Brett thinks he has landed his dream home when he buys a foreclosed house. He moves his wife, daughter Justine, and new grandchild into the home, hoping for a better life for them all. Each of them is damaged in some ways, and the house comes with its own set of baggage in the form of its homicidal past owner. When the owner strikes up a relationship with Justine, her fragility makes for the perfect way for him to manipulate Brett into giving the house back.
Edge of my seat. That is where this book had me. There is a lot going on in this book. You have the relationships between Brett, his wife Pamela, and Justine; Pamela dealing with the loss of her daughter as well as a huge secret; Brett dealing with a failing business; Justine having mental health issues; and Rory, the original homeowner, and his plethora of issues. It is a lot to take in, but that is also what makes the story so captivating.
I thought both plot and characters were developed well, with nice even pacing. My favorite character, the one I love to hate, is actually Rory. He has a lot of depth and dimension, but you stop just short of empathy when you read about him. He helps the story maintain its high level of reader engagement.
Have you ever had a moment where a loud noise sounds, and then, for a split second, the silence that follows is deafening, leaving your ears ringing? That is what the end of this book was like for me. I loved the themes at work here, the flawed nature of the characters, the emphasis on keeping secrets. This one is well worth the read.
I received a review copy courtesy of the author.
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The first two sentences of your last paragraph make a ringing endorsement of this book!
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