The Diary by Vikki PatisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a compelling story about sisterhood and how tenuous and easily broken the ties are between us and the people who are important to us. It's a story about the mistakes we make when we are younger. We all have things that we did or said in the past that we would love to do differently,I know I have. It's about the different types of abuse that are endured everyday by people of all ages,in many different situations,environments and sectors of society. It's about friendship,judgement,revenge,redemption,forgiveness, misconceptions and how we can only move on with our futures if we find a way to let go of our pasts.
Lauren White has spent years running away from her past,her home town,her childhood and memories of her beloved best friend Hannah.
But Lauren has been forced to return home to the small town of Hitchin because her Dad has asked her if she will go with him to the memorial service that is being held at Lauren`s old school to mark the tenth anniversary of Hannah's death. Lauren doesn't plan to stay long,just a few days,long enough to pay her respects.
At home,Lauren is shocked when she discovers Hannah's old diary.A diary full of Lauren and Hannah's friend's secrets. The terrible things Lauren did,the lies she told,the reason she ran away.
Then Lauren and some of her old group of friends start receiving threatening text messages.
Someone else knows their secrets but no-one else knows about the diary,and Hannah is dead,isn't she?
This enthralling story is voiced entirely by Lauren and told in chapters that flip back and forth between the present and the past. Lauren was a likeable character but I struggled to understand why she put Hannah on such a high pedestal and thought she was so amazing when Hannah seemed to do nothing but treat her badly. Why do we put so much time and effort into being accepted by people who mistreat us. That friend that suddenly stops talking to you and is slagging you off behind your back but who you would happily still be friends with if they decided to start talking to you again. Even Hannah's friends said that Hannah was mean and cruel,a fact that was proven by some of the comments that Hannah had written in her diary. Who was the real Hannah,was she the cruel person she appeared to be or was she just scared to let herself get too attached to people because of things that had happened in her past? The characters in this book were a mixed bag of vivid,realistic personalities,some likeable,some not so and most of whom had hidden secrets. My favourite parts of the story were the chapters set in the present day. Who was sending the threatening messages? How did the person or person`s know the group's secrets?
The Diary is a mesmerising,very well written debut thriller that had me hooked in from the first page. The story flows with ease in both times frames and no parts come across as unnecessary or added to pad out the story. The author states in the notes at the back of the book that she has been affected personally by some of the issues raised in this story and I hope that writing this book has helped her start the journey towards moving on even if it's only in a small way. There are some hard hitting issues covered in this book that would raise some heated discussions if it was read by a book group. Highly recommended,I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
Vikki Patis is an author and blogger, as well as an avid reader and book reviewer. When she isn’t working as a Regulatory Affairs Manager, she can usually be found drinking tea, baking cakes, or taking walks in the Hertfordshire countryside. She lives with her partner and two cats.
PUBLICATION DATE : 26th November 2018
PUBLISHER : Bookouture
GENRE : Psychological Thriller
PURCHASE LINK...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diary-completely-addictive-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B07GWBDDXS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1543173948&sr=1-1&keywords=The+diary+by+vikki
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