Wow! I read this book in less than a week. It's a psychological thriller, mystery, and about the family unit. It's a must read! I've read one other book by this author (review is here) and loved it. This is also right up there with the excitement, great plot and character development. I plan on looking for her other 2 novels at the library later today.
STORY SUMMARY
The Holt family is very wealthy and have a large country home (Lake Hall) in England. They also have an apartment in London that doesn't get used much. Alexander and Victoria Holt have one daughter, Jocelyn, and they hired a nanny (Hannah Burgess) for her back when Jocelyn was just a baby. But one hot summer evening, in 1987, Hannah just leaves Lake Hall (the country estate) with out a trace! Jocelyn is about 7 years old when her beloved nanny disappears. They never hear from her again.
Now, it is 30 years later, in 2017, and Jocelyn who goes by Jo has a young daughter, aged 10, named Ruby. Jo and Ruby are in the midst of grieving the death of Chris, Jo's husband and Ruby's dad. He died in a horrible car accident near their home in California. Jo hasn't been back to Lake Hall in many years and Victoria, now a widow, has never met Ruby. Victoria and Jocelyn have never bonded as most mother-daughter relationships do. Now, Jo's precious daddy has died and Jo goes back to the family estate to face her mother, and think about what her next steps in life are to be. She cannot work in the United States due to Chris being gone so she must find work in London.
Soon after Jo and Ruby arrive to Lake Hall, a skull is found in the lake on their property! The forensic team determines that it's a female skull and they begin to reconstruct the face. What they discover is shocking! It contains DNA from a missing female young adult back in the late 1980s. Is this Hannah?
If it is, then who is the woman who shows up on the Lake Hall doorstep claiming to be Hannah Burgess, now in her 50s, and looking for a job?
Jo begins to find herself questioning everything about her childhood as well as about life at Lake Hall with her mother, and the nanny whom has suddenly entered their lives again. When things start to go missing, and Ruby's health is declining, along with strange "accidents" that Victoria endures, Jo begins to put pieces together. She realizes her childhood recollections are not what they seem.
Who really loves her? Who really does not love her? And what really happened on that long ago summer night?
MY THOUGHTS
This book was amazing. The author is brilliant at keeping you guessing and turning the page right up until the surprise ending.
It's brilliant with the character development and the way the book is set up. Each chapter is a different voice. For some of the book, you go back in time to the 1970s and 1980s but it's easy to follow because the author titles each chapter with the voice of the character speaking or with the year.
The author is very skilled at making the plot twist and turn in such a way that you think it's going to end one way and it ends a bit differently yet very satisfying.
The relationships between mother-daughter for both generations is so well done. I loved getting to know Victoria, Jo, and Ruby and I loved the input from the detectives. The voice of Hannah is sometimes downright creepy but not in a yucky spooky way. Rather, it makes you wonder if you ever really know someone.
As I was writing it, I kept saying "it's gotta be ______" only to find out wow..I'm wrong! I love the anticipation of each page turn. I also love that the author doesn't have swearing or sexually explicit scenes.
I highly recommend this story if you enjoy thrillers and a bit of mystery.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
2 comments:
Sounds like one to look out for. Thanks for the review Faith.
I've read one other by this author and enjoyed it so this is going on my list.
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