Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Just What Kind of Mother Are You

Yes, it is true that every once in awhile I still have time to read books for fun rather than just for review. But I sill like to give you my review regardless because it's fun.

Just What Kind of Mother Are You - Paula Daly
Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
What if your best friend's child disappears? And it was all your fault.

A searing and sinister thriller for readers who liked Gone Girl.What if your best friend's child disappears? And it was all your fault. This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto, overwhelmed working mother of three, one freezing December in the English Lake District. She takes her eye off the ball for just a moment and her whole world descends into the stuff of nightmares. Because, not only is thirteen-year-old Lucinda missing, and not only is it all Lisa's fault, but she's the second teenage girl to disappear within this small tightknit community over two weeks. The first girl turned up stripped bare, dumped on a busy high street, after suffering from a terrifying ordeal. 

Wracked with guilt over her mistake and after being publicly blamed by Lucinda's family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. But as she begins peeling away the layers surrounding Lucinda's disappearance, Lisa learns that the small, posh, quiet town she lives in isn't what she thought it was, and her friends may not be who they appear, either.


So the premise of this book is Lisa, a working mother of two who tries to keep it all going and has many balls in the air, makes the mistake of forgetting her daughter's friend was supposed to spend the night. She's exhausted, she's working every day, she has kids to deal with, she's trying to be a good wife, meanwhile competing with other moms on who can out do the others, so it happens. Except because of her mistake, 13  year old Lucinda goes missing and everyone blames Lisa. If Lisa had just remembered, she could have reported the girl missing right away versus Lucinda's family discovering it the next day losing precious time to find her. 

Meanwhile, girls are going missing and showing up disoriented, having been victims of brutal sexual assault. Of course everyone fears this fate for Lucinda, but when girl #3 goes missing and comes back like girl #1, people fear the worst for Lucinda. Did something go wrong and she was murdered? 

The story takes place over the course of a week and in that week you discover the secrets all of the central characters are hiding. Basically nobody is as they seem and you know it all plays a greater role but you don't know how until the very end. When I got to the part about who took Lucinda and why? Screwed up. So incredibly screwed up. And sad. Holy is it sad. 

For a debut novel this is written so you see Lisa as you. This is you, this is me, this is all of us harried mothers who try to keep it all going and every once in awhile things fall through the cracks. It's terrifying to think someone may take your child but can you imagine if your friends' child was taken and it's because you dropped THAT ball? No. None of us can imagine it because it's scary. I flew through this book and couldn't put it down because it was just compelling and it pulls you through all the way to the end. You'll love it. 

2 comments:

Martha Hokenson said...

Definitely adding this to my reading list!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

wow, what a terrifying premise! I'm certainly curious about this ending though. Thanks for your thoughts! I like reviewing things I read for fun too. :)