Book Description:
They find her just as the sun is beginning to rise in the early morning mist. They had begun at dawn, the group of searchers keen to get going. A missing child spurred everyone on. In the end, it was a flash of colour, a bright neon pink that caught her eye. They had been looking for pink.
Nothing tests your faith like being a mother. The first time your children walk to school alone, their first sleepover, when they finally fly the nest. As a parent, you have to believe that everything will be OK.
It’s why, when Lydia’s sixteen-year-old daughter Zoe goes on a school camping trip, she has no idea of the horrors that will unfold. It’s why, when Lydia gets a call saying that her daughter has disappeared, she refuses to give up.
As she searches the mountains, her voice hoarse from calling Zoe’s name, she imagines finding her. She envisions being flooded with relief as she throws her arms around her child, saying, ‘you gave us such a scare’. She pictures her precious girl safely tucked in bed that evening.
It’s why, when they find Zoe’s body, Lydia can barely believe it. It is unthinkable. Her little girl has gone.
Something terrible happened, she is sure of it. Something made Zoe get out of her sleeping bag in the middle of the night, walk out of the warmth and safety of the cabin, into the darkness of the mountains. Driven by the memory of her youngest child, Lydia needs to find out the truth. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t?
A heartbreaking, redemptive and beautifully crafted novel which brings to life a mother’s worst nightmare, questioning how well we ever really know the people we love the most. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kerry Fisher and Liane Moriarty will be blown away by this stirring, unforgettable tale.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Girl Who Never Came Home' by Nicole Trope.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 4th November 2020
This is the first book that I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching and beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis. The book was advertised with the statement that fans of Jodi Picoult and Kerry Fisher will be blown away by it. I'm a MASSIVE fan of both of these authors so it will be interesting to see if the story lives up to this. 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, 33 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium 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 Sydney, USA 🇺🇸.
This book is written in a mix of first and third person perspective and the main protagonists are Shayna (Zoe's best friend and first person perspective ), Bernadette (Zoe's teacher and first person perspective), Jessie (Zoe's sister and third person perspective) and Lydia (Zoe's mum and third person perspective ). I enjoy books written in both first and third person with several protagonists as 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. You alse get to bond more in first person perspective with the character. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
This book is extremely well written and the fact that the author has used both first person and third person perspective as well as many protagonists could have been a disaster but it has worked fantastically!!! It has been brilliant to see so much of the picture and see how so many characters are thinking and feeling.
The storyline itself is a slow burner and I think of it hadn't had been it may jot have worked as well. The author slowly feeds you information throughout so you can rule people out or build on what they know. It really did fit the plot perfectly. It is packed with secrets, suspense, lies, revelations, shocks and surprises. I didn't work out who the mystery character talking was until about 75% which is brilliant, nothing worse than working it all out straight away. I only worked it out then as the author wanted the reader too and even then there was still some mystery left to it. I think the flashbacks throughout also worked really well and it was interesting to discover all the bits together. It felt very much like working on a jigsaw but having the last piece withheld from you until just the right time and then BOOM everything makes sense.
Ahhh... Now onto the characters!!! What a mixed bunch we have here! Again, the story wouldn't have worked otherwise. My thoughts really did go out to both Jessie, Lydia and Leanne. I did feel sorry for Bernadette but she seemed to be the type of teacher who wouldn't have been on my favourites list if I'm honest. Unfortunately, and I now this will sound horrid but hey its an honest review, I didn't like Zoe and I can't say I felt at all sorry for her. I probably won't go as far as to say she deserved it..... Mmmm.... BUT she was a full on bully and after being bullied myself I can't scrape any sympathy for her. She had a nice life with a nice family so, yeah, no excuse for being a mega female dog!! Anyway, moving on, the characters were all very well developed and did work well together. It was interesting to see how they all developed throughout the storyline and I hope that Jess finds her happiness.
Overall a slow burning psychological jigsaw puzzle packed with suspense, lies, drama and much more!!
Genres covered in this novel include Suspense, Coming-Of-Age Story and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as .
301 pages.
This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US BLOG TOUR REVIEW
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@NicolaTrope @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@NicolaTrope @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because, as her professor pointed out, ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’
She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree. In between raising three children, working for her husband and renovating houses, she has published six novels. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Buy Links:
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Kobo: https://bit.ly/3k6gbds
Google: https://bit.ly/3fqkmwW
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