Book Description
Annie’s sister has gone missing. Why doesn’t anyone care?
Annie feels like she's at a good place in her life. Happily married, expecting her first child, enjoying a vacation with her extended family at their beautiful coastal home.
But then her sister, Sunday, suddenly goes missing.
Annie is immediately concerned, but the rest of the family assure her that everything's fine, this is the kind of thing Sunday does, she'll be back…
But Annie knows in her heart that something is very wrong. And she won't rest until she sees her sister safe and well.
As Annie digs for the truth, she realizes that some of her family are not what they seem. And as she draws closer to uncovering their horrifying secret, Annie finally understands that she and her unborn child are in terrible danger…
The Favorite Child - the gripping psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Other Couple and The Guest.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Favorite Child' by Catherine Grant.
Read and reviewed for Catherine Grant, ZooLoos Book Tours and Inkubator Books.
Publication date 14th August 2022
This is the first book I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its unique cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Inkubator Books. I have yet to read a book published by Inkubator Books 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, 45 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in California, USA 🇺🇸
This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonist being Annie Coffey. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them.
This book is well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene for the reader. I felt I was being told their story while sitting in the room with them and feeling everything each was going through or feeling themselves. The cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.
The storyline was intriguing and multilayered but is a slow burner. I found I was quite drawn into the storyline at the beginning but at about 25% it starts to slow down and then at 75% it picks up again. I would describe it as a bit of a rollercoaster ride, one which starts off with a drop then goes around the track quite peacefully and then comes the shocking fast drop you were never expecting. It is so hard to say anything really about the storyline as it would be too easy to give too much away so I'm trying to be extremely careful what I write.
The way Cathryn has written this book is perfect and you can just slice the tension filled atmosphere she creates with a knife. I loved the fact that although the main protagonist is Annie there are some chapters where we get to see Sunday, Collette and Jacob's perspectives when they were younger which gives the reader a bit of a background. Throughout the book I was definitely questioning the characters and their behaviours wondering why nobody believed Annie, if their family behaviour was normal for their meetings ,why Michael wasn't being as supportive as he perhaps could have been. I mean I could probably answer most of them just by saying there is seriously something bit right about the whole family. I am going to try not to give anything away but this is something I observed from the start so I'm sure the majority of readers will come to the same conclusion. They were displaying alot of cult behaviours and the fact that they were all constantly touching Annie's baby bump just made me cringe!!! God help if anybody had tried that on me when I was pregnant!!
There were a few points that I struggled with. The first being Sunday's name. I know this sounds a bit silly but when it came to reading some of the sentences I genuinely didn't know if they meant the person Sunday or the day of the week which caused some confusion. Secondly, I mean why didn't Annie just leave?? I certainly wouldn't have called it normal behaviour to stay. I understand she needed to find certain things out and see certain things through but surely she could have rented a room close enough to be able to do just that while still being able to keep an eye on things. For me, the fact that she stayed was just unrealistic. However I was completely invested in the storyline and needed to know the outcome so I would say despite these flaws I was hooked!
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.
The storyline, although slower than I'm used to, was intriguing and the ending wasn't 100% what I was expecting . I can't say I was mind blown as I've read so many crime books but at the same time I hadn't guessed everything which is a bonus due to reading so many crime books!!! There was definitely one explosive part that I was not expecting!! The last chapter was a perfect ending to this story and I am looking forward to reading Cathyryn's past and previous books!! I also loved the authors subject idea ,I won't say what it is in regards to as I don't want to give anything away but if you read the book and the authors note you'll see what I mean. Cathryn definitely had a good idea for a storyline! There were also some gothic aspects to the plot that I really enjoyed as it made it darker and more horror like.
Overall an intriguing mystery which will suck you in until the explosive ending!
Genres covered in this book include Women's Psychological Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Mysteries, Suspense and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
289 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed 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
Cathryn is the bestselling author of fourteen psychological thrillers, including ALWAYS REMEMBER, THE OTHER COUPLE and THE GUEST. She is also the author of the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series, featuring a sociopath you can’t help but love.
View the complete list at her website: cathryngrant.com
Cathryn Grant’s fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, The Shroud Quarterly Journal, and been anthologized in The Best of Every Day Fiction and You, Me & A Bit of We. Her short story, “I Was Young Once”, received an honorable mention in the 2007 Zoetrope All-story Short Fiction contest.
Her psychological suspense fiction reveals the motives and desires that lead to suburban crime. She’s obsessed with the “why” behind human behavior. In real crime, too many times, the why is left unanswered. Cathryn’s fiction tells the stories of ordinary people driven to commit murder.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading fiction, walking on the beach, or playing golf, trying desperately to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
Sign up for Cathryn's mailing list to find out when new books are released and receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory, or contact Cathryn directly at cathryngrant.com/contact
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