Jackie’s Reading Corner

SYNOPSIS

‘She hasn’t told you, has she? He squeezed his eyes shut. She watched the muscles of his jaw tense, then his eyes blinked open and he took a deep breath…. ‘I’m not your father.’

He was there for her first steps, for her first days of school. He helped her with her homework, and took her for ice cream at the weekends. And then, two days before her ninth birthday, Martha’s father walked out. She never knew what went wrong, but she and her mother Fran never saw or heard from him again.

Fifteen years later, frustrated in a life which consists of caring for an increasingly-I’ll Fran, and heartbroken after the death of a beloved friend, Martha decides she needs some answers, and she knows it’s time to track down the father who left them behind.

Except when she comes face to face with him for the first time in fifteen years, he tells her a brutal truth.

He isn’t her father.

Her mother has been telling lies.

And not just about who her real father is…..

MY REVIEW

Ok, readers, where do I start with this one. I found the beginning a little slow, but I have learnt that I like a fast paced book, especially at the start to hook me. The title of this is very appropriate Her Mother’s Lies and that fits so well. It just shows how lies can get bigger and bigger and can actually ruin people’s lives, if the truth comes out. Martha’s mum is an alcoholic, Overweight, diabetic who really doesn’t seem to look after herself. Martha learns her boss Pete has died, which means she has no job, she loved Pete like he was her father, she loved working at his veterinary surgery. She isn’t sure how to tell her mum Fran. When she gets home she initially delays saying anything but ends up having to tell her mum as it means no money coming in from her.

I really feel for Martha the whole way through the book, she lives with her mum in the backend on nowhere, in a remote village near Cornwall, she can’t drive and has failed her test 3 times. Her mum relies on her a lot. Her father had walked out of the house when Martha was 9 years old and she has seen nothing or heard nothing from him since. But she doesn’t even know half of the story. As this web of lies unravels we learn so many secrets, as they are gradually revealed, but as one lie unfolds another question crops up. This is how the whole book goes.

The story is told from the points of view of Fran and Martha, there are a few different timelines, but these are easy to follow and explains part of the story. Martha met Izzy at an animal show, and they had become friends, chatting with each other on the internet. When Fran has a heart attack and ends up in hospital Izzy comes to Martha’s aid. Martha had found where her father Greg was living and went to see him, she needed answers, but she gets no answers. Just more questions.

The further you get into the story, the more complex, but once you are in, you just have to keep reading to get answers. There is also then the big reveal at the end as with any psychological thriller, that you just don’t see coming. You will be questioning everything and everyone I promise you that and even then you will doubt yourself.

After the slow start this book picks up pace, I can’t have sympathy for some of the characters because what they did, just led to so much suffering and heartbreak. The moral really is just don’t lie, because someone always gets hurt in the end.

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I would definitely recommend it if you like twists and turns in your stories.

I would like to thank netgalley and bookouture for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

THE AUTHOR

Rona is the author of Best selling psychological thriller THE HONEYMOON, LOVE YOU GONE and KEEP YOU SAFE.

She lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring wonderful glens and beaches on the Island while she’s plotting how to kill off her next victim. She has three children and two step children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!