The Life Sentence by Jackie Kabler : Review

 

 The Life Sentence by Jackie Kabler

Release Date: 9th May 2024

Publisher: One More Chapter

Genres: Crime / Thriller

My name is Amber Ryan.

I’m in prison, but I’m innocent.
And I’ve been jailed not just for a crime I didn’t commit, but for a crime that never even happened.
Now, my friend is going to try to prove it.
But to do that, she has to go back.
Back to the dark.

A strange encounter with a woman who uses an inventive way to get her attention, and Heather is suddenly thrown into a scenario that almost feels too unbelievable to her. Her one time friend Amber is in prison serving a life sentence and this stranger wants Heather to help her prove Amber is innocent. And, the strangers brother has more overwhelming evidence that this might in fact be the case. But, what can Heather do to prove that Amber's conviction is hinged on evidence of a crime that never actually happened? Heather's quietly mundane life is just the way she likes it but it is about to be turned on its head when she sets out to try to get the evidence she needs but that means getting involved once more with a man she had hoped to leave in her past. Does she want to put herself into that much danger for a woman who basically ended their friendship because of a man.

I really loved the premise of this book. It's a very clever idea. At times however some of the ideas in the book did feel a little bit of a stretch for me. I'm not sure that Amber would ever have been given a life sentence for the crime she is supposed to have committed and sometimes Heather was a little bit infuriating, doing some things that seemed not to make a lot of sense but over all I thought this was a very enjoyable story and it did intrigue me. I also loved the idea of someone putting themselves in such a dangerous position to help a friend and going above and beyond. 

The tension throughout was nicely paced and added to my investment in the characters and what possible outcome could there be for them. It's one of those books that you speed through because you really want to know what happens. I like Jackie Kabler's writing style and the interesting cast of characters in the book. A good, enjoyable read. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Kabler is a television presenter and award-winning crime writer. Her bestselling psychological thrillers have been translated into eight languages. They include Am I Guilty?, The Perfect Couple, The Happy Family, The Murder List and The Vanishing of Class 3B. A former TV news reporter, when not writing Jackie now works as a presenter for UK TV shopping channel QVC; she is also an ultramarathon runner and keen gardener, and lives in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, with her husband.

Social Media Links 

Website www.jackiekabler.com

Twitter @jackiekabler

Instagram @officialjackiekabler