Sally Hepworth shows that although the outside of the
house made look Idyllic, it is anything but on the inside:
Jessica, Norah and Alicia are often told how lucky they are. How lucky they are to have been taken in by Miss Fairchild, to save them from some horrible situations in life. How lucky they are to live in such a beautiful home on a beautiful estate. But living with Miss Fairchild did not feel very lucky at all. Miss Fairchild had rules, Miss Fairchild was unpredictable, and Miss Fairchild was never to be crossed or there would be consequences. The girls were able to handle it till one faithful day where they needed to get away. Now 25 years later the home is being destroyed but in the process a body is discovered under the house, and now there are more questions about what happened in that house.
This is the first book by Hepworth and I now need to check out all of her backlist as once you start this book the mystery hits you full force and does not let you go till the end. Hepworth does a great job of keeping this high till the end as you question what is happening in both timelines and what each timeline is going to reveal, this is what makes this book a great domestic suspense book. I think that people need to realize that this is a domestic suspense book and not a straight-out mystery or thriller. For me a domestic suspense book has different parameters than the other two genres, often in domestic suspense things unfold a bit slower and I could see that not being appealing to everyone.
I'm
a big fan of books that have the multiple timelines and POV, when i realized
that this book was going to have those aspects to it, I knew I was going to
love this book. I think that this created a well rounded book and no one was
left out. Plus it gave insight as to some of the reason why the girls grew up
into the women that they are today and the way that they cope in their everyday
lives.
I
think Norah (I made sure to have the h there, lol) was my favourite character,
i just loved her don’t care attitude about things but made sure that all the girls
and women had a voice. She did seem to be the one that was least affected by
their time with Miss Fairchild and was often used as the comic relief in the
book. In both timelines I could not help but feel sorry for Jessica and what
she had endured. But i loved the aspect that the girls became sisters in this
book and stuck up for one another and have stuck together even into adulthood,
though that is probably a coping mechanism in itself.
The
Manipulation factor is on point in this book and the methods that all the
characters use in one way or another from subtle to blatant but I was here for
both. And the manipulation stems all the way to the end of this book, and the
ending is one of my favourites that I have read this year.
Excellent
book and one to pick up if you are looking for a domestic suspense book, if you
like manipulation as a main aspect in a book and man that ending was on point.
Really can’t wait to check out other books that Hepworth has written, which do
you recommend?
Enjoy!!!!
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