Book Review: What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

In May, I had the pleasure of attending a crime writer talk with Dervla McTiernan and NZ author Michael Bennett at the Hastings District Library. I hadn’t read any of McTiernan’s books prior to attending the evening, but I had a few on my ‘to be read’ list. I love hearing authors talk about their writing processes, story and character development, research etc. It’s special getting an insight into everything that goes into writing and publishing a novel, and this event with Dervla McTiernan and Michael Bennett was no exception. Also, how cool that they visited Hastings on their very small NZ tour!

Off the back of the event, I started reading What Happened to Nina? which is McTiernan’s latest novel and one that she answered questions about that evening. The story is centred around the disappearance of Nina, who goes missing after a weekend away with her boyfriend Simon. As the title suggests, the story is about finding out what happened to Nina as Simon’s version of events just don’t make sense to her family.

One of the main focuses of this novel is the role that social media plays in similar cases. Initially, Nina’s family and friends use it to create an online group to organise a search party. However, Simon’s wealthy family weaponise it when they go into damage control after Simon becomes a suspect in Nina’s disappearance. They hire a PR firm who begin to spread misinformation online about Nina’s mother and stepfather, and Nina herself. It plays a big part in the public perception of the case and Nina’s family end up getting harassed because of the rumours being spread online. Rumours that, in this online age of misinformation, don’t take much to be believed by people. It even starts interfering with the investigation with the police using valuable resources to dispel the rumours. It explores the intricacies of social media and how it can be used for both good and bad.

Another key focus of the novel is the lengths that both Nina and Simon’s parents go to for their children. Nina’s parents in their efforts to find out the truth about what happened to their daughter, and Simon’s parents to protect their son – despite the involvement he may have had in Nina’s disappearance. On both sides you see them make highly questionable decisions out of sheer desperation and love for their respective children. McTiernan tells each chapter of the book from the perspective of a different character which allows us to understand the emotional distress they are going through and why they feel justified in their actions.

The story is fast paced, and it didn’t take me long to read. Every aspect of it also felt very realistic. It was reminiscent of the real-life American case of Gabby Petito, who went missing (and was later found dead) after travelling with her boyfriend Brian. Brian returned from the trip, but Gabby didn’t, just like Simon and Nina in this story. As with real, ‘newsworthy’ cases like these, I was engaged with the story and wanted to keep reading it to find out how it would end – which I won’t spoil, but it does not disappoint!

I look forward to reading other books by Dervla McTiernan, particular the Cormac Reilly series which is next on my list.

Rachel Reads

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