The Last One To See Her by Mark Tilbury
The Blurb:
He says he is innocent. So why did he lie? Mathew Hillock was the last person to see eleven-year-old Jodie Willis alive. When her dead body turns up four days later in his garden shed, the police think he’s guilty of her murder. So do most people in the town. But there’s no DNA evidence to link him to the crime. Battling the weight of public opinion and mental illness due to a childhood head trauma, he sinks into a deep depression. Can Mathew do what the police failed to do and find evidence linking the real killer to the crime? The Last One to See Her is a terrifying story of what happens when you’re accused of a crime and no one believes you are innocent.
About Mark Tilbury
Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised. After being widowed and raising his two daughters, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused. He's always had a keen interest in writing, and is extremely proud to have had seven novels published by Bloodhound Books, including his most recent release, Torment. When he's not writing, Mark can be found playing guitar, reading and walking. Mark sends out e-mail newsletters once a month to keep readers updated with news and offering them chances to win exclusive prizes. You can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bNSvJn Did you know that you can follow authors on Amazon? If you hit the 'follow' button on my author page, you'll be kept updated of any price reductions and new publications. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Tilbury.
My Review:
This is a dark but at the same time a heart-rending story of a twenty-year old man Matthew Hillock who suffered a brain injury after a brutal attack 12 years earlier when his sister and father were killed. Matthew is an innocent in every sense of the word, which whilst loved and protected by his surviving mother and brother, he is extremely vulnerable to cruelty whilst outside the safety and security of his home. So much so that he doesn't go out without secretly wearing a stab-vest under his coat. Whilst in the local shop, he made a comment that someone is going to die today. Although an odd thing to say, he was making a reference to having seen a bird in his house and the superstition that is associated with this occurrence has been taken literally in Matthew's head. A young ten-year old Jodie Willis, was in the shop at the same time, buying a carton of milk for her mother. Later that day she is reported missing after failing to return home from her errand. The other person in the shop was Jim Bentley, recently released from prison, a bully who never misses an opportunity to torment poor Matthew. Matthew becomes a prime suspect for the disappearance of Jodie, and this book describes in detail, how this harsh reality is processed by someone with an acquired brain injury. The description of the surreal world that Matthew's head enters, when he is overwhelmed with stress and enters the safety of one of his fugues, (a minor epileptic seizure when the victim appears conscious and physically functioning but is mentally disconnected from external stimuli), gives an insight to how frightening Matthew's world can be for him. As always, author Mark Tilbury has triumphed again, with this incredible dark story that devotees of the psychological thriller genre should not want to miss.
