Published by HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter
Publication Date: 17th December 2021
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Book Description:
Resolutions are made
Marriages are broken…
A gripping domestic thriller set in The Cotswolds and perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Adele Parks!
It started with the party…
Frankie, Verity and Alice live in the idyllic Cotswolds community of White Fir Lake, but behind closed doors everyone has a secret they’re desperately trying to keep…
And ended with a bang!
Now, as midnight on New Year’s Eve approaches, the three women will face the consequences of a long-ago holiday, one which changed their lives forever … and threatens to shatter their perfect worlds into perfect pieces.
My Thoughts:
This book has a strong 'Real Housewives' feel about it, with main characters Verity and Frankie living very privileged adult lives despite having both gone through tragedies earlier on. They've been the closest of friends since their schooldays but the reader is soon made aware that each woman has something the other would dearly love to have. But surely that wouldn't be enough for one of them to act in a way which would result in the death of a loved one would it? Questions are asked straightaway when the opening scene of the book is of Frankie's husband Red is found dead at Verity's legendary New Year's Eve Party and the children are rescued from the lake but what are the facts behind the horror that night?
The story moves back and forth in time throughout the book in order for us to understand the dynamics of Frankie and Verity's friendship and the relationships with husbands Max and Red. The information the reader needs is drip-fed along the way so I found it impossible to second guess certain parts of the story whereas other parts are fairly obvious I felt. The time frames are easy to follow though and at no point did I get confused as to where or when things were happening.
The interesting cog in the wheel is Alice, the new resident in the area who literally crashes into the women's lives when she loses control of her car and hits Frankie's boundary wall. The two women welcome her in and soon Alice and daughter Luna are invited to The Party to be seen at, much to Alice's delight. Why is she so keen to establish a friendship though? Secrets soon start creaking their way out of closets and suspicions form among the group, culminating in the tragic events outlined at the beginning. The author weaves the story very cleverly and leads things full circle via the highs and lows of the three women's life experiences.
My thanks to the publisher, One More Chapter, for the opportunity to review this novel ahead of publication which I rate as one of my favourite Netgalley titles of recent months.About the Author:
Hannah Emery studied English at the University of Chester and has written stories for as long as she can remember.
Her favourite things are her family, friends, books, baking on a Saturday afternoon, going out for champagne and dinner and having cosy weekends away.
Hannah lives in Blackpool with my husband and their little girl. Find out more at hannahcemery.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter @hannahcemery.
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