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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Oh this was so very sad. It's not often that a mystery leaves one feeling so broken hearted for its characters. I think that great grande dame of the English mystery, Ms. Agatha Christie herself, would have been quite impressed with Debbie Howell's own take on the darkness that hides within all human hearts in her excellent debut.
I admit to finding myself a touch baffled by the twists and turns I took before reaching the end of this heart breaker of a tale that concerns the death of Rosie, a young girl in a small English village. The reader goes down the usual roads of "did the boyfriend do it?" or "maybe it was the husband" and there were a couple of characters that felt a little too much like they'd been inserted for the sake of exposition, the reporter friend who just happens to work for a really great magazine that actually does only want to tell real, honest stories that are fair to everyone (that was a stretch) for example. But Howells really did manage to interweave the stories of two very different women, each with a life the other envies, with quite the expert hand. Nothing was overt in the budding friendship of despondent mother Jo and well meaning Kate and thus as the relationship begins to unravel as the truth is revealed the reader is left with more of a feeling of sadness and regret than one of horror which seems entirely appropriate and real in this case.
There's also a really top notch decision on the part of Ms. Howell's that really make this stand out from the typical mystery and that is Rosie's lost and lovely ghost who haunts every chapter and follows her loved ones as they try to learn the truth.
Though it might take a page out of "The Lovely Bones" I think Ms. Howells actually does a much finer job of really weaving Rosie into the story. Her connection to her beloved sister Delphine and her empathy with her hopelessly damaged mother Jo is full of passion and grief but never comes off as melodramatic.
What finally put this book firmly in the camp of those I'll readily recommend to my patrons was its sweet, sweet ending. To have Rosie take into her arms the daughter she would never know in life and have that be the point at which she is finally able to let go of the world was nothing short of earth shattering. It was just beautifully written. It doesn't make what happened okay or understandable but it leaves the reader with a sense that Rosie will go on to a peace she didn't have much chance of knowing in life.
We often have to forget the victim in typical crime thrillers. We're caught up in the mistaken identities and the red herrings and whether the butler did it. Ms. Howells doesn't let us forget and I'm quite grateful for that.
I admit to finding myself a touch baffled by the twists and turns I took before reaching the end of this heart breaker of a tale that concerns the death of Rosie, a young girl in a small English village. The reader goes down the usual roads of "did the boyfriend do it?" or "maybe it was the husband" and there were a couple of characters that felt a little too much like they'd been inserted for the sake of exposition, the reporter friend who just happens to work for a really great magazine that actually does only want to tell real, honest stories that are fair to everyone (that was a stretch) for example. But Howells really did manage to interweave the stories of two very different women, each with a life the other envies, with quite the expert hand. Nothing was overt in the budding friendship of despondent mother Jo and well meaning Kate and thus as the relationship begins to unravel as the truth is revealed the reader is left with more of a feeling of sadness and regret than one of horror which seems entirely appropriate and real in this case.
There's also a really top notch decision on the part of Ms. Howell's that really make this stand out from the typical mystery and that is Rosie's lost and lovely ghost who haunts every chapter and follows her loved ones as they try to learn the truth.
Though it might take a page out of "The Lovely Bones" I think Ms. Howells actually does a much finer job of really weaving Rosie into the story. Her connection to her beloved sister Delphine and her empathy with her hopelessly damaged mother Jo is full of passion and grief but never comes off as melodramatic.
What finally put this book firmly in the camp of those I'll readily recommend to my patrons was its sweet, sweet ending.
We often have to forget the victim in typical crime thrillers. We're caught up in the mistaken identities and the red herrings and whether the butler did it. Ms. Howells doesn't let us forget and I'm quite grateful for that.
When local village teenager Rosie disappears -- and later is discovered murdered, fellow villager Kate is understandably upset. Kate has a daughter Rosie's age and also spent a little bit of time with the quiet teen and knew her mother, Jo, somewhat.
