The Point of Rescue (2008)

by Sophie Hannah

Series: Spilling Detectives (3)

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Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: A chilling, compulsively readable novel of psychological suspense from the author of Little Face and The Carrier Sally Thorning is watching the news with her husband when she hears a name she never thought she'd hear again: Mark Bretherick. It's a name she shouldn't recognize. Last year, a work trip Sally had planned was canceled at the last minute. Desperate for a break from juggling her job and a young family, Sally didn't tell her husband that the trip had fallen through. Instead, she treated herself to a secret vacation in a remote hotel. While she was there, Sally met a man�Mark Bretherick. All the details are the same: where he lives, his job, his wife Geraldine and daughter Lucy. Except that the photograph on the news is of a man Sally has never seen before. And Geraldine and Lucy Bretherick are both dead... With the international bestseller Little Face, Sophie Hannah established herself as a striking new voice in psychological suspense. The Wrong Mother, a riveting exploration of a mother's unspeakable betrayal, confirms her reputation as a master of the form. .… (more)

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JeaniusOak: Both novels explore difficult themes surrounding Motherhood.

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This book did capture and hold my interest but with some caveats. One - I found myself skimming the chapter devoted to the “diary” entries, as they were too long. Two - The character development was lacking and I found it difficult to separate one detective from another. While suspenseful, I think it was a bit more complicated than it needed to be. (

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AstridG | Oct 20, 2020 |

The Point of Rescue is another excellent novel of psychological suspense by author Sophie Hannah and the third entry in her Spilling Detective series. Once again, as in other Hannah books that I have read, I disliked the main character, Sally, but nevertheless, the story had a stranglehold on me and I couldn’t put it down.

A year ago when a business trip was cancelled at the last minute, Sally didn’t tell her family but instead took herself on a spa retreat. She met a man called Mark Bretherick and the two of them spent the week together. Now that same man’s name is being broadcast on the evening news as his wife has murdered their young daughter and killed herself. Only the bereaved husband on television is not the same man that Sally spent time with.

This intricately constructed mystery is original, compelling and unpredictable. By trying to cover her own indiscretions, Sally blunders into a dark situation of assumed identities, abductions, betrayals and murder. The Point of Rescue was a gripping read with plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing and the pages turning. (

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DeltaQueen50 | Sep 3, 2019 |

Whodunnits are not my thing in general, but I am hesitating between 2 and three, probably coming marginally closer to 3 stars than 2. The protagonist is written in 1st person, while all other points of view, seen about every other chapter, are in close 3rd. There were also some additional interesting ways of keeping the tension up, by building context around the main plot via sub-plots, and also keeping the work human by bringing in both class antagonism and parent vs. single or married without kids perspectives.
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ShiraDest | Mar 6, 2019 |

In this entertaining psychological thriller by Sophie Hannah, Sally Thorning sees in the news a story about the death of a woman and the woman's 5-year-old daughter, the result of an apparent murder-suicide. What catches Sally's attention is not the story itself but the mention of the husband and father in this family - Mark Bretherick. One year ago Sally had a one-week fling with Mark Bretherick. Only this man on the news is not the Mark Bretherick she met one year ago. So who is the real Mark Bretherick? If the man on the news is the real Mark Bretherick, then who did she have a fling with one year ago? And now Mark Bretherick's wife and daughter are dead.

I enjoyed this tautly written novel that kept me guessing the whole time. An intriguing plot, sufficiently developed main and peripheral characters, and a doozy of a twist (or should I say multiple twists) at the end kept me riveted. Even though this was the first that I'd read of Hannah's Spilling CID series, there was no need to read the previous two books in the series in order to understand this one. It stands alone just fine. (

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niaomiya | Aug 10, 2018 |

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Shockingly (and refreshingly) blunt riffs about the violent emotions of motherhood and the familial yearnings of men, along with chilling and darkly funny revelations about lust and loyalty, make this novel one of the season's most absorbing reads.

added by Shortride | editO, the Oprah Magazine, Cathleen Medwick (Oct 1, 2009)

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Spilling Detectives (3)

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Hurting Distance | The Wrong Mother | A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah

Little Face | Hurting Distance | The Point of Rescue by Sophie Hannah

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Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Mystery – 2009)

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Canonical title

The Point of Rescue

Original title

The Point of Rescue

Alternative titles

The Wrong Mother

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Spilling, England, UK

Rawndesley, England, UK

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For Susan and Suzie

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Or your family.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Regina Maria Hartig

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French, Tana

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

A chilling, compulsively readable novel of psychological suspense from the author of Little Face and The Carrier

Sally Thorning is watching the news with her husband when she hears a name she never thought she'd hear again: Mark Bretherick.
It's a name she shouldn't recognize. Last year, a work trip Sally had planned was canceled at the last minute. Desperate for a break from juggling her job and a young family, Sally didn't tell her husband that the trip had fallen through. Instead, she treated herself to a secret vacation in a remote hotel. While she was there, Sally met a man�Mark Bretherick. All the details are the same: where he lives, his job, his wife Geraldine and daughter Lucy. Except that the photograph on the news is of a man Sally has never seen before. And Geraldine and Lucy Bretherick are both dead...
With the international bestseller Little Face, Sophie Hannah established herself as a striking new voice in psychological suspense. The Wrong Mother, a riveting exploration of a mother's unspeakable betrayal, confirms her reputation as a master of the form.

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