Twisted Wing by Ruth Newman

Title: Twisted Wing
Author: Ruth Newman
Rating: ☆☆☆☆(☆)
4/5 Stars

I picked up this British paperback while in the UK and had it on my shelf for almost two months. I guess I just got caught up in homework and travelling, and never got around to reading it until the weekend before finals (good idea? probably not). What appeared to be just another crime novel at Waterstone's turned out to be one of the fastest reads I've ever encountered. I read the book in 24 hours, which is not necessarily a huge feat for me, but that usually happens when I'm reading Harry Potter, Twilight or some other anxiously awaited title. This was completely unexpected!

Twisted Wing takes place, for the most part, at Ariel College at Cambridge University in England. Ariel college is small and it's students share a close bond, which is why when one of their own turns up brutaly murdered, no one seems to know who is behind the heinous crime. After a year of mourning with no leads turning up, another student is murdered, and finally, at their graduation ball, a third student is killed, but this time, there are students at the scene. The book starts off at the third and final murder and gradually fills in the back story of the "Cambridge Butcher" and the students who were his/her victims.

What begins as a crime drama turns into a psychological thriller, with the investigators, the students and the readers completely unable to discern who or what is behind the killings.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, even people who weren't previously interested in crime books. I was really hooked by the story and the complexity of the characters. The novel's only pitfall is its slightly unsophisticated writing style, but for a debut novel from Newman, I was truly impressed. The book is only available in kindle version in the US, unless you buy used (womp womp).

ISBN: 978-1847392480
Price: £6.99, paperback
Pages: 384