Rosie's murder causes quite a stir, especially because her father, Neal, is a well-known journalist. Kate becomes closer to Jo after Rosie's death and starts to learn more about Jo, Neal, and Rosie's younger sister, Delphine. As she gets pulled into the family's secrets, Kate finds herself more and more intrigued and confused about what happened to Rosie.
I tore through this book in a couple of days. The reviews comparing it to "Lovely Bones" or a Gillian Flynn novel are certainly not wrong. It's compelling and chilling. The book switches narrators and we "hear" from Rosie, as well, but the format isn't hokey or silly, as it often can be if done incorrectly.
I figured out some of the plot fairly early on, but it didn't make the book any less complex or exciting. The characters are well-drawn and interesting, and there's just *something* about the book that draws you in. Definitely recommend for those in the market for a good psychological thriller.
(Note: I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
Rosie's murder causes quite a stir, especially because her father, Neal, is a well-known journalist. Kate becomes closer to Jo after Rosie's death and starts to learn more about Jo, Neal, and Rosie's younger sister, Delphine. As she gets pulled into the family's secrets, Kate finds herself more and more intrigued and confused about what happened to Rosie.
I tore through this book in a couple of days. The reviews comparing it to "Lovely Bones" or a Gillian Flynn novel are certainly not wrong. It's compelling and chilling. The book switches narrators and we "hear" from Rosie, as well, but the format isn't hokey or silly, as it often can be if done incorrectly.
I figured out some of the plot fairly early on, but it didn't make the book any less complex or exciting. The characters are well-drawn and interesting, and there's just *something* about the book that draws you in. Definitely recommend for those in the market for a good psychological thriller.
(Note: I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
2.5 stars I think. I was semi-hooked, enough to finish it, but I guessed who the killer was about half way through so I found that the end lacked a lot of impact.
I didn't really like the whole ghost story element of Rosie's chapters, it was good when it was going back over events from her perspective, so that you found out new things; but when it was her as a ghost seeing the characters dealing with her death, that became a bit trite. I also really grew to dislike Kate, she was just so gullible and often quite self-absorbed.
The domestic violence storyline started as reasonably well-told, in the way that it emphasised how the abuser can appear charming and kind on the outside, and how the emotional and financial abuse can leave the victims powerless to leave (to challenge the whole "they could just leave" myth). However, I am starting to feel saturated by all of these thrillers that rely on violence against women as their reason to exist.The fact that Joanna is revealed to have been Rosie's killer as a culmination of the psychological abuse of her two daughters, just undoes any potential good work in busting domestic violence myths. Of course it's important to recognise that abusers often have a history of being abused (and, as such, shouldn't be written off as evil people), but there's also a danger of perpetuating a myth that the abused will always go on to abuse others. This particular storyline really made it feel inevitable, with Joanna's catalogue of historical abuse at the hands of both her parents and her husband. We never find out the history behind Neal's abusive behaviour, it seems to be written off as a character flaw - he's just a charming, powerful man who needs to keep up that reputation. Joanna is very much painted as the one with the real psychological problems - the eating disorders, obsession with plastic surgery, alcoholism etc. - she ultimately chooses him because of those problems, stays with him because of those problems, and even kills their daughter because of it. In fact, now that I think about it, that completely undermines the initial work in busting the myth that the victim could choose to leave at any time! While it's made clear that Neal has power over Joanna (it's even mentioned at one point that she doesn't have her own bank account), the latter details of her backstory place too much emphasis on how much she needs him to fulfill her need to make herself smaller/perfect, to the extent that it comes across that she is very much choosing to remain beholden to him. She is the one that is painted to be pathetic - when her husband has decided to leave her, and her daughter is pregnant with the gardener's baby, she has some kind of psychotic break and murders her daughter and unborn grandchild. Meanwhile, her abusive husband is just absolved of responsibility, he swans off to live in a flat in London and Kate and Laura can describe him as a nasty piece of work, but it will always be Joanna who is remembered as the psycho killer in this tale of woe. It's a disappointingly generic plot, full of stereotypes.
