Rewind

Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard
Blackstone Publishing: 9/3/19
eBook review copy; 304 pages
ISBN-13: 9781538519707

Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard is a very highly recommended mystery set in a remote holiday town in Ireland that opens with a video of a woman being killed in a bedroom.

Andrew is the socially awkward manager of Shanamore Cottages, a set of six holiday cottages near Cork, but he's also a voyeur who watches his guests via a secret camera in the bedroom. Natalie O’Connor Kerr is a social media influencer on Instagram. She suspects her husband, Mike, is having an affair and clues point to him staying at the Shanamore Cottages. When she tells her followers she's taking a few days off to relax, what she is really doing is going to spend a few nights at Shanamore to try and uncover proof of Mike's affair. When she isn't heard from in a week and has seemingly disappeared, Audrey, a reporter for an online gossip rag, is assigned to try and find out some information about what happened to the Instagram star. Audrey, who wants to move up to the newsroom and do some actual reporting, digs deep into the story and becomes a part of the investigation. Adding to the suspense is a mystery woman who is in love with Mark and hates Natalie. 

Opening with the murder encourages readers to follow the action and look carefully to clues in this clever whodunit mystery. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, using rewind, fast-forward, play, rewind to start, and pause, all with timestamps, as chapter headings. It also alternates between the points-of-view of the different characters. And there are several appropriately creepy suspects moving around whom all have had encounters with Natalie before she disappeared. The pacing of the plot is steady, allowing the tension to slowly build as you try to piece the clues together. Interwoven into the plot is the backstory of Andrew.

Characters were introduced and developed as needed within the plot. I appreciated the carefully controlled release of information and clues. It kept me glued to the pages, trying to figure out who was the creepiest of the assorted creeps. With the alternating points-of-view and timelines, you do have to pay attention to who is narrating the chapter, but as the characters are so different that is relatively easy to do. The setting of Shanamore is like and additional character and richly described, making the setting seem even more sinister.

Rewind is a good choice for readers who like solid mysteries with an interesting cast of characters. 4.5 rounded up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Blackstone Publishing.