Precious Thing – Colette McBeth

Remember the person you sat next to on your first day at school? Still your best friend or disappeared from your life for good?

Some friendships fizzle out. Rachel and Clara promised theirs would last for ever. 

Theirs was the most intense of friendships, sustained throughout the years, despite separation at times, until now in their late twenties as Rachel becomes successful, Clara spins inexorably out of control until one day she disappears.

In her role as a crime reporter for National News Network, Rachel is called in to cover a police appeal for help in the case of a missing local woman. What she doesn’t know until she arrives is that the person who is missing is her best friend.

What follows is her search for her friend and the truth behind her disappearance, where she uncovers hidden knowledge about her oldest friend that makes her question her entire past with Clara.

Filled with unexpected twists that are perfectly timed to insist that you keep reading, Precious Thing is a dark and disturbing tale of the love hate nature of friendship.

I really enjoyed reading this book to the extent where I had finished it in just a couple of sittings.  It is a truly compelling read. Told in narrative form from the point of view of Rachel, the story flits easily between current affairs and school day memories of their friendship. It is a perfect reflection on how much of what was said ‘back then’ is real compared to what is true now. It’s also a fascinating reminder to the reader of those childhood friendships you cherished and of those that you can unfortunately never forget.