I didn't really like the whole ghost story element of Rosie's chapters, it was good when it was going back over events from her perspective, so that you found out new things; but when it was her as a ghost seeing the characters dealing with her death, that became a bit trite. I also really grew to dislike Kate, she was just so gullible and often quite self-absorbed.
The domestic violence storyline started as reasonably well-told, in the way that it emphasised how the abuser can appear charming and kind on the outside, and how the emotional and financial abuse can leave the victims powerless to leave (to challenge the whole "they could just leave" myth). However, I am starting to feel saturated by all of these thrillers that rely on violence against women as their reason to exist.
DNFed at 10%
Didn't catch me and I knew it should catch me right away since it's supposed to be a thriller and murder mystery.
Didn't catch me and I knew it should catch me right away since it's supposed to be a thriller and murder mystery.
I received a free copy of this book by the book's publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rosie is missing. She's been missing for days. She has a violent, manipulative father who has a gleaming exterior. Rosie's had a secret lover with a more secretive past. Her mother, chief recipient of her father's abuse and full time alocholic. Only Kate, who has become a friend to Rosie's mother, was one of Rosie's only true friends and she is eager to find the truth. Rosie's life is about to be truly discovered and the dead Rosie cannot move along until the truth is discovered...
This book was definitely different to what I would choose to read normally but I'm extremely glad I chose to read this. Howell's characters are so intricate, complex and detailed that the careful unravelling of their lives is infinitely intriguing to read.
Families aren't all they appear on the surface, nor are relationships or friendships for that matter. A dark and twisted story which has equally light-hearted, tender moments to provide the right balance needed for a story of its type. A thrilling read which maintained intrigue and suspense throughout. The main reason I gave the story four stars, rather than five, was the fact I had predicted the ending. However, I still enjoyed the book nonetheless.
If you like creepy murder mystery style thrillers, then this is the perfect book for you. Highly enjoyable and equally disturbing! A great book, 4/5 stars.
Rosie is missing. She's been missing for days. She has a violent, manipulative father who has a gleaming exterior. Rosie's had a secret lover with a more secretive past. Her mother, chief recipient of her father's abuse and full time alocholic. Only Kate, who has become a friend to Rosie's mother, was one of Rosie's only true friends and she is eager to find the truth. Rosie's life is about to be truly discovered and the dead Rosie cannot move along until the truth is discovered...
This book was definitely different to what I would choose to read normally but I'm extremely glad I chose to read this. Howell's characters are so intricate, complex and detailed that the careful unravelling of their lives is infinitely intriguing to read.
Families aren't all they appear on the surface, nor are relationships or friendships for that matter. A dark and twisted story which has equally light-hearted, tender moments to provide the right balance needed for a story of its type. A thrilling read which maintained intrigue and suspense throughout. The main reason I gave the story four stars, rather than five, was the fact I had predicted the ending. However, I still enjoyed the book nonetheless.
If you like creepy murder mystery style thrillers, then this is the perfect book for you. Highly enjoyable and equally disturbing! A great book, 4/5 stars.
2.5 Stars rounded down to 2
"In the final, terrible seconds of my life, eighteen years flash before my eyes."
Rosie Anderson is 18, beautiful, and dead.
We get to know her family - perfectionist mother Joanna, who is just horrible, and father Neal, an arrogant, despicable character. Her younger sister Delphine is shoved aside, forgotten about. We also hear from Rosie herself.
Enter Kate - do-gooder neighbour who used to let Rosie help her with horses. When Rosie disappears, Kate is distraught. When Rosie's body is discovered, Kate is determined to find out what happened.
