‘The Boy That Never Was’ by Karen Perry

Penguin, €14.99 (Available from April 7 2014)

Suspense in novels is usually built over time, through chapters, through events. “The Boy That Never Was” is however, one of those books that grips you from the start. Initially set in Tangier in Morocco, the author Karen Perry creates a tense calm before the storm in which we meet Harry, father to Dillon who is just three.

Life in their usually bustling town is strangely quiet. A thunder storm is brewing and before it hits, Harry pops out for 10 minutes leaving his sleeping son at home on his own. You know instantly that something bad is about to happen but it’s not thunder that strikes, it’s a life changing earthquake.

As the earthquake intensifies, your panic for Harry becomes heart pumping as he rushes through the devastation back to find his house has disappeared and his young son with it. And folks, this is all within the first eight pages (we promise we haven’t given too much away-the blurb on the back tells you the boy disappears).

Skip forward five years later, and Harry and his wife Robin have returned home to Dublin away from the horror of the city that took their son. However, they can’t really run away from one of the worst things that can happen to parents. Harry is still plagued with guilt and is heading straight towards a mental breakdown while Robin is intent on getting on with their lives (while secretly harbouring some secrets of her own).

Then one day, Harry sees a child on the streets of Dublin that he is convinced is the young boy he lost. His intent to find his son becomes stronger but as the search becomes more and more desperate, it brings to the surface the lies and secrets that haunt his marriage.

The concept of the book may sound complicated as the story is told in the third person as well as from the first person perspective of Harry and Robin. It zips from present day to a series of flashbacks, hopping from Tangier to Dublin and back again. However, this movement of time is done rather seamlessly although the writing itself wouldn’t blow you away completely.

It is definitely a story that improves as it goes along, becoming more and more compelling, climaxing in an unexpected explosive twist that we simply didn’t see coming. This isn’t a relaxing read but it is dramatic and thrilling. If that what you like in a book, then you’ll love this psychological thriller.