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fruit_n_veg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Eating disorder, Incest, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
liseyp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to the author, publisher Viper Books and NetGalley UK for access to an e-book in advance of publication. This is an honest and voluntary review.
What a brilliant book. At times hard to read - subject matter-wise - the short sections switching between voices means it is always compelling.
Every parent’s nightmare. Kim is tired and cranky. In the last stages of pregnancy she’s out shopping with her two existing children when five-year-old Tonya disappears. Kim’s anger and frustration means she isn’t the media-friendly distraught parent everyone expects and she is judged and suspected by strangers on the street, neighbouring parents and every vile troll on the internet. But, all she wants is to get her daughter home safely. Kim’s own childhood means she knows all too well what can happen to innocent kids even in their own homes.
Mummy believes that she’s rescuing Tonya. Desperate for a child of her own she sees Kim and makes a snap judgement about a woman who doesn’t deserve the blessing of three children. So she seizes her chance and persuades Tonya to come with her.
We follow the impact this has on Tonya and her partner Steve, as they struggle in their own different ways to cope and stay hopeful. We see Mummy as she tries to persuade Tonya to see this as her new home, fighting against her own damaged childhood - she also knows children may not be safe in their own home - and struggling with the difference between her fantasies if motherhood and the reality. We also see how the outside world views Kim, the judgements on a mother who could be so bad as to lose her daughter. We also see it from Tonya’s perspective, trapped with The Woman and wanting to get home.
The final outcome isn’t clear until the end. Will Tonya return home? Will Kim and her family hold together? What is in Mummy’s basement?
A fantastic read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Incest
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