The Souvenir by Australian author, Patricia Carlon was originally published in 1970, yet for me the story felt very fresh and current. Two teenage girls meet on a summer hitch-hiking trip. One of them, stabs a young man to death. Each girl accused the other of the crime and the police could prove neither girl guilty. Four years go by and the sister of the victim hires a very unique private eye to find out which girl actually murdered her brother.

This psychological twister unfolds backwards and forward in time as we learn of the uneasy friendship that develops and the stolen mementos that cause the final argument between the girls. The author, perhaps a little too cleverly writes from an angle that makes one of the girls appear more likely to have committed the crime. I thought the story lost a little steam when it started to include both girls families but over all I found this to be a unique puzzler and quite a gripping read. ( )

It's a whodunnit but only in the technical sense. It's one of two girls and the detective, is very craftily kept in the background for a good chunk of this short novel. Carlton is a gifted writer. Her plot is dense and unfolds slowly, playing fair the whole way. If you like locked room mysteries or the armchair detect genre this one is worth a look. ( )

A decent mystery that I enjoyed right up until the end, when it kind of fell apart for me. I was expecting something more sinister and thought the ending was pulled out of nowhere a little. I also didn't like the detective character and thought the Marian character was not well-developed. I would have liked to to see her boyfriend/friend actually appear in the book and be fleshed out more as well. It had a very intriguing premise and set-up and worked well for me for a long time; I just didn't like the twist at the end. ( )