Published By: Macmillan
Pages: 384
Released On: 19/06/2025
She must face justice. As her sister, it kills me to say it. As his mother, I demand it.
When Jen Miller entrusts her youngest child to the care of her beloved sisters, she has no idea of the devastating tragedy that is about to unfold.
To celebrate her sister’s wedding, global superstar Winter Kellaway throws the party of the decade at her luxurious beachside estate. The decorations are flawless. The champagne is on ice. The guests have arrived. But one misstep will have heartbreaking consequences that will rock this close-knit family to their core.
With her life in pieces, how can Jen ever begin to forgive?
Saul Anguish, a brilliant but tormented young detective, is called in to investigate and uncovers a long-buried and shocking family secret. As the trail takes a dramatic turn, they must now all face the truth that you can never truly leave the past behind . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Surprisingly, this is my first of Fiona’s books.
I did struggle with this to begin with due to the quantity of characters, the changes in POV, and changes in time. I spent quite a lot of time trying to get my head on board with it. I thought I’d figure them all out eventually, but by halfway through I was still a bit confused as to who was who and what the different time periods were and how they linked, which meant it took my focus out of the story a little bit.
There is a side plot going on concerning Saul Anguish that, if I’m honest, had a very tenuous link to the main plot, at best. I didn’t really get the link and it felt forced, and that sub-plot wasn’t ever fully explored for me. It almost felt like it was being forced to be tense, but it went a bit cliché with it.
It is an interesting premise. You’re meant to love your family unequivocally and nothing will break that bond, but when one of them is responsible for taking away the one you love the most, where does that love go? Dos it instantly change into hate? Or is there still part of you that loves them, even when they’ve broken your heart, even when it was done by accident?
I think my main problem is its categorisation as a thriller. The title and premise certainly promise that, but I wouldn’t say it was a thriller. A family drama with some crime and mystery elements sure. I know you have to build things up, build the tension, introduce the characters and whatnot, which is fine, but the big thing that I was expecting to happen, that the premise alludes to, doesn’t happen until about 60% of the way through. So I’d have liked that to have come a bit earlier.
There are twists yes…did I see them coming? At the time, no. But in hindsight…I suppose there were clues, and it would be interesting to read it again now I know the ending to see if it’s obvious, but they are very well done.
It definitely got better as it went along. The story was interesting, the characters flawed, and the emotions heightened. But I feel it shouldn’t have taken almost 60% through for the thing to happen. It would have been much better for that to come earlier and then had the aftermath stretched out as it does sort of finish quite quickly.
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