sapphaos's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cookewitch's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This was very good but to say I 'enjoyed' it seems wrong, I felt anxious and tense the whole time but was gripped!
Only one element of story didn't quite work for me but that was at about 70% and the feeling didn't last long, I kind of got past it.
📖🌊📖
Only one element of story didn't quite work for me but that was at about 70% and the feeling didn't last long, I kind of got past it.
📖🌊📖
jhahn's review against another edition
5.0
Read it in one day. That about sums it up. From the beginning you were pretty sure of the outcome but still couldn't wait to make sure it happened. So many likeable characters and you could feel their pain.
adventureinlit's review against another edition
5.0
If you're a parent, be prepared to have a really difficult time reading through this one. An amazingly told story of one young little girl who is taken by a woman who lost her own daughter and is suffering from psychological madness.
Two families in London; running parallel lives. Colin and Maggie (husband and wife), along with their daughter Olivia (3 at the time) and their son Joe are having a normal day out at the beach. Suddenly Olivia goes missing and after numerous search attempts, must accept the fact that their daughter was drowned at sea.
Enter Jennifer Marshall who lives nearby and her husband Phillip who is visiting his dying grandmother in the States. They had a daughter named Hailey who drowned in the sea on a family vacation to Turkey when she was 5.
Suddenly, Olivia finds herself at the whim of Jennifer who believes this is her dead daughter Hailey. In an attempt to convince Olivia that she is Hailey, Jennifer does some unspeakable things to her to keep her complacent and behave like a good little Hailey.
When we are parents, we realize how important our children are to us. When you lose a child, you can never imagine what you might experience or how you will handle those circumstances. This is a well told story of two families suffering from loss and the ways in which they fight to survive each day. It's a raw portrayal of how far some people will go to keep their perfect family together, even at the expense of others.
Two families in London; running parallel lives. Colin and Maggie (husband and wife), along with their daughter Olivia (3 at the time) and their son Joe are having a normal day out at the beach. Suddenly Olivia goes missing and after numerous search attempts, must accept the fact that their daughter was drowned at sea.
Enter Jennifer Marshall who lives nearby and her husband Phillip who is visiting his dying grandmother in the States. They had a daughter named Hailey who drowned in the sea on a family vacation to Turkey when she was 5.
Suddenly, Olivia finds herself at the whim of Jennifer who believes this is her dead daughter Hailey. In an attempt to convince Olivia that she is Hailey, Jennifer does some unspeakable things to her to keep her complacent and behave like a good little Hailey.
When we are parents, we realize how important our children are to us. When you lose a child, you can never imagine what you might experience or how you will handle those circumstances. This is a well told story of two families suffering from loss and the ways in which they fight to survive each day. It's a raw portrayal of how far some people will go to keep their perfect family together, even at the expense of others.
sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I've read by this author and will definitely be looking out for more. Absolutely loved this book, the storyline is every parents worst nightmare and to be honest from the start you know where the story was going and how it was going to turn out but the journey inbetween makes it worth reading.
mjanach's review against another edition
5.0
Oh wow...what an emotional roller-coaster that was! This is a great author to discover :)
bitterindigo's review
1.0
Oh Goodreads, how could you fail me so cruelly? This was on my Kindle on the strength of many, many glowing Goodreads reviews (and a low sale price) so I read it last night while I was insomnia-ridden, and it's TERRIBLE. How can you all think it's a good book? It's a VERY BAD book!
Okay, it's not the worst book ever. I guess it's less a mystery than some kind of psychological suspense thing. Because there is zero mystery (and very little suspense, as far as I'm concerned). It's completely obvious what's happened, and happening, and the writing is fine but there's nothing in it that makes the lack of tension forgivable.
Clearly a bunch of people have found something agreeable here. But if you read mysteries because you like, I don't know, MYSTERY, run fast, run far, preferably in the direction of Fred Vargas or Laura Lippman.
Okay, it's not the worst book ever. I guess it's less a mystery than some kind of psychological suspense thing. Because there is zero mystery (and very little suspense, as far as I'm concerned). It's completely obvious what's happened, and happening, and the writing is fine but there's nothing in it that makes the lack of tension forgivable.
Clearly a bunch of people have found something agreeable here. But if you read mysteries because you like, I don't know, MYSTERY, run fast, run far, preferably in the direction of Fred Vargas or Laura Lippman.
stevied's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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