images_031Prolific author Sophie Hannah’s newest thriller, The Carrier, won’t answer every question it raises but will provide a rollicking ride as she examines lie and obsession.

Featuring her detective team of Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse, in of themselves an unusual mix of characters, the book revolves around their investigation but features the first person narrative of the strong character of Gaby Struthers, genius and entrepreneur.

Delayed overnight on a flight from Germany back to England, Gaby finds herself sharing a tacky room with the terrified, outspoken Lauren Cookson.

Despite their initial antagonism, when Lauren’s blurts out that Gaby would never let a man go to jail for a murder he didn’t commit, Gaby does research and realizes Lauren’s presence on her flight was not a coincidence.

What follows is a duel of the minds of several highly intelligent people, one of them the confessed murderer, Tim Breary, the love of Gaby’s love. Tim insists he has  murdered his incapacitated wife, giving police the evidence they need to convict him in addition to his confession.

Supporting his version of events are the friends Tim and his wife, Francine, have lived with since her stroke, Kerry and Dan Jose.  Gaby soon becomes convinced they are lying, and Charlie agrees. But why would Tim’s best friends, who are vocal in their dislike of Francine, aid him in going to prison if he really didn’t murder his wife?

Several subplots surrounding Charlie’s sister and the duo’s colleague, as well as a work politics on Simon’s end, will satisfy readers of the series. But readers won’t have to have read the others for this psychological thriller to grip them and carry them along to the end.