Onyx reviews: Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Reviewed by Bev Vincent, 06/30/2018

After the much-lauded and oft-discussed surprise twist at the end of Behind Her Eyes, readers will no doubt take on Sarah Pinborough's new thriller expecting the unexpected. While the surprises and revelations in Cross Her Heart are not as jaw-dropping as in that earlier novel, Pinborough delivers some well-earned surprises. Readers considering patting themselves on the back for figuring something out should hold off; chances are, they are wrong.

It's clear early on in Cross Her Heart that Lisa, the focal character, has secrets in her past. A child died long ago. A relationship turned sour. She is overly cautious about having her photograph taken and is wary of social media. She's hiding from someone or something—but what...or who? Someone with whom she once made a pact, it seems—a promise that was broken. There are indications that her stalker has tracked her down, but they're subtle: a stuffed animal that reminds her of another from long ago. A photograph that may have gone missing. A lot of it sounds like paranoia.

Simultaneously, her moody teenage daughter, Ava, has struck up a texting/sexting friendship with an older man. Ava bristles at many of the restrictions her hyper-protective mother places on her. She's a star member of the swim team and she has a boyfriend she wants to sleep with, more to get that adolescence experience box ticked off than because she has any real affection for the boy. She's much more enamored of her mystery texter. Astute readers may think they know who is behind the messages. Maybe they're right; maybe they aren't.

A third viewpoint character is Lisa's best friend from work, Marilyn, who is embroiled in an abusive marriage that she successfully hides from those who know her.

Lisa wins a big contract for her company, and Simon, the man who agrees to hire them, seems fond of her. Warning bells go off, which Lisa mostly ignores. Can she ever trust a man again? Can she trust this man?

Her worst nightmare happens when Ava performs a heroic act that is captured in a photograph that makes its way into the local paper. In rapid succession, all the secrets Lisa has been keeping are exposed. It turns out that she was a troubled youth who committed a heinous act. She has paid for that crime according to the court system, but the public isn't so quick to forget. Her world crumbles.

Then Ava goes missing. Did she run off with the man from the text messages, was she taken by her father, or is there another party involved? Lisa believes she knows who is responsible, but no one else will believe her. Completely alone once again, she is forced to take matters into her own hands, leading to a harrowing confrontation in a tricky mansion.

The twists come fast and furious in these final pages. Readers may have guessed a few of them, but one will be a real shocker. It's not as stunning as the reveal at the end of Behind Her Eyes, in large part because that book allowed for supernatural explanations and Cross Her Heart is firmly rooted in the natural world. It's a bombshell, all the same.