REVIEW: PERFECT LITTLE CHILDREN, BY SOPHIE HANNAH

All Beth has to do is drive her son to his soccer game, watch him play, and then return home. Just because she knows her ex-best friend lives near the field, that doesn’t mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her.

Why would Beth do that and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn’t seen Flora for twelve years. She doesn’t want to see her today—or ever again. But she can’t resist. She parks outside the open gates of Newnham House, watches from across the road as Flora arrives and calls to her children Thomas and Emily to get out of the car.

Except . . . There’s something terribly wrong. Flora looks the same, only older. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily were five and three years old. Today, they look precisely as they did then. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt, but they haven’t changed at all. They are no taller, no older. Why haven’t they grown? How is it possible that they haven’t grown up?

From the very first page of Perfect Little Children, I knew that I was in for a treat. A convoluted one, of course, the kind of story that the author does best. It didn’t take long for me to connect with our narrator, Beth, and to applaud her efforts to find answers. At every turn of the journey, she offered us glimpses of what might happen next and how she would keep pushing until the truth was exposed.

Her husband Dom was less intrigued by the confusing elements Beth found in the stories she was told by Flora, by characters who seemed to be stand-in parents for the younger versions of Thomas and Emily…and yes, there were many others who added pieces to the tale. So Beth would have to face the scrutiny of others who believed she was obsessive and had no business interrogating everyone she met. I admired how she would risk everything to make her discoveries. Lest I give away too many clues or spoilers, I will only say that the journey to the truth was worth every step we took. 5 stars.

***

REVIEW: WHITE BODIES, BY JANE ROBINS

 

This chilling psychological suspense novel—think Strangers on a Train for the modern age—explores the dark side of love and the unbreakable ties that bind twin sisters together.

Felix and Tilda seem like the perfect couple: young and in love, a financier and a beautiful, up-and-coming starlet. But behind their flawless façade, not everything is as it seems.

Callie, Tilda’s unassuming twin, has watched her sister visibly shrink under Felix’s domineering love. She has looked on silently as Tilda stopped working, nearly stopped eating, and turned into a neat freak, with mugs wrapped in Saran Wrap and suspicious syringes hidden in the bathroom trash. She knows about Felix’s uncontrollable rages, and has seen the bruises on the white skin of her sister’s arms.

Worried about the psychological hold that Felix seems to have over Tilda, Callie joins an Internet support group for victims of abuse and their friends. However, things spiral out of control and she starts to doubt her own judgment when one of her new acquaintances is killed by an abusive man. And then suddenly Felix dies—or was he murdered?

My Thoughts: Nothing is as it seems in White Bodies. Domestic abuse is the primary theme, but the lines between victims and abusers is not all that clear. The story unfolds from Callie’s first person POV.

You might think you have it figured out, and then you realize that more is afoot. Why is Tilda clinging to Felix and refusing to acknowledge his abuse? Why is she shutting out her twin and everyone else, refusing to work?

Callie’s tendency to watch and to obsess over her twin sister’s life might be a red flag. When Tilda isolates herself and shows up with bruises, it all seems very clear. Until it isn’t.

An Internet group called Controlling Men reels Callie in, and she soon finds herself “bossed around” by one of the members. Should she be worried? A strange so-called “deal” is made, and then Callie finds herself in a very disturbing place.

I could not stop turning the pages, wondering what was going on and hoping to find the answers, which were totally unexpected. 4.5 stars.***

REVIEW: NEVER LET YOU GO, BY CHEVY STEVENS

 

 

Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship. Her ex-husband, Andrew, was sent to jail and Lindsey started over with a new life.

Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with her own business and a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When Andrew is finally released from prison, Lindsey believes she has cut all ties and left the past behind her. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her, tracking her every move. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed.

Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But has he really changed? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought?

With Never Let You Go, Chevy Stevens delivers a chilling, twisting thriller that crackles with suspense as it explores the darkest heart of love and obsession.

My Thoughts: From the very beginning of Never Let You Go, I was glued to the pages, watching as Lindsey and Sophie struggled to move beyond the past and truly start over.

But every time they thought they could finally trust again, another unexpected glitch would knock them down.

Narrated by Lindsey and Sophie, the story arc goes back and forth in time, starting with the beginning of Andrew and Lindsey…and then showing us what life looks like for them after Andrew is released from prison. Set primarily on Vancouver Island and parts of British Columbia, the story and characters of this novel felt so real…as if I was walking along with them, stalked just as they were.

As much as Andrew seemed to be the same old lying, abusive man, there were too many things that didn’t quite add up. So, as a reader, I started suspecting this one and then that one. Who could be manipulating the situation, heading toward some kind of revenge?

Just when I thought “ah, it could be him,” or even “it might be her,” I would realize that the scenario didn’t work. I couldn’t trust anyone, and I felt a semblance of what Lindsey must have felt for her whole adult life. Never trusting, never feeling safe.

So I was stunned, as only one can be, when I figured out who was behind it all…and why. I started to piece it together near the end, and then the explosive, riveting events came to a crashing conclusion. A truly 5 star read that I will not forget.

***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.