My lovely friend Helen’s
review which is prefect
"As the blurb of the novel says: What if your best friend's child disappears? And it's all your fault. This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto - overwhelmed working mother of three - one freezing December in the Lake District. She takes her eye off the ball for just a moment and her whole world descend into nightmare. Her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter Lucinda has gone missing and now, devastated by this and publicly blamed, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. But as she begins peeling away the layers surrounding Lucinda's disappearance, Lisa learns that the quiet town she lives in isn't what she thought it was, and her friends might not be who they appear to be, either.
I have just had the absolute pleasure of reading an uncorrected proof copy of this debut psychological novel set in the Lake District, and oh my goodness, I just could NOT put it down – I had to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. It is published on 25th April 2013 by Bantam Press, and the publishers are very proud to have won Paula Daly in a ‘hotly contested auction’ against five other publishers who were all keen to publish her novel. Rightly so.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot as I would hate to give away any surprises and spoil it for anyone about to read it, but it is an extremely strong first novel which thoroughly earns and deserves the title of “page turner” - you are so eager to discover how the story will unfold and resolve itself as you work your way through the nail-biting, roller coaster of a story.
It is a tense and well plotted read but by the end of the book and with it, the resolution of the plot, the reader feels completely satisfied. It would make a brilliant film or TV mini series.
The characterisation is excellent – the characters are all well fleshed, well realised and are utterly believable, because, like all human beings, they are presented as flawed, rather than perfect, and they are most definitely not stereotypes. I particularly loved Lisa’s character – as a working Mum I’ve been exactly where she finds herself: overworked, overstretched and over tired, trying to keep all the plates spinning and fervently hoping that nothing comes crashing down round your ears, Sadly for Lisa, as some of the plates do crash they prove to be the devastatingly serious ones.
I can recommend this novel unreservedly and, on the strength of this one, I can’t wait for Paula Daly’s second title.
review which is prefect
"As the blurb of the novel says: What if your best friend's child disappears? And it's all your fault. This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto - overwhelmed working mother of three - one freezing December in the Lake District. She takes her eye off the ball for just a moment and her whole world descend into nightmare. Her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter Lucinda has gone missing and now, devastated by this and publicly blamed, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. But as she begins peeling away the layers surrounding Lucinda's disappearance, Lisa learns that the quiet town she lives in isn't what she thought it was, and her friends might not be who they appear to be, either.
I have just had the absolute pleasure of reading an uncorrected proof copy of this debut psychological novel set in the Lake District, and oh my goodness, I just could NOT put it down – I had to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. It is published on 25th April 2013 by Bantam Press, and the publishers are very proud to have won Paula Daly in a ‘hotly contested auction’ against five other publishers who were all keen to publish her novel. Rightly so.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot as I would hate to give away any surprises and spoil it for anyone about to read it, but it is an extremely strong first novel which thoroughly earns and deserves the title of “page turner” - you are so eager to discover how the story will unfold and resolve itself as you work your way through the nail-biting, roller coaster of a story.
It is a tense and well plotted read but by the end of the book and with it, the resolution of the plot, the reader feels completely satisfied. It would make a brilliant film or TV mini series.
The characterisation is excellent – the characters are all well fleshed, well realised and are utterly believable, because, like all human beings, they are presented as flawed, rather than perfect, and they are most definitely not stereotypes. I particularly loved Lisa’s character – as a working Mum I’ve been exactly where she finds herself: overworked, overstretched and over tired, trying to keep all the plates spinning and fervently hoping that nothing comes crashing down round your ears, Sadly for Lisa, as some of the plates do crash they prove to be the devastatingly serious ones.
I can recommend this novel unreservedly and, on the strength of this one, I can’t wait for Paula Daly’s second title.