Domestic drama set in the picturesque Lake District of Cumbria. A mother, Leona Travis, has gone to great lengths to create a normal, happy home for her teenaged daughter, Beth. They live with Leona's boyfriend, Scott Newman, and have a quiet, private little family. Their life, however, is a bit of a sham and held together by secrets and lies that Beth has told in an attempt to keep them safe. It's unfortunate that everything starts to unravel and the truth comes out. NO SPOILERS
The scenic views and vistas are described in loving detail and it is definitely a landscape that calls to many. The setting is quite an important part of the story given its isolation and magesty. Beauty is a central theme as both mother and daughter are talented in the arts. The characters are stereotypical and were a bit hard for me to relate to. There is quite a bit of repetition of feelings and angst with the main points of the plot dribbled out slowly across the chapters that are told in alternating points of view. The revelations did not come as any surprise and there was only minor suspense and thrill, but it kept me entertained for a couple of hours even though I'd figured out everything shortly into my reading.
This is a debut in the psychological category and I think the writing shows promise so I'd read another book by this author in the future. It may be that this genre is getting old as so many books like this have already been published. I don't think the synopsis as given on this page is very accurate.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic drama, psychological
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