The Vine Cross

Book One of ‘The Vine Series’ by S. P. Dawes

DCI Jesse is new to the role when he meets Hayley at his brother’s birthday party, as she works in the same restaurant. During the party, there is a weird exchange of lines and banter between Caitlyn (Rob’s girlfriend), her cousin, some of his friends and Hayley. It’s not a secret that Caitlyn doesn’t like Hayley, but the whole thing sounds suspicious anyway, and the abrupt way Hayley leaves even more so.
It’s none of his business, though, thinks Jesse. No crime has been committed and, after all, people can be nasty towards others; besides, Jesse is investigating on a serial killer, there are bodies missing and the heat is not helping his case. So, he parks the whole night at the back of his mind and moves on.
Not for long, though. Shortly after, Hayley’s house is vandalised and in an instant she is homeless and persecuted. Jesse offers her to go and live with his parents and rent his old bedroom. She will be safe there, and it’s only temporary – she will stay until her apartment has been fixed. It’s a good solution, Hayley would be silly not to accept. Romance will gradually blossom between Hayley and Jesse, and a lot more will emerge about Hayley’s past, which is also the reason why she is hiding, doesn’t trust people and is unable to create meaningful relationships.

This book is part of a trilogy that I am keen to explore further, because of some of the themes it deals with. Hayley’s father is part of a cult, his beliefs leading to her arranged marriage with another cult member she had no feelings for; she then gets pregnant but, out of desperation, she throws herself down the stairs and procures herself an abortion. She is also very worried about her younger sister, who’s now taken her place by her former husband. Hayley is clearly a victim of trauma, and she’s still dealing with the consequences.

This aside, I believe there are some issues with the story, identified by the author as a ‘romantic suspense thriller’. My question is however: is it a thriller or is it a romance? Thrillers require a crime, usually violent, a big question mark on who committed it, how and why, and a figure that undoes the mystery, usually a policeman or someone part of a forensic team. There is no mystery here, since the people who are after Hayley are named quite early on during the narration and, unfortunately, being part of a cult is not a crime per se. It is surely a traumatising experience, but even having a car crash is no joke, still usually no one gets arrested for it. Where is the thriller, then? If that element is constituted by the serial killer Jesse is looking for, we definitely need this character more present in the narration, because Jesse doesn’t look that concerned about it. On the contrary, his attention is more focused on Hayley and her wellbeing, but even that part lacks ‘romantic drive’: there is no hearth-wrenching longing for each other, there are no Romeo and Juliet moments, nor dramatic separations that make the reader cry in pain.

The narration flows well, the syntax is correct and the plot well-conceived, but in my opinion Book One overpromises and underdelivers, leaving a bitter taste at the end and no genuine interest in reading the rest. This is honestly a shame, because with some reworking and tightening on the plot, this book has a lot of potential.

‘The Vine Series’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3wsNKRq