealed.

I would say that this is not a particularly fast paced story. When I downloaded it I had assumed both from the title and the blurb that it was a thriller, which I don’t really think it could be described as. However it was an interesting story. We gradually uncover what happened between Charlotte and Esme, as well as Will and Esme’s current husband, and you find out why the two women haven’t seen each other for so long.

Unfortunately I did think that the motives and actions throughout the story were a bit thin. Without giving away any spoilers it seemed as though they were all a bit childish – however this could have been due to the fact that it wasn’t meant to be something big and dramatic.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the actual writing. To me it felt quite a gentle book, that made you think about interactions between people. By the end of the novel I liked the main character Charlotte, despite her being quite naive and gullible. The other characters in the book were not quite so likable but that is obviously done on purpose. The ending was actually good, although if people are expecting this to be an exciting mystery then it will probably be seen as a bit of a let down.

Overall I really liked this. It was different to my usual choices, but sometimes different is good and it was in this case. It was definitely a good case of mistaken netgalley identity.