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SYNOPSIS:
A tragic death. A missing baby. A long-kept secret... 1960.
Thirteen-year-old Rebecca and her mother live in fear of Rebecca's father's violent temper. As a storm batters Seaview Cottage one night, Rebecca hears a visitor at the door and an argument ensues. By the time the police arrive, the visitor has fled and both Rebecca's parents are dead. No one believes Rebecca's story that she heard a stranger downstairs...
2014. Iris, a journalist, is sent to cover the story of a new mother on the run with her desperately ill baby, as the police race against time to find them. When the trail leads back to Seaview Cottage, the childhood home of Iris's own mother, Rebecca, Iris must unravel the events of the night Rebecca is desperate to forget for Seaview Cottage to give up its secrets.
To find the truth she must follow in her mother’s footsteps.
Gemma's Thoughts:
This book definitely helped me out of my reading slump. I have been finding it so difficult to concentrate on anything at the moment and reading has been a real challenge. However, this book was such an enjoyable, easy read that I completely lost myself in the story.
Told from multiple points of view and from different decades this book was not only intriguing but full of surprises. The main characters are female and span over decades and three generations.
1945:
Harriet, married to Jacob who returns from the war traumatised by what he has faced and seen. He becomes violent, abusive and a danger to society. Jacob released from a psychiatric hospital goes on to murder his wife years later.
1960:
Rebecca, Harriet and Jacob's daughter, is there the night her mother is brutally murdered. At only thirteen Rebecca never truly gets over the tragedy of losing both her parents that night. Her one drive is to make something of herself, lasting words from her mother as she watched her take her last breath. But in her determination to become a Doctor she suffers from anxiety and guilt over juggling work and motherhood, consequently losing her daughter Jessie who is raised by her father and his new wife.
2014:
Jessie gives birth to a beautiful baby girl but suffering with her own anxiety, that everyone is out to harm her and her baby, does the unthinkable and escapes the hospital with her baby disappearing into the morning light. Unfortunately the baby has an infection and needs medical treatment. So with the clock ticking, the police, doctors and her family are desperate the find Jessie so they can save baby Elizabeth.
A seemingly complicated story line but so beautifully written it was easy to follow. Each character was well developed and had their own story to tell. I loved this multilayered plot and the way each chapter was dedicated to one character. The way it all came together in the end was brilliant with the mysteries and secrets hidden being exposed. I can honestly say that I had no favourite characters as they were all strong females with such a complex history that I couldn't help feel warmth and sympathy towards them all.
This is quite literally a book you want to read in one go as it is so hard to put down and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to satisfy my own thirst for the book. Many thanks to Headline and Random Things Tour for inviting me to join the blog tour.
Maria's Thoughts:
Set over four generations this plot at first confused me but intrigued me. Once I sorted out who was related to who I found myself absorbed. A lovely, heartwarming tale. Don't put it down just relish every detail of this book.
AUTHOR:
Emily Gunnis previously worked in TV drama and lives in Brighton with her young family.
She is one of the four daughters of Sunday Times bestselling author Penny Vincenzi.
This is her second novel.
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