Odd Child Out (Jim Clemo #2) by Gilly Macmillan
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks on October 3rd 2017
Pages: 432
Goodreads

 How well do you know the people you love…?

Best friends Noah Sandler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol's Feeder Canal, Abdi can't--or won't--tell anyone what happened.

Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now assigned to look into this unfortunate accident.  But tragedy strikes and what looked like the simple case of a prank gone wrong soon ignites into a public battle.  Noah is British.  Abdi is a Somali refugee.   And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol.  Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth.  Neither of them know how far they will have to go, what demons they will have to face, what pain they will have to suffer.

Because the truth hurts.

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Odd Child Out! This is another book that first caught my attention at Book Expo 2017. Though I hadn’t read What She Knew, the first DI Jim Clemo book, I had absolutely no problem at all reading this book as a stand-alone.

Odd Child Out drew me in straightaway. It is a very steady page-turner. There are several reasons for this but the first is that this is the “smartest” mystery/thriller I’ve read in a very long time. Are you one of those bookworms that professes to read only literary fiction? Well then, this book is for you. Gilly Macmillan has written the perfect crossover for fans of literary and contemporary fiction who who are ready to take a step toward the dark side!

Odd Child out is also very uniquely plot and character driven. It’s really very well-balanced in that regard which I find unusual; especially in this genre. The story mattered more because I became very invested in the characters. What started out at as a typical who dunnit quickly developed into a gut-wrenching NEED to know.

The story is told in the first and third person points of view of multiple characters. I very much enjoyed this approach as it made each chapter feel fresh.

With regard to the characters, it would be impossible for me to choose a favorite. Of course, I loved Noah and Abdi. But I also loved the way the author rendered Abdi’s mother and sister, Sofia and Maryam. I loved that they were all realistic and flawed and I was very impressed by the way Gilly Macmillan depicted their relationships. There were so many subtle nuances that really made a difference in terms of my ability to relate and connect to them. In fact, I believe the relationships mattered more than the individual characters in many ways.

I must admit that I did shed a few tears at the end of this book. I do hope that DI Jim Clemo will make a return in the future. I would also be among the first in line to read anything else written by Gilly Macmillan.

Gilly Macmillan – Click to be directed to the author’s website.

Enter the Giveaway

Many thanks to William Morrow and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble