The party was supposed to be the highlight of the summer. If only I’d known that night would destroy our lives…
All the neighbors were laughing, drinking out of plastic glasses, and getting along. I almost felt happy. Almost forgot about the terrible argument earlier and the sinister messages I’d been receiving from a strange address all week, threatening to expose the lies behind my perfect life.
As we finished with the red and gold fireworks and welcomed everyone back to our house, I believed that everything would be okay.
But I didn’t know who I was inviting in.
I never could have imagined what would happen here, in our home, after I’d gone up to bed.
Everyone saw something different.
It’s my daughter’s word against the story the boy from down the road is telling. But how can I find out what really happened that night without everyone finding out the truth about me?
An absolutely gripping story of the secrets you would do anything to keep hidden, with a twist you just won’t see coming. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Big Little Lies, and The Girl on the Train.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
‘Education is the key to all success, after all.’ ‘I thought that was inherited wealth and liposuction.’
I listened to a radio interview with the lead psychiatrist from Broadmoor Prison. ‘I’d rather work with a psychopathic murderer than counsel a couple in crisis,’ she joked. ‘It’s easier.’ But I found I wasn’t laughing. Laughing was getting harder these days for some reason.
The realisation hit me between my eyes, like a baton coming down. Like a fist. I had a picture in my mind, then, of all the women who ended up killing their husbands, who took a kitchen knife, who didn’t even know they had made that fatal thrust, who killed through hatred and sorrow, warped by a love laced with fear, a love that knew no other place to go – and then I knew. I knew I was capable of killing him too.
… word to the wise: if your small boy comes home boasting of learning about his Balzac, don’t be fooled into thinking he means the French writer, as I was, when in fact he means his own ball-sack. Pride so often comes before a fall.
My Review:
This is a unique hybrid of women’s fiction, suspense, and family drama. This was an oddly enticing book that kept my curiosity at the brain itching level with fret-inducing and tangled storylines while cast with obnoxious characters that continually annoyed and disappointed me, yet I had to know how their knotty issues would unravel. I was hopelessly hooked, ensnared, and unable to resist Ms. Seeber’s fiendishly clever plotting with strategic lashings of caustic wit and cunning insights. This was my first sojourn with Ms. Seeber and I plan to be a frequent flier from now on.
Claire Seeber is a Londoner who started her professional life as a (bad) actress and became a documentary maker, a journalist, and a writer of, so far, psychological thrillers. The Observer said of her first novel: ‘a disturbing debut’ whilst The Guardian called it ‘powerful’…she keeps writing whilst also studying psychology and (trying to) to manage a home of slightly feral kids and animals. Luckily she’s got a very nice partner to help too.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/claireseeber
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ClaireSeeberAuthor
