If you’re looking for a quick mystery novel to help you wind down after a busy week, you can stop looking and get ready to settle in for the ride. Sandra Brown is a fast-paced and dynamic storyteller, and she doesn’t disappoint in “The Witness.”
The novel begins in a hospital with a nurse, a woman named Kendall and her baby, Kevin. As the nurse explains how lucky they were to have survived, flashes of the car crash run through Kendall’s mind.
She remembers the falling tree, the driver swerving, clutching Kevin to her chest and the impact of slamming into a monstrous tree after hurtling down the side of the ravine. Kendall managed to pull herself and Kevin from the wreckage before also saving the unconscious driver, though the woman in the passenger seat was dead upon impact.
Hugging Kevin tightly, she fought her way up the side of the ravine to the deserted road and walked slowly, hoping someone would happen across them. The hospital nurse is in awe of Kendall’s story, but at this point, Kendall’s only focus is on how and when she and Kevin can escape.
Kendall’s desperate desire to get away from the hospital is not only puzzling, but suspicious—especially when we see how adept she is at providing for herself without leaving a trail. She had been carrying money zipped into the inside of her jacket, so she quickly buys clothes, food and even a run-down car, all in untraceable cash.
However, her quick escape plans are slowed when the other driver from the accident wakes up with amnesia, unable to remember a single thing about who he is, who Kendall is or what happened. Fortunately Kendall has a solution: claiming that the man is her husband.
At this point, readers are in a similar mindset as some of the characters. There is no reason to think that Kendall is telling anything other than the truth, no matter how strange her plans to leave are, because the only one who actually knows the truth is Kendall herself. So, her story seems valid as she leaves the hospital with Kevin and the man, whom she’s said is John. Thankfully, some clues start to drop as she thinks back to her wedding day with the handsome man of her dreams and her life in a small town.The reader is pulled into trying to piece together the puzzle between her previous happiness and her current on-the-run misery.
Brown crafts a story that slowly reveals information, but her ability to be continually surprising keeps readers on their toes. Even when it feels like everything is clear and understood, she adds in more suspense and has a twist up her sleeve that she uses wisely when it is least expected.
Fortunately, Brown’s only slightly predictable plot flaw is in the relationship between Kendall and John. In logical minds, there are about two possible outcomes for what happens when two people are placed in a desperate situation together: they either hate each other and part ways, or they fall in love. Brown will keep readers guessing as to which one is the winner.
“The Witness” clashes together the best of humanity and the worst of humanity in a gradually pieced together story full of unexpected characters, events and endings. It is definitely a page turner, so good luck trying to put it down once it’s begun.
