One year on and grief still has a suffocating hold on them. Her mother, Kate, consumed by loss and desperate to find someone to blame for Anna's death, retreats from her family, locking herself away to paint Anna's portrait for hours on end. Jon, her father, is doing his best to care for his loved ones but the pressure of trying to stop his marriage collapsing is pushing him to breaking point. And amid her parents' turmoil Lizzie just wants to grow up and leave her sister's ghost in the past.
But then a devastating revelation rocks her parents further still and raises questions concerning what really happened the night Anna died. While Kate and Jon grapple with their dead daughter's secrets, Lizzie throws herself into a passionate but forbidden love affair that frees her from the heartache all around her - but also threatens to tear her family apart.
*~*~*
When I was asked if I wanted to review this book, I instantly took it as a murder mystery style story something like Linwood Barclay. What I got was an indepth look into a family attempting to grieve in different ways with a sub plot regarding the killer and how this kept affecting the family...and I was not disappointed!!
Lizzie still feels in her sisters shadow, even a year after her death. Her mother is hiding in her study painting her daughter repeatedly and her dad is trying to keep everything together even though he is constantly pushed away. At the one year memorial of Anna's death, her best friend approaches Kate, Lizzie's mother, with information regarding her daughters death and the small bit of order in the families world collapses.
It was amazing to see the perspectives of each family member, and seeing their reactions and their reasoning behind their actions. I couldn't put down this book and just kept reading away as the story began to unfold. Amanda Jennings has really found a way to get into the heads of each of her characters and make them feel real, and that the grief is real.
The two main things within the book are seeing the family go through the ordeal, and then finding out what actually happened to Anna...looking back on the book now that story ended up being a bit disappointing as there was no end all decision, however I have literally just realised that while typing this out! The story that is there kept me interested and wasn't too over the top to seem unbelievable. The balance of these two story lines is perfectly orchestrated as there was only enough of one to keep the other story going and vice versa, so whether you were looking for a family based story or a suspicious murder then either way this book should interest you.
This is not a book for really young adults...but older teens should enjoy it. But there are certain things discussed which I don't feel would be appropriate for young teens. Baring that...go read and enjoy!!
Sworn Secret is published today by Canvas Publishing. I received my copy in return for a honest review.
The two main things within the book are seeing the family go through the ordeal, and then finding out what actually happened to Anna...looking back on the book now that story ended up being a bit disappointing as there was no end all decision, however I have literally just realised that while typing this out! The story that is there kept me interested and wasn't too over the top to seem unbelievable. The balance of these two story lines is perfectly orchestrated as there was only enough of one to keep the other story going and vice versa, so whether you were looking for a family based story or a suspicious murder then either way this book should interest you.
This is not a book for really young adults...but older teens should enjoy it. But there are certain things discussed which I don't feel would be appropriate for young teens. Baring that...go read and enjoy!!
Sworn Secret is published today by Canvas Publishing. I received my copy in return for a honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment