BOOK DESCRIPTION
They’d left their daughter with us, their only child, and we hadn’t protected her. That was all they would see when they looked at us—that we had failed them.
I count down the days until we can leave the city behind and return to the beach house. Where James and Katie can roam free over the dunes, like they did as children, and Peter will swap his 6 a.m. starts for the stacks of fluffy pancakes he lovingly serves up for our family breakfasts. These sun-drenched, golden days, just the four of us, are what I hold on to all year long.
But this summer Katie’s best friend will be coming with us. I tell myself the girls will have fun together, pushing aside the doubts I have about this uninvited guest. Isa. With her corn-silk hair and luminous skin, who manages to overshadow my daughter at every turn. Who has been dumped on us by her own parents, too caught up in their petty dramas to see what is right in front of them.
Because I can see it. There is something dangerous about Isa. Something more than a carefree girl, testing boundaries as she approaches adulthood. She threatens to cast storm clouds across my beach house days. I feel as powerless to stop her as I would in the face of a hurricane.
By the end of the summer, Isa will be dead. And I will have to face her mother. I don’t know if I will be able to find the words. How can I begin to explain that she never really knew her daughter at all?
A gripping story of the darkness than lurks beneath the surface of the most picture-perfect lives and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love. Fans of Big Little Lies, Kerry Fisher and Diane Chamberlain will be held totally in thrall by this emotional, twisty read.
We witness events leading up too,during and the aftermath of the fateful summer holiday through the eyes of Louise and her seventeen year old daughter Katie. Two complex characters who both seriously got on my nerves for various reasons. Louise was very judgemental and also a bit of a hypocrite amongst other things. As for Katie, I struggled to figure out how she and Isa had remained friends for so long. I know opposites attract but Isa was such a fun loving teenager whilst Katie was just so....well, just like another character said sanctimonious and came across as a sulky,spoil sport at times. I mean, did she really have to do what she did? Was she really worried about Isa getting hurt or was she simply jealous and wanted Isa all to herself again? A lot of reader's will probably label Isa a out of control brat but was she? Or was she just a child who was seeking love and attention in an way she could get them due to deprivation by her parents? We never got any insight into her home life so we had no idea if things were as bad as she said they were or if she was over exaggerating things like teenagers have a habit of doing. Were her parents actions after her death caused by grief or guilt because of the way they had treated her whilst she was alive? Most of the characters in this book were so complex and flawed that it was almost impossible to decide whether they were likeable or not. I did really like Katie's dad Peter and her poor misunderstood younger brother James.
I really enjoyed this enthralling drama that had me captivated from the first page. The layers of the story unfurled like the petals of a blossoming flower until the truth of what happened to Isa on that fateful night is finally revealed in all its shocking glory. The story caused me to experience a wide range of emotions and my feelings for certain characters ebbed and flowed like the waves of the sea. This is a incredibly well written,emotionally charged story by a very talented author and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.
Author Bio:
Jennifer Harvey is a Scottish writer now living in The Netherlands.
She is the author of three novels.
Someone Else's Daughter will be published on June 18th 2020 with Bookouture.
Two more titles will follow in October 2020 and May 2021.
Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines in the US and the UK, such as Bare Fiction, Litro Online, Carve Magazine, Folio, and The Lonely Crowd.
She has been shortlisted for various short story prizes including the Bristol Prize, the University of Sunderland Short Story Award and the Bridport Prize. Her radio dramas have won prizes and commendations from the BBC World Service. She has been longlisted twice for the Bath Novel Award.
She is the author of three novels.
Someone Else's Daughter will be published on June 18th 2020 with Bookouture.
Two more titles will follow in October 2020 and May 2021.
Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines in the US and the UK, such as Bare Fiction, Litro Online, Carve Magazine, Folio, and The Lonely Crowd.
She has been shortlisted for various short story prizes including the Bristol Prize, the University of Sunderland Short Story Award and the Bridport Prize. Her radio dramas have won prizes and commendations from the BBC World Service. She has been longlisted twice for the Bath Novel Award.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenAnneHarvey1 (@JenAnneHarvey1)
Website: http://www.jenharvey.net/
PUBLICATION DATE: 18th June 2020
PRINT LENGTH: 328 Pages
PUBLISHER: Bookouture
ASIN: BO8626LL52
GENRE: Suspense Thriller
BUY LINKS:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08626LL52Social
Apple: https://apple.co/2IZIh8M
Kobo: http://bit.ly/33tvzZv
Google: http://bit.ly/2IUX3hc
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Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteGreat review, almost exactly the same thoughts as my own about the storyline and characters, although thankfully we word it slightly differently, as my review is published tomorrow!
Thanks for sharing and I hope that all is well with you :)
Yvonne
xx