As it’s the last day of 2018, I thought I would sign off with a couple of blog posts. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. I love blogging. I find it very cathartic and love watching something I’ve made grow a little bit at a time. Luckily, I got some great new books for Christmas and also a couple of journals that I’m sure will feature in a future post.
But I thought I would write a quick review of ‘One Little Lie‘ by Sam Carrington. It’s a story of a mother’s love and how early childhood experiences can shape us. The narrative is intricate and easy to follow. Often with books, if the author explores different view points, jumping quickly from one another, it can be difficult for the reader to follow and keep up with it. Once you have been introduced to the characters, it becomes easier to follow and they all click into place. The story is gripping, and it’s amazing how powerful words can be.
Alice’s son Kyle has been sent to prison for the murder of Deborah’s son, Sean. He hasn’t uttered a word, leading some to think he’s innocent and is being silenced. Alice decides to start a support group for parents of ‘troubled’ children to help others. Alice is also seeing a psychologist who used to work for the police, Connie. Connie also gets a call after freelancing for eight months since she left her job, to go back to the prison and help out. One of the subjects is Kyle, Alice’s son. Kyle hasn’t spoken in two years, but by talking about his mother, Kyle snaps and finally speaks.
As the story goes on, it transpires that the Alice who is seeing Connie, is not actually Alice. Connie discovers this when the real Alice is attacked and left for dead and she see’s her picture in the paper and realises that’s not the person she has been seeing. Alice has been helping another parent, Bill, whose daughter has gone missing. He mentions that she had been isolating herself and immersing herself in game chatrooms. Alice mentions that her son had been on them before and suggested that he hadn’t acted alone in murdering Sean. Alice also wants to make amends by connecting with Deborah. The first part of the book jumps between the narratives of these characters and it isn’t until the second half that all becomes clear.
In the second half we learn that Kyle did not act alone and was manipulated by Tom, an angry man who feels the need for control after his abusive father left him and his mother, Angela. Angela is also the lady who has been pretending to be Alice and has been Connie’s client. She knows what Tom has done and is trying to prevent him from doing it again. Angela is also the one who has set up the support group and knows that Tom has manipulated Bill’s daughter, Isabelle, and she was the one who attacked Alice to stop Kyle revealing the truth.
As the story comes to a close, you are unable to put it down. It’s constant twists and turns make it exhilarating and it’s actually hard to find a book like that these days as there are always new books coming out. This is a thriller I would definitely recommend. If I can see myself reading the book again, or lending it to someone else, I know it’s a good read.
Gemma and Life 