The nifty way we are given access to the murderer’s viewpoint also works well. I also enjoyed the strong supportive relationship between the young women in the book – far nearer my own experiences of female friendships than those poisonous, backstabbing instances thrillers and murder mysteries are fond of portraying. And no, I’m not a man-hater, but I did hate it when I was busy shopping/travelling on public transport/working/walking on the beach and some stranger would intrude to tell me how beautiful I was. Having spent far too much time – from the age of twelve years old – fending off that sort of attention until I thankfully became too old, I read this one with huge enjoyment.

I thought it was those entitled articles who objectify women, particularly young pretty ones, and because they find them desirable, think that gives them the right to act on those urges. So I was a bit taken aback to read a string of complaining reviews accusing it of being a man-hating book, because I didn’t think men in general were Hutchison’s target. And yes, I’ll freely admit that it’s an extreme premise, but no more so than some others I’ve read, recently – think of The Naturalist, for example. After one of their friends falls victim to an assault that leaves her in a coma, the protagonist and her friends ensure they don’t walk around the grounds unaccompanied – and even then they are liable to be harassed. The situation at this particular university, due to a nasty ongoing challenge running at one of the frat houses, is toxic.

I’m aware this is a dynamic in reality – but there are books where I find the reliance on beautiful female victims plain unpleasant. REVIEW: One of the major reasons I don’t read more murder mysteries, is that I dislike the casual way in which pretty young girls are horribly murdered, often after being raped or assaulted.

Dot hutchison deadly waters