Marnie Harrison
Make sure you have a box of tissues handy when reading this book, because you are definitely going to need them! Lauren has created a story of love, loss and grief that she wraps up into the most heart wrenching read, which grabbed me right from the start and didn’t let go until the final page. The story and the characters are compelling, well developed and so well written that I felt a part of it. Tess broke my heart and I grieved with her over the loss of her husband Mark and her struggle to put one foot in front of the other, to be able to care for her son Jamie. Having recently lost a loved one I could completely resonate with her and could understand the overwhelming grief that threatens to take her over. For grief counsellor Shelley, who comes into Tess’ life at the request of her mother, all she wants is to help Tess get through her grief. Having suffered a tragic loss of her own, Shelly understands what Tess is going through, but certain events don’t sit well with Tess which makes her question if Shelley is genuine or does she have a hidden agenda of her own, especially when it comes to Jamie. Ian, Mark’s brother has no empathy towards Tess and his nephew in regards to their feelings and what they are going through. He has also lost his brother, but seems more interested in getting Tess to agree for him to take care of his brother’s financial affairs and claims that Mark borrowed an substantial amount of money from him, which he is desperate to get back but Tess feels he is hiding something more sinister. This is a well plotted and crafted psychological thriller. I loved Lauren’s writing style which was so effortless and the story just flowed while slowing building up suspense to the the jaw dropping dropping finale which blew me away! I thought I knew where this story was heading but I could not have been more mistaken! This ending is going to stay with for awhile I think. An all round thrilling read that I highly recommend and I look foward to reading more of Lauren’s work in the future.
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