I struggled to rate this - it was just okay for me. I didn't like Kate - I felt she was naive and took things at face value, at times I wanted to slap her for not seeing what was right in front of her. I despised both Neal and Joanna. I know that we got a bit of backstory to try and explain why Joanna was the way she was, but it just felt like an excuse - if she had been treated so badly then one would assume she would want the opposite for her own family. The way she behaved towards her children was outrageous. As for Neal - he's not even worth discussing, one of the most disgusting characters I've come across in a long time (he actually reminded me a lot of Oliver from [b:Unravelling Oliver|19099368|Unravelling Oliver|Liz Nugent|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390908506s/19099368.jpg|27128785]). I can't fathom why Laura was even there, she was a very unrealistic character.
Overall this just missed the mark for me. Too twisty, too uncomfortable, too predictable, not enough Delphine, horrible people.
"In the final, terrible seconds of my life, eighteen years flash before my eyes."
Rosie Anderson is 18, beautiful, and dead.
We get to know her family - perfectionist mother Joanna, who is just horrible, and father Neal, an arrogant, despicable character. Her younger sister Delphine is shoved aside, forgotten about. We also hear from Rosie herself.
Enter Kate - do-gooder neighbour who used to let Rosie help her with horses. When Rosie disappears, Kate is distraught. When Rosie's body is discovered, Kate is determined to find out what happened.
I struggled to rate this - it was just okay for me. I didn't like Kate - I felt she was naive and took things at face value, at times I wanted to slap her for not seeing what was right in front of her. I despised both Neal and Joanna. I know that we got a bit of backstory to try and explain why Joanna was the way she was, but it just felt like an excuse - if she had been treated so badly then one would assume she would want the opposite for her own family. The way she behaved towards her children was outrageous. As for Neal - he's not even worth discussing, one of the most disgusting characters I've come across in a long time (he actually reminded me a lot of Oliver from [b:Unravelling Oliver|19099368|Unravelling Oliver|Liz Nugent|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390908506s/19099368.jpg|27128785]). I can't fathom why Laura was even there, she was a very unrealistic character.
Overall this just missed the mark for me. Too twisty, too uncomfortable, too predictable, not enough Delphine, horrible people.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this ARC.
I loved this book. I finished it in about two days and I’m still reeling from the ending. It’s a masterfully written psychological thriller, in the style of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Abigail Haas’s Dangerous Girls. It swept me off my feet from the beginning and held on to me until the end.
It follows the mystery of the disappearance and murder of Rosie Anderson, the daughter of a high class family in a small town in England. This mystery fascinates the whole town and takes a significant toll on Kate, who Rosie used to visit and ride horses with, and who feels like there’s more to the story. Kate befriends Jo, Rosie’s mother, and is sucked into her life, trying to help her come to terms with her daughter’s death, while discovering more and more disturbing things about Jo’s life, her husband’s, Neal, and their seemingly perfect family.
The recurring theme in this book is the idea that appearances are very deceiving. Nothing is what it seems and perfection on the surface can hide and ugly past and an even uglier present. The story is written mainly in two point of views - the present is Kate’s, to which is added Rosie’s reminiscence of her life before what happens to her (think similar to Susie in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones) - this adds huge insight on Rosie’s family and helps the reader piece together what actually happened to her. I found myself looking forward to Rosie’s chapters, and I absolutely loved the way they were written, more ethereal and poetic than Kate’s.
The pacing is perfect - not too slow, not too fast, and the twists and turns are woven in a masterful way. There isn’t only the matter of the mystery of Rosie’s death. there are others who add along the way: Neal - the seemingly perfect husband and father, Jo’s personality and attitude that swings from extreme to extreme, Delphine, Rosie’s shy, ignored sister. All of these add layers to the story and allow the characters to develop and evolve (or devolve, in some cases) and keep the readers on the edge of their seats.
