3 STAR REVIEW

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book had so much potential to me and for a majority of this book I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. I actually finished this in less than 12 hours, I was that into the story. And then I got to about the last 30 pages and it completely tanked for me.

Diana has raised two wonderful kids, Ollie and Nettie, with her amazing husband and is living a very privileged life. Even though the past still comes back to haunt her occasionally she has her family and her loving husband by her side. When her son Ollie brings home his girlfriend, Diana isn’t a huge fan of her at first and then Ollie and his girlfriend Lucy decide to get married. Diana tolerates her new daughter-in-law and the feeling is mutual but then Diana’s husband Tom dies and Diana is sucked into a state of depression. She contemplates suicide but then changes her mind about it but yet Diana still ends up dead and it doesn’t look like it was the suicide that it was staged to look like.

I was really enjoying this book until about 80-90% of the way in. I loved all of the family dynamics in this book and how Lucy and Diana finally put their differences aside and became close. And then the big “bombshell” dropped on who actually killed Diana.

*SPOILER ALERT*

First off a little back story. Every member of the family was looked at and questioned for her murder. Ollie because his company was tanking bad and he needed money, why not kill off his rich mom since he assumed the money was going to him and his sister? Lucy was looked at because of the assault that took place in the hospital after Tom accidentally drops his granddaughter and Diana just wants to smooth it over and move on. But lo and behold in was Nettie that killed her mother, all because she wouldn’t give her any money to help her have her own baby. I honestly cannot say how mad I got when that was revealed, that was the whole reason she died? Because her daughter’s obsession and madness about having a child of her own went that far and her mom wouldn’t help her so she killed her? I understand Nettie felt like her mom had never been there for her and or didn’t pay enough attention to her when she was younger and I understand the mental hit that women go through that can’t have a baby but really, REALLY?

I loved this book so much up until then which is the only reason I’m giving it a 3 star review. The characters were great and the storyline was gripping up until the ending but the truth behind the murder is what really killed it for me. I will more than likely try to read other books by Sally Hepworth but this was a disappointing book for me.