BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE EMPTY NEST”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists! What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today’s feature is The Empty Nest, by Sue Watson.

 

 

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Book Beginnings:  It’s no surprise that mothers find it so hard to live in their empty nests.  We’re with our children every day of their lives, then suddenly, whoosh, they’re gone.

My daughter Amy went away to university just weeks ago—well, seven weeks and three days, to be precise.  Like all parents, I knew her leaving was inevitable—they have to leave one day—but for me it was especially hard.  She’s my only child and we’ve been through a lot together and as a result, our bond is perhaps even stronger than usual, we are so much more than mother and daughter—we’re best friends.

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Friday 56:  The prospect of leaving her had terrified me for months, and now the moment had arrived, it was every bit as bad as I’d expected it to be.  Like most mums I’d been part of everything my daughter had done in her life.

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Synopsis:  Kat remembers the days when her only daughter Amy wouldn’t leave her side. Amy was the baby who cried when you walked out of the room, the toddler who was too shy to speak to strangers, the small child who clung to Kat’s legs in the school playground.

But now Amy is grown up, and Amy is gone – to university in a town several hours away. Kat’s house – which once felt too full, too noisy, too busy – is deathly quiet, and Kat awaits the daily phone call to tell her that her beloved daughter is thriving and happy.

Until the day Amy doesn’t call, sending Kat into a panic. Her husband and friends say she’s being paranoid – surely Amy is just out, having fun? But Kat feels sure something is very wrong – she knows her daughter, and she would never just disappear.

As the hours turn into days, her fears are confirmed: Amy is missing. But there are secrets about her daughter that Kat doesn’t know about yet. And the truth about Amy’s whereabouts may be closer to home than Kat could ever imagine…

A gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster and an ending that will blow readers’ minds. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl Before and Gone Girl will be gripped by this unputdownable story about a mother’s obsessive love for her child.

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Now I’m eager to start reading. What do you think?

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