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hdog1971's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
flintsloveofbooks's review
4.0
Bought this on book depository (along with another Jane Corry) because it hadn’t been published over here yet. Who has time to wait for that shit?
helenpickett's review
4.0
Two daughters. One daughter who nobody ever knew about and one daughter which was very much known about but never was.
This book is a dual narrative written from the point of of view of Emily, Francoise and a historical narrative from Henry Gentle from 1945. Emily is the daughter of a successful solicitor whose family home is by the sea in Cornwall, Emily's mother has passed away and Emily now lives in London and works as a successful midwife, successful that it until she makes a mistake,
Emily has never been married and had no children of her own and whilst she is suspended from her post, she goes home to stay with her elderly father only to find a beautiful stranger open the door to her.
The beautiful stranger is Francoise the second narrative and turns out to be her dads new carer,
The two women are very suspicious of the other and then suddenly Emily's father Henry deteriorates and dies. Is one of the women responsible as they both have their secrets.
This is a good mystery. There is no sense of menace but is atmospheric along the stormy coastline of Cornwall There are twists and turns and of course the plot takes you down dead ends. So many assumptions are made and the historical content is all relevant. It does have a 'nice' end which feels odd for a thriller but I liked it..
#WeAllHaveOurSecrets but I'm not going to spoil any more secrets of this book in this review,
With thanks to #NetGalley and Penguin General UK-Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Buisness for the electronic preview read.
This book is a dual narrative written from the point of of view of Emily, Francoise and a historical narrative from Henry Gentle from 1945. Emily is the daughter of a successful solicitor whose family home is by the sea in Cornwall, Emily's mother has passed away and Emily now lives in London and works as a successful midwife, successful that it until she makes a mistake,
Emily has never been married and had no children of her own and whilst she is suspended from her post, she goes home to stay with her elderly father only to find a beautiful stranger open the door to her.
The beautiful stranger is Francoise the second narrative and turns out to be her dads new carer,
The two women are very suspicious of the other and then suddenly Emily's father Henry deteriorates and dies. Is one of the women responsible as they both have their secrets.
This is a good mystery. There is no sense of menace but is atmospheric along the stormy coastline of Cornwall There are twists and turns and of course the plot takes you down dead ends. So many assumptions are made and the historical content is all relevant. It does have a 'nice' end which feels odd for a thriller but I liked it..
#WeAllHaveOurSecrets but I'm not going to spoil any more secrets of this book in this review,
With thanks to #NetGalley and Penguin General UK-Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Buisness for the electronic preview read.
yasmin15's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
gdufty's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kazza27's review
4.0
Thank you to Ellie Hudson for the invitation to the blog tour for Jane’s latest book and to Penguin UK Books for my proof copy of the book.
Emily is a midwife and an incident at work sends her back to Willowmead House, which is in a quiet coastal village by the sea and where her elderly father Harold Gentle lives. When she arrives, she is in for another surprise as there is Frenchwoman, Francoise living there with her father. Francoise has answered an advertisement from the retired lawyer for a carer/companion. Harold has really taken to her and Emily is horrified by the closeness of the pair. She does not trust Francoise at all and sees her as a golddigger. Work calls Emily back to London and we learn more abour Francoise and her background.
I always enjoy Jane’s books as they are so engrossing and twisty, this one is written from three perspectives Emily, Francoise and a young Harry Gentle. All three are hiding things from the past and the present, which adds to the suspense of this book. There are secrets and lies aplenty in this story and every page has more turns. I love a book with a unreliable narrator and in this book I had no idea who to trust and who not to. I didn’t really like any of the characters, which made it even easier to be suspicious of them all. When Francoise reveals who she really is then things take an even more dramatic turn.
It’s a gripping thriller which I galloped through, I enjoyed the family aspect of the book and I was not sure where it would end and it had Jane’s trademark twist to conclude.
A great read !
4.5 stars ****.5
Emily is a midwife and an incident at work sends her back to Willowmead House, which is in a quiet coastal village by the sea and where her elderly father Harold Gentle lives. When she arrives, she is in for another surprise as there is Frenchwoman, Francoise living there with her father. Francoise has answered an advertisement from the retired lawyer for a carer/companion. Harold has really taken to her and Emily is horrified by the closeness of the pair. She does not trust Francoise at all and sees her as a golddigger. Work calls Emily back to London and we learn more abour Francoise and her background.
I always enjoy Jane’s books as they are so engrossing and twisty, this one is written from three perspectives Emily, Francoise and a young Harry Gentle. All three are hiding things from the past and the present, which adds to the suspense of this book. There are secrets and lies aplenty in this story and every page has more turns. I love a book with a unreliable narrator and in this book I had no idea who to trust and who not to. I didn’t really like any of the characters, which made it even easier to be suspicious of them all. When Francoise reveals who she really is then things take an even more dramatic turn.
It’s a gripping thriller which I galloped through, I enjoyed the family aspect of the book and I was not sure where it would end and it had Jane’s trademark twist to conclude.
A great read !
4.5 stars ****.5
carlg88's review
3.0
I found this book an okay read. Nothing amazing and certainly not as good as the previous book I read by this author. I did not like how the characters were always second guessing themselves about each other’s motives. Seemed a bit fake in my opinion. The ending was a fairly happy one.
Thank you to the publishes, NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Thank you to the publishes, NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.
cathylpowell's review
4.0
The book opens with Emily delivering a baby. All appears to be fine, but in the end it clearly isn’t. She ends up dodging a fox on her bike and falling off, hitting her head. The hospital where she works then give her a call to get her to return to work due to something that went wrong with the latest birth. It isn’t revealed exactly what has gone wrong.
But she panics, doesn’t contact the hospital and flees to the Cornish coast where she grew up and her elderly father. Thinking that she can confide in him and they can look after one another.
However he has employed a carer, Francoise. It becomes clear that Emily doesn’t trust her and she doesn’t trust Emily.
There are many secrets that everyone is keeping.
As they are revealed a really interesting story evolves that had me gripped.
But she panics, doesn’t contact the hospital and flees to the Cornish coast where she grew up and her elderly father. Thinking that she can confide in him and they can look after one another.
However he has employed a carer, Francoise. It becomes clear that Emily doesn’t trust her and she doesn’t trust Emily.
There are many secrets that everyone is keeping.
As they are revealed a really interesting story evolves that had me gripped.