In The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson, Lily Moore comes home to New York from Spain when the police call her to tell her that her sister Claudia was found dead in the bathtub on the anniversary of their mother’s suicide. In an effort to support Claudia, but unable to deal with her lifestyle of drug addiction, Lily has been paying the rent on her own apartment so that her sister would have a place to live. Lily hasn’t seen her sister for three months, since she came home to visit a supposedly drug-free Claudia only to find her strung out. Since then, Claudia has not returned any of her calls.
When Lily goes to the morgue to identify the body, she realizes that the dead woman bears only a superficial resemblance to her sister, which makes the circumstances of her death–the supposed suicide on the date of their mother’s suicide–doubly suspicious. Lily realizes that Claudia has been missing for months, and that the other woman has stolen Claudia’s identity. She is determined to find her sister even as the police decide that Claudia is a suspect in the unknown woman’s death.
Davidson has written a capable, fast-moving mystery that keeps your attention. The characters are interesting, and readers will like Lily and her affectionate gay friend Jesse. I guessed one part of the puzzle fairly early in the book, but the solution was more complicated than I thought. The writing could have used another edit, but I don’t think editors actually edit books anymore. Overall, though, the book was enjoyable and fun to read.
What? Me Read? 