Title: A Child's Goodbye
Publication Day: March 28th 2023
Author: Ali Mercer
Book Description:
All I remember is the screeching of brakes and the sound of tyres swerving on tarmac. The last thing that crossed my mind was my beautiful boy Billy, waiting alone at the school gates…
When I found out I was pregnant I couldn’t have been happier. Ever since my own father died, I’d felt utterly lost. But you changed everything. Finally, I had found my purpose: to be the best mother I could be.
But I couldn’t – wouldn’t – tell anyone who your father was. I could never forget the look in his eyes that day. The betrayal written across his face. All the things we didn’t say, and the secret that tore us apart.
I thought I was hiding the truth to protect us. But now as I lie in this hospital ward, my life hanging in the balance, blinking in the bright white lights, all I can think about is how that man, your dad, could be your only hope… but how can I save us when it already seems too late? Or will I be just in time to reunite our family?
Fans of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Kate Hewitt will be swept away by this heartbreaking, totally gripping page-turner about motherhood, grief and a family torn apart by secrets.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'A Child's Goodbye' by Ali Mercer.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Ali Mercer, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 28th March 2023.
This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Marriage Lie' and 'The Family I Lost' which I would also recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching beautiful cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Ali Mercer and if this book is half as good as 'The Marriage Lie' and 'The Family I Lost' it is guaranteed to be a page turner. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Kate Hewitt will be swept away by this heart-breaking, totally gripping page-turner about motherhood, grief and a family torn apart by secrets.''. I am a huge fan of all three of these authors so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 41 chapters and an epilogue and is set over three parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
'A Child's Goodbye' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Ali discusses assault.
This book is based in England 🏴 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually visited and holidayed in England on several occasions so am looking forward to see if I recognise anywhere.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Callie. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
This book is very well written and the insights into the past let's the reader piece together what is going on. The descriptions are vivid and help to set the scene.
The cover and synopsis worked well with the storyline.
Yet another fantastically written book by the very talented Ali!! This book is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and is filled with family, loss, sadness, heartbreak, motherhood, secrets and lies. It goes to show how one minute can change not one but several life's. Since I have had children I find it harder and harder to read books involving children and when I do I always find myself becoming emotional throughout and this book is no exception. It is one of those addictive books that I listened to whenever I had a spare moment whether on the school run or doing the dishes and I became completely absorbed throughout. It is a scary thought as a parent that if anything happens to you then who will be there for your children and this is even harder when there isn't another parent involved. Callie is involved in a car accident and needs to rely on an old friend to take care of her son but when the friend decides she hasn't got time and takes him to Callie's mother's house everything starts to unravel and change it just goes to show how one moment can change not just one life but several. In this case there were so many moments which would have left to different outcomes including the first one which was because an assumption was made. It is a heartbreaking story which changes the lives of Callie, Billy and Rueben forever. I don't want to go into too many details as I don't want to give too much away but make sure you have the tissues at the ready as yet again Ali manages to make the tears flow and emotions run high. This would be one of my worse nightmares as a mum myself. Ali's evocative writing skills brings the story and characters to life around you making your heart beat faster and pulls on your heart strings. She manages to weave the past and present storylines together perfectly to give you a full picture of what happened then and why things are as they are now. Another great success from an extremely talented author and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next!!
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Stephanie Lane who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Stephanie did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Ali but also to listening to more books narrated by Stephanie!
The characters are strong and realistic. My heart really went out to Callie, Billy and Rueben all for different reasons. Callie is a strong woman, an amazing mother and a fighter. She goes through so much heartbreak yet still continues to fight for the sake of her son. I was rooting for her throughout and it was heartbreaking how everyone assumed the worst of her including her own family and I can see why she cut ties even though it left her on her own with no support network. Rueben really annoyed me after what he had done but he grew on me and seeing him want to do his best and to make up for the years he missed made him likeable and he grew on me. Billy is such a sweet boy who is having problems in school as well as everything that is going on with his family and my heart broke for him. It would be hard for an adult with everything going on let alone a child. I'm not going to say anymore about the characters as I don't want to let anything slip but Ali does a fantastic job of making realistic and strong characters that come to life in front of the readers eyes.
Clear your schedules and get the tissues ready as you wont be able to put this down!! Well done Ali on yet another emotional page turner and hers to your next success!!
Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and the first chapter of Ali's 'His Secret Family' which looks just as addictive and emotional as this page-turner, 'The Family I Lost' and 'The Marriage Lie'! Overall an addictive rollercoaster ride of emotions that will keep you turning the pages.
Genres covered in this book include Mystery, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Romance Literary Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction, Women's Friendship Fiction, Contemporary Women's Fiction, Family Life Fiction, Sisters Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Romance, Women's Literature, Romance Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and Domestic Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Amanda Prowse, Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt, Susan Lewis and Kerry Fisher.
445 pages/ 13 hours and 3 minutes listening time.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase, free on kindle unlimited, £10.99 in paperback and £20.03 for the audiobook (at time of review) on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Ali decided she wanted to be a writer early on and wrote her first novel when she was at primary school. She did an English degree and spent her early twenties working in various jobs in journalism, including as a reporter for the showbusiness newspaper The Stage. She started writing fiction in earnest after getting married, moving out of London to the Oxfordshire market town of Abingdon and starting a family. She has two children, a daughter and a son who is autistic and was diagnosed when he was four years old.
Ali is fascinated by families, their myths and secrets, and the forces that hold them together, split them up and (sometimes) bring them back together again. She always travels with tissues and a book and has been known to cry over a good story, but is also a big fan of the hopeful ending.
Author Social Media Links:
For updates and pictures, follow Ali on Twitter (@AlisonLMercer) or Instagram (@alimercerwriter), or on her Facebook page (AliMercerwriter)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisonlmercer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alimercerwriter/
Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/ali-mercer
Website: https://alimercerwriter.com/
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BQ7P48B1social
