UPDATE: (After reading through this review, I’m adding this up here – you really should give this one a try. There were some good twists, and it was definitely a psychological thriller. What follows is my experience with the book, which may be completely different from what other readers experience).
I have to start by saying that I thought this book was going to go in a totally different direction from where it actually ended up.
When I first started reading, I thought that it would be about Phoebe, who may be Maya, finding her birth mother (Kay) after her mother (Roz) dies. Clear on that? It has great premise for all kinds of psychological mindgames.
And I did get that…somewhat.
Kobo: http://ow.ly/HCyG50AxCru Google: http://ow.ly/qFIi50AxCv4
I thought that Kay and Phoebe’s “reunion” was a little bit farfetched. The whole thing seemed off-kilter, as if neither one really believed the reality of the situation, but each was hoping that was true. I’m still not sure if that was by design to set up the rest of the plot. But it left me confused.
A tragedy occurs after Phoebe finds Kay, which sends Phoebe on a hunt to find out her true identity. Again, plenty of opportunity for some twists and turns as Phoebe realizes that there are more lies than truth in her past.
The problem for me is that the story ended up being something completely different. This is no fault of the author. I think I just had a difficult time switching gears when the author took the story in an alternate direction.
I did like the references (and remembrances) of Africa. I thought it was a good way to ground Phoebe when she began to question all of her other memories. At least she knew the ones of her growing up on the animal reserve were true, even as certain assumptions she had were shattered.
The plot seemed to meander – but it actually did trace Phoebe’s search, and searches are rarely straightforward. So, I suppose that it was clever writing. I just wanted more of a concrete search (again – no fault of the author, just of my own expectations).
Somewhere along the way, there’s a cult involved and a few more tragic incidents that illustrate how screwed up Phoebe’s life really has been. It seems as if the author was going for keeping the reader as off-balance as Phoebe was, and that was very successful
I think if I were to have read this from a different attitude or been able to switch quicker with where the author was going, I would have enjoyed it more. As it is, for the first time, I am considering re-reading a book with a different state-of-mind to see if that changes my perception. Check back for an update.
FACEBOOK: SamHepburnAuthor
Author Bio:
Sam Hepburn read modern languages at Cambridge University and, after a brief spell in advertising, joined the BBC as a General Trainee. She worked as a documentary maker for twenty years and was one of the commissioners for the launch of BBC Four. Since then, she has written several books, including psychological thrillers Gone Before and Her Perfect Life, and novels for young adults and children. She won the 2017 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story award and has been nominated for several other prestigious prizes, including the CILIP Carnegie Medal for her YA thrillers.
Sam has worked and travelled widely in Africa and the Middle East, and is a trustee of the Kenyan’s children’s charity, I Afrika. She now lives in London with her husband and children.
