Day: November 30, 2020

This was quite an interesting read.

It started off with one focus, then seemingly switched. I’ll admit that I read nearly half of it wondering exactly what was going on. To be honest I was a little bit annoyed.

And then I got to a turning point and realized exactly what the author had plotted out and I couldn’t help but admire how everything was put together.

It ended up being one of the more unusual psychological thrillers I have read in some time.

Although, I do have to say that I didn’t get much of a psych thriller feel from it – almost more family drama. Then again, I recently wrote about how some psych thrillers play more of a trick on the reader than the characters in the book, and I would say this fell into that category.

The story is sectioned into three parts. The first part alternates between Paula and Charlie. I’ll admit to being unsure of whether they were taking place in the same time frame or not – I like that the author left that ambiguous because it worked for the story.

In part II, we get the added perspective of Marian, and part III alternates between all three women. It’s an effective way of story telling because the reader gets a holistic picture of the plot (if that makes sense).

There was also a bit of mystery, because Paula is actually trying to find out what really happened with her sister Lizzie. I really enjoyed the scenes with her and Johnny, because I liked their common-sense approaches.

I thought Marian was an interesting character. She seemed harmless at first before the plot really kicked in. I’m not saying more than that, but she was a good example of how even the smallest things can affect someone.

I do want to recognize that the way the author finally brings everything together was pretty masterful. Again, I don’t want to give anything away, but I loved how there were things right under my nose that I hadn’t even noticed.

That can be chalked up to clever writing (yes, I did even go back to see if I had missed something) and a strong plot that stood up to the twists and turns (that were all realistic, by the way).

I would definitely recommend giving this book a read. Stick with it, because you will be rewarded.

Interesting side note: As I was formatting this blog, I re-read my review for this author’s previous book, The Man She Married. I realized that the author plotted this one much in the same manner.

It is apparent she has a writing style. Now that I recognize that over two books, I’ll be looking forward to it in the next one.

Author Bio:

Born in the Cotswolds, Alison spent most of her formative years abroad. She studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after her two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, Alison worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyliner, before coming full circle to write fiction again.