The art of hiding by Amanda Prowse

Published 18^th August 2017

Wow! Amanda Prowse has done it again.  An emotional story of one family's grief and fight to re-invent themselves, we are introduced to Nina and her boys Connor and Declan as they live a privileged life in a small village. Nina is a stay at home mum and the boys go to private school while dad Finn is the bread winner, the owner of a construction company.  Tragedy strikes when Finn loses his life in a car crash on his way to watch Connor play rugby. With no family nearby, friends and neighbours rally round to look after Nina and the boys in the run up to the funeral. Things change very quickly though when it becomes clear that the charmed life that they have been living is all about to come crashing down around them, with unpaid school fees and the accountant ringing constantly to demand an urgent meeting.  People they considered to be friends turn on them and treat them with contempt once they are aware that the family are penniless and soon to be homeless. In desperation Nina contacts her estranged sister, and arranges to move back to the rundown area of her childhood.  Memories of poverty and unhappiness come flooding back and Nina and sister Tiggy are forced to confront the issues which have driven them apart over the years. Step by step the family begins to rebuild itself, stronger and wiser than before and I have to admit to having a lump in my throat while reading one particular scene towards the end of the book. The children's characters are particularly well written and I am extremely impressed at the author's ability to evoke such a wide range of emotions so successfully.  My one and only criticism is that we didn’t see much of dad Finn at the beginning of the book and perhaps get some hints from his behaviour as to what state of mind he was in. 

This book is definitely going to be on the bestsellers list this summer. 

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.