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Title: What Happened To Nina?
Author: Dervla McTiernan
Published: 5th March 2024, HarperCollins Australia
Status: Read February 2024 courtesy HarperCollins/Netgalley
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My Thoughts:
What Happened to Nina? is a stand alone mystery from bestselling Irish born Australian based author, Dervla McTiernan.
When Leanne Foster discovers that her daughter’s boyfriend has returned home from a week’s getaway the couple took at his family’s rural retreat, she’s puzzled. Having not heard from Nina, Leanne and her husband try to speak with Simon Jordan, only to be stonewalled by his parents who advise them that the couple broke up and their son has no idea where where Nina could be, before shutting the door on them. It’s the same story, more or less, that Simon gives Detective Matthew Wright who is assigned to investigate after the Foster’s report their daughter as a missing person, but to Nina’s parents it just doesn’t make sense.
Unfolding from multiple points of view, it is the aftermath, rather than the crime itself that is the focus of What Happened to Nina? Desperate to find their missing daughter the Foster’s are willing to risk anything for answers. Meanwhile Simon’s wealthy parents go to extraordinary lengths to protect their son from any suggestion of wrongdoing. I really liked how McTiernan represented the perspectives of the parents, particularly the mother’s, both of whom are faced with the unthinkable.
To be honest though the plot as a whole feels sort of derivative. McTiernan seems to have been heavily inspired by the real-life case involving the murder of Gabby Petito, not only with regards to the facts of the crime, but also the involvement of social media and its impact on the investigation. Had I been less familiar with the case I think I would have found the story more absorbing. That said, the twist at the end was hugely redeeming.
Though there were elements of What Happened to Nina? that I was impressed by, overall I found it underwhelming. A good read, just not a great read.
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Available from HarperCollins Australia
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