Digital Reads Reviews

My review

What an amazing thrilling book; it kept me gripped till the end. Just 3 main characters, their memories and secrets with one granddaughter caught in the center of it all, wanting to know the truth. But what is truth?

A grandfather David who is dying, his version of the past, his view of the truth?

A mother Marie, an artist with mental health problems, identity disorder, paints from her traumatised past, unwilling to reveal her childhood, her color of the truth?

A helper/friend of family Grace who knows it all, yet does not appear to know, her allusions of truth?

David, dying from cancer, wants to meet his daughter, Marie, to apologize and to make amends, meets his granddaughter Elle who is a nurse in the same hospital and the story of the past starts from David’s point. Now it is up to Elle to decipher the truth from illusion. Trace the murky past, retrieve the thread of reality, and hopefully find a closure.

I have always loved Steena Holmes, but this book is just far superior, according to me. I loved every line from this book. The characters had so many grey colors weaved into their tapestry that traversing through it all, is the most fun I have had in a thriller in a long, long time. The suspense and intrigue starts from the get go. I was confused by the events and stories which unfurled in front of me. Everytime I thought I guessed the truth, the author would leave statements which would make me doubt myself. Have I guessed or haven’t I? And I loved this guessing game which went through practically all the way to the end.

Steena Holmes usually writes emotional books, at least the ones I have read are. To see her writing this kind of book, a swirling vortex of truth and lies and illusions was simply awe inspiring. Every beat of the heart raised with the turn of the pages. The thrum of my pulse, hitch in my breath, and my constant need to be connected with this story —Isn’t this what a book supposed to do?

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Lake Union Publishing, and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating : 5 stars

About the Author

Steena Holmes is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of titles including Saving Abby, Stillwater Rising, and The Memory Child. Named to the “20 Best Books by Women in 2015” list by Good Housekeeping and Redbook, Steena won the National Indie Excellence Award in 2012 for Finding Emma as well as the USA Book News Award for The Word Game in 2015. Steena lives in Calgary, Alberta, and is a self-proclaimed “travelholic” who can’t resist a good cup of coffee.

Book blurb

Elle is a survivor. She’s managed to piece together a solid life from a childhood of broken memories and fairy tales her mom told her to explain away bad dreams. But weekly visits to her mother still fill Elle with a paralyzing fear she can’t explain. It’s just another of so many unanswered questions she grew up with in a family estranged by silence and secrets.

Elle’s world turns upside down when she receives a deathbed request from her grandfather, a man she was told had died years ago. Racked by grief, regrets, and a haunted conscience, he has a tale of his own to tell Elle: about her mother, an imaginary friend, and two strangers who came to the house one night and never left.

As Elle’s past unfolds, so does the truth—if she can believe it. She must face the reasons for her inexplicable dread. As dark as they are, Elle must listen…before her grandfather’s death buries the family’s secrets forever.

Product Details

Publication date : 1st April, 2018

Publisher : Lake Union Publishing

Language : English

Available on Amazon; free on Kindle Unlimited

A thriller with family secrets