The Housewarming

In my opinion...

Thank you SE Lynes for once again making book reviewing easy!

Five glasses of bubbles for this tightly plotted taut thriller. I could stop there and say, just read it, but…

As soon as I see that SE Lynes has another book about to be published, I get all excited- for one thing I know that it’s going to be well written & for another, I have not yet been disappointed with a story which is always well structured and so hard to put down.

The first chapters of this novel are hard to read and distressing due to the subject matter, as over & over again Ava relives what happened on that terrible day when her young daughter disappeared. This is so realistic and credible, in a time of extreme tragedy this is what happens, as what ifs & blame continually go round in Ava’s head. The terrible guilt of a mother who has failed her daughter- or has she?

Around half way through the book, the pace changes, after the long anticipated party held by Ava's neighbours, and following that the twists are relentless. Characters unravel but ultimately all questions are satisfactorily answered and loose ends tied up.

Want to know more?

Everyone is going to the housewarming party. All the same people who lived on the street the day Abi vanished… Will her mother finally learn the truth? Ava only left her daughter in the pushchair for five minutes. The buckle was fastened, and she was sure it was safe. But when she came downstairs, the door was open and Abi was gone – she walked down the road, past the Lovegoods’ house, and was never seen again. A year later, the Lovegoods are planning their long-anticipated housewarming party. Ava doesn’t want to go. She can’t bear to look down that end of the road, to see the place where Abi vanished, and she doesn’t want to spend time with people who don’t share her grief. Her husband Matt persuades her: he’s worried about her. A night out might do her good. But as her friends and neighbours chat, and the drink and gossip flows, Ava learns something new about the day she has re-lived a thousand times. A throwaway comment which could change everything. Ava thought she knew every last detail of that day. She’s about to find out she was wrong…

My rating...

No surprises here.

A topped to the brim five glasses!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for my ARC