Sam Hayes (1)

A woman stands on a bridge, the water rushing below, the wind catching her skirt. In a few seconds she will jump, plunging more than 200 feet to the bottom. Who is she? And why is she desperate to take her own life? Nina Kennedy is afraid. A man is following her, threatening her family, toying with her sanity. What does he want? And how long will it be before he strikes? Eight-year-old Ava sits waiting for her daddy. But, like the others in the children's home, she knows her father will never come. The home is a place of whispers and shadows. But no one dare tell the truth. Until now...

My Thoughts:

I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Normally books that have children on the cover with big bambi eyes I do avoid. This book however is for book group so I did give it ago and was as I say quite surprised.

The story is really good and kept me wanting to find out what was going to happen next. Each chapter ended with not a cliffhanger as such but the need to read to see how it was going to end.

The story line was raw with abuse in a childrens home, this is why I normally avoid books with children on the covers. The story was also a good thriller with plenty of twists and turns.

This next paragraph will contain spoilers.

What I thought was clever was how the author lead me to believe that I was reading three individual characters stories and it turned out that it actually was one person all along. I also didn’t like the ending in the fact that Nina’s husband was the one she was running and hiding from all along. It wouldn’t have made any difference if the hooded figure was never found out.

Overall a really good read although the subject matter was a bit unsettling and I would seek out more book by this author.… (más)

The story I read is very different from the other reviews making me realise that they are two different books. The book juxtaposes life stories between two generations, grandmother and granddaughter.
Kath is the grand daughter of Kathleen who has recently died. Kath is very close to her grandmother and keen to uncover her grandmother's mysterious past. But what starts out as an innocent investigation into her family's history becomes a matter of life and death for Kath.
Kath has been diagnosed with leukemia and must find a tissue donor; unfortunately close family members are not compatible. Kath's grandmother starts to come to Kath in her dreams and through these dreams Kath finds out about her gran's harsh upbringing as an orphan in Barnado's Homes as well as missing family members that may be able to save Kath's life. I leave the rest for you to surmise; yes they all live happily ever after....… (más)