My father said my mother killed herself. My sister says he’s lying.
The day of our mother’s funeral, my little sister Lucy and I clung to our father’s side. He promised he’d get us through it, and we believed him. But then I discovered that the coffin we wept over was empty.
Dad says he was trying to protect us – that he thought it would be easier to grieve if we didn’t know our mother’s body was never found.
His new wife says she just wants to help us move on from the past.
Then Lucy has a flash of memory that leaves her shaking. Our father. A woman she doesn’t recognise. A knife…
She insists she knows something about the day our mother died, but it’s buried too deep to see clearly.
What happened to our mother? I need to find the truth. But I have no idea who I can trust. And what if the answer puts my life in danger?
A completely gripping psychological thriller that will make your heart pound as you try to decide who is telling the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.
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Julia started off as a theatre director and playwright. While her children were growing up, she swerved into graphic design. After writing and illustrating two children’s books for an MA, she discovered that her great love was writing prose. The picture books were deemed too dark for publication, so, to save the children, she turned instead to writing for adults. Her first book, Cuckoo, was published in 2011, and she has been writing what she calls her Domestic Noir novels ever since. She also writes for TV and teaches on the Crime Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. She has three grown up children and lives in Brighton with her husband and two cats, Keith and Sandra.
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My thoughts: this was a bit of a crazy book, I was fascinated by the use of hypnotherapy – I remember reading about the cases referenced, where false memories, often about abuse, occurred and innocent people were arrested and put on trial as a result. I found the way Lucy’s memories come as strange flashes, as she conflates different things together, risking destroying her whole family each time she points the finger.
Cerys was an interesting person too – especially when the tight control she exerts over her life, and her family, starts to slip and her secrets are exposed. The person I felt sorriest for was Binnie – only a child and surrounded by some incredibly self absorbed and highly strung adults. She keeps getting pushed aside as Sara and Cerys squabble over Lucy and the past.
Families are messy, even if no one died, or might be a murderer, throw these huge complications in and they’re completely at risk of falling apart completely. An enjoyable, twisting and clever read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all
ramblingmads 