My Review
A compelling and compulsive read!
Having enjoyed A J McDine’s previous books, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. I often worry that I won’t enjoy an author’s new book as much as their last one, but there was no need for that worry here! Hooked from start to finish, this is my new favourite book by McDine.
We’ve all done it, haven’t we? Taken our eyes off our children for a minute or two. You’d think it’d be okay to do that in your own garden, wouldn’t you? Cleo and Stuart are having a BBQ with their best friends Melanie and Bill when the unimaginable happens! Whilst they’re chatting, drinking and relaxing in the sun, Cleo and Stuart’s three-year-old daughter Immy disappears! All the garden gates are normally locked though, so surely, she can’t have gone far.
With a river that runs across the bottom of the garden, they begin to worry that Immy may have fallen in and drowned. Did she? Or did someone take her?
On the outside, Cleo and Stuart are the perfect couple with two perfect children and a perfect home. Appearances can be deceptive though and when things from the past are revealed, and secrets and lies are unearthed, you begin to wonder if there is more to Immy’s disappearance than meets the eye.
What a great read this was! Fast-paced cleverly plotted and incredibly addictive. From the second Immy went missing I could not put this book down! The story is told from the perspective of Cleo, who I liked but at times I did feel frustrated with her naivety, she wasn’t very good at seeing things that were happening right before her eyes! She was a great character though and we watch her change as a person and a mother as the story progresses.
The short chapters are great if you want to read a book that you can quickly read a few pages of when you have a spare five minutes, but be warned it is very hard to read just one or two chapters of this book! Just as you think, I’ll leave it there, something happens to keep you turning those pages!
My awesome detective skills were on point and my instincts as to what happened were correct, but this did not spoil my enjoyment of this book in any way. In fact, I love it when I’m right!
Don’t miss out on this gripping psychological thriller, available now in paperback and ebook.
Thank you so much to the lovely A J McDine for my copy of this fantastic book.
Link to purchase – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916129951
Book Blurb
Praying her daughter’s still alive. Fearing her past is about to take its revenge.
When three-year-old Immy vanishes during a family barbecue, her mother, Cleo, imagines the worst.
Has she fallen into the river at the end of the garden and drowned?
Or is it something even more unthinkable?
After all, there’s one person with good reason to want to abduct Immy – the woman Cleo thought she’d seen the last of three years ago.
With time running out, Cleo sets out to uncover the truth. But as she confronts the demons of her past, it becomes clear everyone has a secret to hide.
And the more she digs, the more she realises her carefully constructed life is just an illusion.
About the Author
A J McDine lives deep in the Kent countryside with her husband and two teenage sons. She worked as a journalist and police press officer before becoming a full-time author in 2019. Endlessly fascinated by people and their fears and foibles, she loves to discover what makes them tick. She writes dark, domestic thrillers about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. When she’s not writing, playing tennis or attempting to run a 5K, she can usually be found people-watching in her favourite café. When She Finds You, out in July 2019, was A J McDine’s debut psychological thriller. Her second novel, Should Have Known Better, was published in June 2020.
Life’s a Book 📖 