Published by Manatee Books Ltd on June 28 2018
Genres: Thriller, Contemporary
Pages: 296
Amazon UK
Goodreads
A forgotten past
An uncertain future
A family hiding from the truth
When their mother is hospitalised with depression, Annie and her brother Matthew are fostered by their beloved Aunt Helen. Their family eventually reunited, the siblings begin a new life in Derbyshire with their mother and new stepfather.
Now in her thirties and separated from her husband, Annie is struggling to escape the past and move forward with her son. Haunted by memories of her childhood, she begins to realise that there may have been more to her time in foster care than her mother claims. Why did social services take her and Matthew away? Who can she trust to tell her what really happened?
As Annie finds out more, things take a sinister turn…has the life she’s lived so far been a lie?
Sorry for the late post for this blog tour, I am finally posting on the right day but I was late finishing this due to the blog issues and my migraines have prevented me from getting my reading done on time. I finished the book 20 mins ago and I need to get my thoughts done.
Firstly, the tears that flowed from this me when I read this book was unexpected. When you look at the cover and read the blurb I was not expecting tears to flow, but they do. If I ever get the chance to meet Jacqueline I will need to get her a serious talking to, I mean jeez you put Annie through the blinking ringer!
This book is not a fast-paced thriller, this is not a psychological thriller, this is a slow burner, entering Annie’s life at a time of big changes. It is so character driven and rightly so, there is no serial killer, this is life, and this is life at its worse.
Annie is separated from her husband David, moving her into a new house with their son Spencer, David has paid for the house, pays the bills and has his own keys. Forever retaining his controlling behaviour on Annie. So I thought this story was going to go the scary thrilling way (I purposely did not re-read the blurb before reading the book). This is not how the story goes.
I loved Annie, she is such a strong woman who just does not realise it. With changes comes flashbacks from her past when she was a child, seeing her meeting her baby brother, giving him a teddy. Memories just encroaching on her mind and fleeting when she gets closer.
Her and her brother Matthew, lived with their Aunt Helen when they were young but no memories to why
Annie is trying to adjust to her single life, her cousin Catherine, Aunt Helen’s daughter has left her husband Clive in Abu Dhabi moving in with Annie for a short while (thankfully it was short!). However, this storyline, Adam her brother’s gorgeous friend, and David all take a back seat to the main plot but still add to all the rubbish Annie has to go through (again Ms Grima we need to have words).
There were so many storylines going on at the same time, but it was easy to keep up. I guessed a couple of them but upon reading one of them, I am telling you the tears fell. I was so heartbroken for the family and all that grief that has been kept hidden away.
I was so surprised by this book because remember I forgot what I was reading, but this book was such a heartfelt revelation. I feel that Annie can move on with her life now, once the secrets had been revealed. Yes life will never be the same and it is upside down, and depression played a theme through this book. Something I know well, the darkness you live in, the suffering and the feeling you are alone, this is something that you can feel with two of the characters. Yet, through this darkness, there is a fight, a fight for a better life, for forgiveness and giving that forgiveness. It is powerful and shocking.
This is a book I wholeheartedly recommend, I devoured it today, and all today, I needed the answers as much as Annie and I was glad to discover some with her and some before her.
Thank you so much to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers, Manatee Books and the author Jacqueline Grima for a copy of this book in return for my honest and unbiased review*
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Berit&V@Audio Killed the Bookmark says
Oh happy day! Not only can I see your blog I can follow and I said notifications for it so I’ll never miss you again! xx
Zoe says
Yay!! That has made me happy! I am so happy I have got everything sorted with this new blog. And yay to following and notifications lol xx