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8th August 2019, Aria Fiction, 404 pages, Ebook, Review copy
Summary from Aria Fiction press release
Nothing has felt right since she told the lie...
Claire Carmichael leads a charmed life. She has two beautiful sons, Jamie and Joshua, and a handsome and successful husband who loves her. She has been taught well by her mother –the most important thing Claire has is her good reputation. He said, she said...
Even when she was in school, Claire had it all. She was clever, likable, and after passing the initiation tests, she was welcomed into the society of popular girls –The Queen Bees. So when a scandal threatened to ruin Claire’s reputation, the QueenBees closed rank to protect her, no matter who else got hurt.
Never forgotten, never forgiven...
Claire may have moved on from her school days, but for one person who she hurt irreparably, those memories are as fresh as blood. And all it takes to reap their revenge, is ONE
Nayu's thoughts
As a reader of other novels by Karen I expected this story to be a good one and oh boy it was! I feel blessed to read it in one sitting, because the anticipation of what happened next was true to the cliche of it being a page turner!
I find I am fascinated with books that are about mothers because having children isn't something that is on the cards for me due to health reasons, so I tend to lap up all the chaos and anxiety of having a child in books. Claire may looked put together, but the reality is quite different. I want to rub my hands and laugh like a manic (the muwahahaaaa type) because oh boy I totally didn't see the major plot twist coming! I didn't see any of it coming. After all, hiring a nanny is a normal thing to do and normally they are perfectly lovely, right? Well you will have to wait and see about that, just like Claire did.
Thankfully I didn't have to wait days to see that happen, unlike Claire who yes I did feel sorry for at various points in her tale, but she wasn't entirely blameless for the situation that unravelled every aspect of her life. Watching someone's life fall apart isn't pleasant and usually doesn't make me want to laugh like a manic. Our lives are tough, often more than one curve ball bouldering us over. Fictional lives are usually worse, and that in itself provides a comfort in real life, which is why thrillers are so fun to read. I didn't have to experience Claire's drama to empathise with her, and to want a good outcome no matter what she possibly deserved. She clearly loves her two boys, who made me smile with their playing and requests. She will do anything in her power to protect them, even if it ranges into it's own realm of insanity. I am not saying she is insane, just that she got blinkered to the bigger picture, and the choices she meant weren't necessarily the best ones, in my view. And other people's views in the novel (as well as everyone who is reviewing this book).
It can be hard to write a review for a thriller, because the plot themes are cleverly woven and mentioning one aspect would ruin the enjoyment, so I have to be even more careful than usual not to say the wrong thing. I will say I disagreed with Claire's decisions at several points in her story, both when she is an adult (which honestly is a total myth, as growing up and being all wise and knowing what to do in every situation never happens. Ever.) and when she is a teen. Yes, I got to read about teen Claire, as a way to discover what she was hiding from all those she loved. It was so frustrating because as soon as anything juicy happened it would switch to adult Claire and I would read on, glaring at Karen in my imagination for writing clever end of chapter cliffhangers. Both teen and adult Claire make very stupid choices which had me shaking my head and wondering why on earth they chose to take that path in life, when, from an outsider, it clearly was going to lead to trouble. But, again, that's what makes novels - and thrillers - so exciting!
I enjoyed wanting to yell at teen and adult Claire to seek help from others and to never give up of there being a sensible way out of the situation she got herself in. Okay she did seek help from the Queen Bees, but I wouldn't say that was the right help. Excuse my poor grammar but the Queen Bees getting Claire out of a mess in her teens caused an even bigger mess in her family and professional life during adulthood. The past always catches up with people, and did it catch up with Claire!
Enough of talking cryptically, you need to go read this book which is on my ereader's re-read shelf, and check out Karen's other books too! I am so eager for her next book!
You can find out more on Karen's website, and her social media.
Facebook: @KarenOsmanAuthor
Twitter: @KarenAuthor
Instagram: karenosmanauthor
Suggested read
Karen's other work includes Blog Tour The Home by Karen Osman Review + Guest Blog Post (Thriller, 9/10E)
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