Author: Claire Douglas
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: August 2, 2022
What do you do when you need clarification about events that happened 30 years ago, but the only person with a memory of what happened is in a care home for dementia?
This book rings so true for the descriptions of what it is like to wish you could go back in time and ask the burning questions that the discovery of two bodies in Saffy and Tom’s yard bring. Could Saffy’s grandmother hold the secret to their identities?
I had a hard time placing Rose and Daphne in the 80’s because the only descriptions that placed them in that era were the clothes they wore and their stance on feminism. The description of the cottage gave the book setting a more gothic tone. However, this is a great story about three generations of women and the secrets that have followed two of them through the decades. One thing was certain – they each in turn loved and were fiercely protective of their daughters. I really appreciated the way the author handled the police questioning of Rose, how her granddaughter Saffy prepared her for the police interviews and grounded her with stories about their time together.
I loved the family dynamics, the multiple points of view, and the twists and turns that were spread out over the story. I will definitely be checking out other books by Claire Douglas.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an advance reader’s copy.
Background photo courtesy of @johnmcclane at @unsplash
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