A Book Review - Silent Witness by Carol Ellis (Point Horror)

I liked this, and I'm not sure why.

Lucy's friend Allen died recently, in what's believed to be an accident, and Lucy's been asked to give out his personal items to friends. With the items is a video tape - Allen was an avid video photographer (is that the right term?) - that Lucy plans to have edited and voiced over, as a sort of memorial.

But before she can watch the tape, strange things start happening - someone locks her in a cupboard at school, steals the original recording (but misses a copy) and attacks and mugs a friend who's wearing Lucy's jacket - and it becomes clear that someone doesn't want that tape to be seen. 

It's hard to explain why I liked Silent Witness, because it's such a simple book. Usually the books I like the best have intriguing plots or heartbreakingly wonderful leads, and this book didn't. It was just a basic, slightly formulaic but well crafted suspense novel. But it worked for me. I liked Lucy - she's a straightforward, undramatic heroine who's undeveloped but surprisingly likeable. Jon, her romantic interest, is reserved and moody enough to be intriguing, but friendly and light enough to not really be threatening. Most of the characters' actions were believable, which is always a plus for me - I hate when characters seem to have no common sense and go off making the most random, illogical choices.

Arrgh. It's hard to write this review, because even though it's only been a week or so I don't really remember the book that well. It's not one that will stick in your head and haunt you. But I know that at the time, I enjoyed it enough to give it four stars (although the lower end of four). I shall refrain from making comparisons to a certain other Carol Ellis book that is on my favourites list - anyone who reads these reviews of mine will know which I'm talking about - but I will say that despite not having as memorable a plot as some of her books, this is one of her better efforts.

Verdict: Simple and forgettable, but very enjoyable at the time.