I read this book on the rare occasion that my Mum recommended and lent me a book, rather than the other way around. But if you enjoy a good murder/mystery/thriller, like Gone girl or Behind closed doors, I HIGHLY recommend this book for you.
So in the usual style of my book reviews on here..
A spoiler free synopsis:
Liz Nugget writes about family obsessed Lydia who is desperate for her something else to make her family even more 'perfect'. But disaster strikes for her when her obsession and need for a flawless lifestyle becomes to much and gets ruined by a dead body. Yet Lydia does not want that to stop her.
Lawrence her son is oblivious to his mothers faults and involvement in the dead body, and he instead tries to help Karen find out what happened to her dead sister.
The suspense that Nugget is able to create is amazing. It is apparent throughout the whole book and just when you think things are calming down, BAMM, Nugget unleashes another outrageous thing that Lydia has done.
This book is full of lies, deceit, and unhealthy obsessions … perfect for a book full of twists and surprises that leave you wanting to read more.
"My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it."
Here come the spoilers...
Right so Lydia is just one of those character you HATE but you 'pity' because she is relatable in some aspect; in that she just wants to please and wants to have a happy and perfect family. She takes the expectations of motherhood that society creates and she obsesses over it. She manipulates characters to create the impression that everything in her household is perfect and normal.
Yet I'm not totally sure how realistic the lengths she goes to are. At the end of the novel we learn that she murdered the girl to protect her name in that Lydia and her husband Andrew were paying this girl to have a child for her but she was instead spending the money on drugs and was not actually pregnant. Lydia also, to prevent her son Lawrence leaving home and moving in with his girlfriend Karen Lydia fakes an overdose in an attempt to keep him home. When this doesn't work she twists her crime of killing the girl on her son as if she cant have him no one can. This works out even better for her in that he then has a stroke and becomes disabled in in need of 24/7 care and does not go to prison. My criticism is really that would a mother who really loves her son really go to that much length to ruin his life like that and bring the shame upon her family for the murder. I guess to counter critic Lydia was so desperate for these things and is mentally unstable throughout the books so was not in a particularly 'sane position' hence the untypical reactions. In saying this I did still enjoy these twists and made the book all the more gripping as I was totally shocked that Lydia was doing all these things.
Hope you enjoyed reading this review and if you pick up the book, I hope you enjoy reading it.
Have a good week :)
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