When twenty-something Maggie Barnes moved to London, it was for a fresh start, to get away from a bad relationship and make something of herself – just like her oh-so-perfect sister.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as she planned. Instead, she found herself in a small, grotty, flat with a minimum-wage job and no friends (bar seven twitter followers she doesn’t even know).
It’s no wonder then, that she jumps at the chance of doing something just a bit different – working with the security services to spy on her employer. She has, they say, the perfect cover – no one will look at her twice.
If it all sounds a bit far-fetched, it just might be. It’s hard for me to say more, however, without spoilers – making it a hard review to write too. What I can say is what’s in the blurb – after what is described as a life-or-death mission, Maggie goes missing…and no one seems to notice.
The problem with the blurb is it doesn’t really describe the book, and I have a feeling from some of the reviews on Goodreads, that people haven’t – therefore – gotten what they expected, especially his fans. Which is a shame. Because this is a highly enjoyable novel. You don’t have to waste much brain power on it, I will admit, but that’s not always the type of book I want to read.
I’ve never read any books by Herron before and I think he has a good writing style and, in This is What Happened, he’s created three interesting and somewhat baffling characters, all of whom are just a little bit lost – which explains how what seems like a simple situation at the beginning, can get so messy so quickly. Apparently it’s based on a true situation and is an apology of sorts to the real Maggie. I hope she has forgiven him.
Emma x
About the book…
Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice
Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk
Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero—if she can think quickly enough to stay alive.
Publisher: John Murray Press
Publication Date: 7th June, 2018
Genre: Crime fiction, suspense, thriller
Number of pages: 256
Rating: 4 out of 5
Find on: Goodreads / Amazon UK / Amazon US
Note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.
The idea of being trapped in a confined space terrifies me. It’s one of my worst fears. And it’s one of the things I like to read about least. Which made me wonder when I read the opening to The Death Knock just what I was letting myself in for.
I have been very lax this year in doing regular updates on my challenges (and I didn’t even do that many of them), even though I have been taking part in the background. With the end of June fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to revisit them and see where I was, starting with the Cloak & Dagger challenge, run by one of my favourite bloggers, Stormi at 
Once again, I’m joining in with Tynga at 
Dark Matter is not my usual type of read. It’s Sci-Fi, which I don’t normally go for. BUT, last year I read so many good reviews that, when I saw it at the library, I decided it was worth a try.
I’m also joining in with Teaser Tuesday, hosted by