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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
There was certain darkness lurking around each character. It was a let down that most were not fleshed out towards the end. The characters kept me turning each page for more, but more never came.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
The plot is more predictable but I still enjoyed it as a fun read.
I don't normally take notice of review quotes on a cover of a book, but when I found myself reading it at 3am, Jane Harper's quote on the back "Sally Hepworth delivers with this stay up late one more chapter gem" my response was "yep Jane you nailed it!".
Its a book that starts with a conclusion, or almost a conclusion, the penultimate story in the book. The intrigue and wanting to know more was the lure to keep going. How did they get there? Cleverly written with each of the three main characters - Tully, Rachel, and Heather, contributing to the story in their own voice. The narrative offers up the question did he or didn't he?
I must admit to having a problem with the idea of Stephen being allowed to divorce Pamela. Having just journeyed through several years of my mother living, then eventually dying of dementia and knowing that by the stage of the story, someone - possibly Stephen, would have been her Power of Attorney. Would have he been allowed to divorce his wife in this scenario?
Ignoring that possible plot problem, I found it an entertaining read and the final chapter certainly made you wonder if indeed everything you assumed about the characters were indeed true.
A very clever book.
Its a book that starts with a conclusion, or almost a conclusion, the penultimate story in the book. The intrigue and wanting to know more was the lure to keep going. How did they get there? Cleverly written with each of the three main characters - Tully, Rachel, and Heather, contributing to the story in their own voice. The narrative offers up the question did he or didn't he?
I must admit to having a problem with the idea of Stephen being allowed to divorce Pamela. Having just journeyed through several years of my mother living, then eventually dying of dementia and knowing that by the stage of the story, someone - possibly Stephen, would have been her Power of Attorney. Would have he been allowed to divorce his wife in this scenario?
Ignoring that possible plot problem, I found it an entertaining read and the final chapter certainly made you wonder if indeed everything you assumed about the characters were indeed true.
A very clever book.
This is a lovely little family drama with a twist. Multiple point of views and short chapters. A quick and entertaining read. If you are dabbling into thrillers and want to read something pretty light, this is the one!
Pretty blah and unimaginative in my opinion. I read it all the way through, but not my favorite of hers.
Love the humor that lightens the tension of this book. Great characters and a wonderful twist I didn’t see coming. Not sure how believable the storyline is of a husband divorcing his demented wife to marry another only to include demented ex-wife in family gatherings. Still it was an engaging story.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this. The family dynamics.
This is my favorite book by Sally Hepworth so far. It is a real page-turner and will keep you unsure/ guessing until the very end. Note: the "ending" is a bit of a clifhanger/doesn't tie up into a nice bow. Some readers will scratch their heads, others may throw their book across the room, and others (I'm in this group) will think it is very appropriate given the entire theme of the novel, but feels like a slap in the face to women and survivors.
My other two 'complaints': [1] I would prefer authors stop using gaslighting for story and plot [2] this novel introduces myriad of very serious topics (rape, eating disorders, kleptomania, domestic violence, alcoholism/substance abuse) and glosses over all of them, which left me feeling gross; as if these details were gratuitous. There needed to be more depth, coverage, and emotion there.
SUMMARY: The book begins when Dr. Stephen marries his new, younger wife, Heather and shortly after the "I do's" something happens; a person comes running out covered in blood asking if there is a doctor.
The story then jumps back to the months before the wedding and proceeds mostly linearly, though every 10 chapters (-ish) there is a chapter reverting to the wedding incident, revealing more details of that day.
There are 3 main narrators: Rachel and Tully (the adult daughters), Heather (the bride) and 2 sub narrators with only the occasional chapter: a mystery guest at the wedding (mystery because her identity isn't revealed until very late in the story), and Pam, the original wife.
Heather and Dr. Stephen's relationship is not received well by Rachel and Tully, and can you blame them? Heather is half his age and younger than both of them. Their father is also now wanting to divorce their mother who recently entered a care facility for severe dementia, despite being only in her 50s. To add a layer of gross: Dr. Stephen met Heather when she was remodeling the home he shared with Pam. (It was during this remodel Pam fell so ill she had to go to a care facility).
Early into the story, Heather starts having vague memories of Stephen hurting her, but she's always drunk when this happens, and convinces herself it's a faulty imaginations. She battles and questions her sanity the entire story...
Meanwhile, as Rachel is clearing out her mother's things in the house, she finds a water bottle with $97,000 in it. There's also a note with a woman's name, Fiona. Rachel begins an 'investigation' eventually learning Fiona was her dad's first wife (that no one knew about). Fiona says Stephen hurt her badly and Pam, in all her dementia, is also saying Stephen was a bad man. This goes against his public image (beloved doctor) and their childhood memories of a happy family and great Dad.
Eventually, Rachel is fairly convinced her mom (Pam) was a victim of domestic violence and had been saving this money to escape. She shares her beliefs with Heather and Tully, but the three women are in denial (or something) and proceed on; the wedding happens.
Then there is the ending, which provides some answers and also doesn't.
Thank you Net Galley for this early audiobook copy. I'll add that I normally struggle with Australian accents as narration but enjoyed everyone here.
My other two 'complaints': [1] I would prefer authors stop using gaslighting for story and plot [2] this novel introduces myriad of very serious topics (rape, eating disorders, kleptomania, domestic violence, alcoholism/substance abuse) and glosses over all of them, which left me feeling gross; as if these details were gratuitous. There needed to be more depth, coverage, and emotion there.
SUMMARY: The book begins when Dr. Stephen marries his new, younger wife, Heather and shortly after the "I do's" something happens; a person comes running out covered in blood asking if there is a doctor.
The story then jumps back to the months before the wedding and proceeds mostly linearly, though every 10 chapters (-ish) there is a chapter reverting to the wedding incident, revealing more details of that day.
There are 3 main narrators: Rachel and Tully (the adult daughters), Heather (the bride) and 2 sub narrators with only the occasional chapter: a mystery guest at the wedding (mystery because her identity isn't revealed until very late in the story), and Pam, the original wife.
Heather and Dr. Stephen's relationship is not received well by Rachel and Tully, and can you blame them? Heather is half his age and younger than both of them. Their father is also now wanting to divorce their mother who recently entered a care facility for severe dementia, despite being only in her 50s. To add a layer of gross: Dr. Stephen met Heather when she was remodeling the home he shared with Pam. (It was during this remodel Pam fell so ill she had to go to a care facility).
Early into the story, Heather starts having vague memories of Stephen hurting her, but she's always drunk when this happens, and convinces herself it's a faulty imaginations. She battles and questions her sanity the entire story...
Meanwhile, as Rachel is clearing out her mother's things in the house, she finds a water bottle with $97,000 in it. There's also a note with a woman's name, Fiona. Rachel begins an 'investigation' eventually learning Fiona was her dad's first wife (that no one knew about). Fiona says Stephen hurt her badly and Pam, in all her dementia, is also saying Stephen was a bad man. This goes against his public image (beloved doctor) and their childhood memories of a happy family and great Dad.
Eventually, Rachel is fairly convinced her mom (Pam) was a victim of domestic violence and had been saving this money to escape. She shares her beliefs with Heather and Tully, but the three women are in denial (or something) and proceed on; the wedding happens.
Then there is the ending, which provides some answers and also doesn't.
Thank you Net Galley for this early audiobook copy. I'll add that I normally struggle with Australian accents as narration but enjoyed everyone here.
Very disappointing book. I had high hopes for it based on the rating and other people’s comments. The storyline was great but it dragged on and on and on and the ending was bland AF.