This psych thriller was good in many ways, but ultimately didn’t entirely deliver on the build-up. It was still a book that had me turning pages – I read it in one sitting, which is no easy feat these days – and I would definitely recommend it.
I could tell from the beginning (well, and the title) that the house was going to be its own character in the book. It’s a focal point for many reasons.
Carly and Mark have built quite the empire, with their home being a platform for a television show…aptly titled The Forever Home. They renovated the house Carly inherited from her mom and turned it into a business.
Mark is the face of the television show and now travels all over the country to renovate old houses. Well, that’s the cover story anyway.
As Carly finds out at her 25th wedding anniversary party, not everything is as it seems. She’s known for several years what kind of man her husband actually is, but she is fairly blindsided by revelations at the party.
What follows is a harrowing account of what really occurred behind the scenes over the previous 25 years.
The story fully belongs to Carly. It’s from her perspective, with her opinions coloring the entire narrative. This was both impactful and telling. The reader was able to really get into her mind as she justifies both her actions and those of Mark.
And boy, does she spin the justifications.
Ostensibly, it’s because Mark has some big secret on her (that’s not a spoiler – it’s to be assumed that there are good reasons for her to put up with everything). I personally didn’t find that revelation to be as big of a deal as it maybe should have been. I actually expected it to be way worse.
Mark was…interesting. From the descriptions, I kept picturing Paul Hollywood (he’s pretty much the only British Silver Fox I could think of), but I hope my Paul wouldn’t act the way Mark did. He was truly despicable.
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There are lies galore, hidden motivations, questionable characters, eerie occurrences, and red herrings…everything that makes a psych thriller great.
I think there is one area where the narrative bogs down and that is in Carly’s justifications and mental narratives. There are long, often repeated sections of Carly explaining why she stayed, why she forgave, why she continued on, why she did just about everything.
It became redundant at times, and I found myself wishing that it was written that way to build to some mind twist. Not so much.
As mentioned, there were a few red herrings, including one character who I was sure was guilty. But then I second guessed myself because it was so obvious.
The big climax isn’t as big as it could have been and was frankly a long time coming. It seemed like there were a lot of hints around it and the groundwork was laid early but then it all happened quickly. But characters do get their just desserts. So, that was good.
Probably the thing I liked most though was Carly’s consistency. Her mantra from beginning to end was that she did everything for her kids. And that certainly is the case. I appreciate that level of consistent messaging even in the face of everything else.
I would recommend the book, especially if you are a fan of descriptive internal monologues (and an evil Paul Hollywood 😊 ).
For other reviews of this author’s books: The Empty Nest, The Sister-In-Law, and First Date,
Twitter: @suewatsonwriter
Author Bio:
Sue Watson was a journalist on national magazines and newspapers before becoming a TV producer with the BBC.
Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists.
Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.
