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When She Returned
by Lucinda Berry
When She Returned is my second Lucinda Berry novel to date and, once again, I am in awe of her skill as a writer! Lucinda Berry is a former Psychologist and her wealth of experience in this field really shines through in her writing, notably in this book, where she explores themes of self-discovery, cult mentality, indoctrination, and blind devotion to an ideology.
When She Returned follows a woman called Kate Bennett, who reappears with a baby in tow, 11-years after vanishing without a trace from a Supermarket Car Park, leaving behind her devoted husband Scott and her young daughter Abbi. Kate shows signs of prolonged abuse and her reappearance throws her family in to turmoil, notably as Scott is now married to a widower named Meredith. As the events surrounding Kate's disappearance are gradually unearthed, we begin to learn the sinister and shocking truth.
When She Returned had me hooked from the very first page, and I finished it in just two sittings. Lucinda Berry makes great use of dual timelines and alternating perspectives to establish the chain of events surrounding Kate's disappearance, exploring themes of identity & self-realisation along the way.
The point of view in this novel flits seamlessly from Kate in the past (the events surrounding her disappearance), to Meredith and Abbi in the present. This made for a fascinating yet emotional read, as I found myself conflicted: On the one hand, I was overjoyed for Abbi and Scott, but on the other, my heart ached for Meredith, a wonderful, kind and selfless woman, who supported Scott through his grief, but has always lived in Kate's shadow.
At the start of the novel, prior to her disappearance, Kate appears to have a picture-perfect life. She has just returned to her Journalistic post following a period of maternity leave and is planning an exposé of Love International, an organisation devoted to helping people achieve sobriety and recovery from addiction. The enigmatic nature of this organisation has led to speculation that they may be a Cult, though Kate is quick to dismiss this as small-town mentality, with people naturally fearing something they do not know.
Love International is helmed by the handsome, charming, charismatic Ray Fischer, and his perceptive nature and astute insights into Kate's current inertia lead her to question her own life choices, both in terms of her picture-perfect marriage and lack of personal growth.
"The problem with having a fairy-tale relationship story was how much other people were invested in keeping the fairytale alive. It wasn't just our story, it was everyone's"
"I don't know who I am without him. I've always wondered who I might be on my own. But I feel like the world's most terrible person for even having the thoughts"
Whilst her husband Scott is supportive of Kate's efforts to grow and change, Kate becomes increasingly irked by his reluctance to evolve with her...
"But I wanted him to grow and change, experience new things too. His contentment with sameness was more maddening the older I got. How could we live our lives based on decisions we'd made when we were seventeen"
I truly loved the complexity of the characters in this book, as I think we've all struggled to understand who we are as an individual, outside of our job or our marriage, at some point in our adult life. This novel is Psychology-laden and I absolutely adored the richness this added to the story! This book has rapidly become one of my all-time favourite Psychological Thrillers and I'm so glad I I chose to do an immersive read on this occasion (listening to the Audiobook whilst reading the Physical book) as the audiobook is so well done and really adds to the suspense and uneasiness.
All in all, this was an easy five-star read for me. When She Returned is truly a fast-paced, page-turner and the momentum builds to a shocking conclusion, with lots of suspense, intrigue and horrifying developments along the way! I would highly recommend this books to fans of propulsive, engaging Psychological Thrillers, with complex characters you both love and love to hate.
When She Returned follows a woman called Kate Bennett, who reappears with a baby in tow, 11-years after vanishing without a trace from a Supermarket Car Park, leaving behind her devoted husband Scott and her young daughter Abbi. Kate shows signs of prolonged abuse and her reappearance throws her family in to turmoil, notably as Scott is now married to a widower named Meredith. As the events surrounding Kate's disappearance are gradually unearthed, we begin to learn the sinister and shocking truth.
When She Returned had me hooked from the very first page, and I finished it in just two sittings. Lucinda Berry makes great use of dual timelines and alternating perspectives to establish the chain of events surrounding Kate's disappearance, exploring themes of identity & self-realisation along the way.
The point of view in this novel flits seamlessly from Kate in the past (the events surrounding her disappearance), to Meredith and Abbi in the present. This made for a fascinating yet emotional read, as I found myself conflicted: On the one hand, I was overjoyed for Abbi and Scott, but on the other, my heart ached for Meredith, a wonderful, kind and selfless woman, who supported Scott through his grief, but has always lived in Kate's shadow.
At the start of the novel, prior to her disappearance, Kate appears to have a picture-perfect life. She has just returned to her Journalistic post following a period of maternity leave and is planning an exposé of Love International, an organisation devoted to helping people achieve sobriety and recovery from addiction. The enigmatic nature of this organisation has led to speculation that they may be a Cult, though Kate is quick to dismiss this as small-town mentality, with people naturally fearing something they do not know.
Love International is helmed by the handsome, charming, charismatic Ray Fischer, and his perceptive nature and astute insights into Kate's current inertia lead her to question her own life choices, both in terms of her picture-perfect marriage and lack of personal growth.
"The problem with having a fairy-tale relationship story was how much other people were invested in keeping the fairytale alive. It wasn't just our story, it was everyone's"
"I don't know who I am without him. I've always wondered who I might be on my own. But I feel like the world's most terrible person for even having the thoughts"
Whilst her husband Scott is supportive of Kate's efforts to grow and change, Kate becomes increasingly irked by his reluctance to evolve with her...
"But I wanted him to grow and change, experience new things too. His contentment with sameness was more maddening the older I got. How could we live our lives based on decisions we'd made when we were seventeen"
I truly loved the complexity of the characters in this book, as I think we've all struggled to understand who we are as an individual, outside of our job or our marriage, at some point in our adult life. This novel is Psychology-laden and I absolutely adored the richness this added to the story! This book has rapidly become one of my all-time favourite Psychological Thrillers and I'm so glad I I chose to do an immersive read on this occasion (listening to the Audiobook whilst reading the Physical book) as the audiobook is so well done and really adds to the suspense and uneasiness.
All in all, this was an easy five-star read for me. When She Returned is truly a fast-paced, page-turner and the momentum builds to a shocking conclusion, with lots of suspense, intrigue and horrifying developments along the way! I would highly recommend this books to fans of propulsive, engaging Psychological Thrillers, with complex characters you both love and love to hate.