While I didn’t feel too close and didn’t relate to any of the characters (maybe only Rosie), I found myself so, so curious as to who they really were and what has driven them to become the person they were. And boy, did the story deliver. It’s gritty, dark, twisted, and I found myself gritting my teeth several times and wincing, because these secrets were kept for a reason. This is why I love psychological thrillers so much. They suck you in without realizing and you’re always left with a not so good taste in your mouth, but never with regret for having read them.
Favourite quotes:
“But even now, as I watch, I don’t see why, because the more perfect she becomes, the more her soul and mind go unnourished, shriveling and dying like the fallen leaves in the woods, withering, decaying to nothing.”
“You’d be amazed what people will put up with. The trouble is, for so many of them, especially when they’re vulnerable, it’s easier to stick with what they know, however brutal or awful that is, than to change it or walk away. The devil you know wins every time.”
★★★★
Trigger warnings for: eating disorders, abuse (sexual and physical).
To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :)
Publication date: June 30th 2015
I loved this book. I finished it in about two days and I’m still reeling from the ending. It’s a masterfully written psychological thriller, in the style of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Abigail Haas’s Dangerous Girls. It swept me off my feet from the beginning and held on to me until the end.
It follows the mystery of the disappearance and murder of Rosie Anderson, the daughter of a high class family in a small town in England. This mystery fascinates the whole town and takes a significant toll on Kate, who Rosie used to visit and ride horses with, and who feels like there’s more to the story. Kate befriends Jo, Rosie’s mother, and is sucked into her life, trying to help her come to terms with her daughter’s death, while discovering more and more disturbing things about Jo’s life, her husband’s, Neal, and their seemingly perfect family.
The recurring theme in this book is the idea that appearances are very deceiving. Nothing is what it seems and perfection on the surface can hide and ugly past and an even uglier present. The story is written mainly in two point of views - the present is Kate’s, to which is added Rosie’s reminiscence of her life before what happens to her (think similar to Susie in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones) - this adds huge insight on Rosie’s family and helps the reader piece together what actually happened to her. I found myself looking forward to Rosie’s chapters, and I absolutely loved the way they were written, more ethereal and poetic than Kate’s.
The pacing is perfect - not too slow, not too fast, and the twists and turns are woven in a masterful way. There isn’t only the matter of the mystery of Rosie’s death. there are others who add along the way: Neal - the seemingly perfect husband and father, Jo’s personality and attitude that swings from extreme to extreme, Delphine, Rosie’s shy, ignored sister. All of these add layers to the story and allow the characters to develop and evolve (or devolve, in some cases) and keep the readers on the edge of their seats.
While I didn’t feel too close and didn’t relate to any of the characters (maybe only Rosie), I found myself so, so curious as to who they really were and what has driven them to become the person they were. And boy, did the story deliver. It’s gritty, dark, twisted, and I found myself gritting my teeth several times and wincing, because these secrets were kept for a reason. This is why I love psychological thrillers so much. They suck you in without realizing and you’re always left with a not so good taste in your mouth, but never with regret for having read them.
Favourite quotes:
“But even now, as I watch, I don’t see why, because the more perfect she becomes, the more her soul and mind go unnourished, shriveling and dying like the fallen leaves in the woods, withering, decaying to nothing.”
“You’d be amazed what people will put up with. The trouble is, for so many of them, especially when they’re vulnerable, it’s easier to stick with what they know, however brutal or awful that is, than to change it or walk away. The devil you know wins every time.”
★★★★
Trigger warnings for: eating disorders, abuse (sexual and physical).
To everyone who got this far, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Also, feel free to share your thoughts, comment or tell me anything :)
Publication date: June 30th 2015
Absolutely fantastic! A gripping read.
I honestly thought the Dad would go down for the murder, as well as for the abuse of his daughters.
I did not see the Mam as the murderer at all! It was a surprise!
I honestly thought the Dad would go down for the murder, as well as for the abuse of his daughters.
I did not see the Mam as the murderer at all! It was a surprise!