BLOG TOUR, BOOK REVIEW - The Child Who Never Was by Jane Renshaw

                                                                 BOOK DESCRIPTION

Her child has been taken. But no-one believes her.

Sarah’s beautiful baby son Oliver has gone missing. And she will do anything – anything – to get him back.

But there’s a problem. Everyone around Sarah, even her beloved identical twin, Evie, tells her she never had a son, that he’s a figment of her imagination, that she’s not well, she needs help.

And on one level, they’re right, Sarah does need support. She has suffered massive trauma in the past and now she’s severely agoraphobic, very rarely leaves the house, avoids all contact with people.

But fragile though she is, Sarah knows deep in her heart that Oliver is real, that the love she feels for him is true.

And that can only mean one thing – someone has been planning this. And now they’ve taken her baby.

The stunning psychological thriller with an ending you won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of K.L Slater, Mark Edwards, Alex Michaelides.

The brain is a very complex organ which although we are now living in the 21st century still has many mysterious grey areas that are not fully understood by the scientific and medical worlds. This is the heart breaking story of Sarah, a severely traumatised and damaged woman and her quest to uncover the truth about the disappearance of her beloved young son. Her quest is made more complicated by the fact that her twin sister Evie and all the doctors insist that she has never had a son. And yet, Sarah has vivid memories of giving birth and other instances where she has been interacting with a young boy called Oliver. Could they just be delusions caused by her mental health issues as everyone insists or are they memories of real life events? Sarah was a complex mix of many different issues including agoraphobia which meant that the only time that she really felt comfortable about leaving her fabulous custom built house was when she went out with Evie whom she relied on heavily. Some might say that she relied a bit too much on her sister but I could fully understand her need for someone to lean on. Everyone who suffers from mental health issues needs a good support network and sometimes you do unintentionally end up using the people you care about as a crutch. But could she really trust her sister or was Sarah a unwitting pawn in her sister's game of lies, deception and manipulation?

This is not a fast paced story, the layers unfurled gradually like the petals of a flower until the truth hidden within was revealed in all its shocking glory. It's a very well written tale of family, sisters, parenthood, mental health issues, deception and manipulation that had two flawed, relatable female lead characters, builds in intensity and has a emotionally charged, intense and heart breaking final confrontation. To be honest it did take a while for this story to hook me in but that was more to do with my own mental health issues than the story itself. Once it did grab my attention I found it a very enjoyable read and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.

                                                                 About Jane Renshaw:

As a child, Jane spent a lot of time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…)

As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.

Jane is the author of Watch Over Me. THE CHILD WHO NEVER WAS will be her second novel published with Inkubator Books.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneRenshaw10
Website: https://www.janerenshaw.co.uk/

PUBLICATION DATE: 16th August 2020

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3kqo1if

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/33IIk4u

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