Description
When I open the door and see her, my mind starts churning. Why are they here? What do they want? And why did my daughter leave in the first place? Am I finally, after all of these years, going to find out? I take a deep breath and usher them in… Ruth has spent every day of the last fifteen years wondering why her daughter Isobel left. Walking around the school to which she has given her life, every child she sees reminds her of her family’s bright future which vanished in an instant. So when Ruth opens the door to find Isobel and a teenage grandson she never knew existed, she feels a rush of relief. Despite the years of hurt she never stopped loving Isobel and wants to help rebuild her life. Enrolling her grandson at the school, Ruth wants to make sure they stay for good. Isobel has spent her life running from a painful secret. A secret which could have destroyed her family. Now, as she flees a bad relationship, she knows that her childhood home is the only place where she can be safe. But as Isobel looks at her son in his crisp new uniform, she is taken straight back to the reason she ran all those years ago. Soon it becomes clear that she is not the only one tormented by the past. Someone is prepared to destroy everything Ruth and Isobel hold dear. Can Isobel confront her darkest secret before it is too late? From the bestselling author of Who We Were Before comes a powerful and emotional page-turner about devastating family secrets. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Emily Bleeker and Imogen Clark.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Why She Left' by Leah Mercer.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Leah Mercer, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 13th December 2021.
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'A Mother's Lie' which I highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult and Imogen Clark.' I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Leah and if this is half as good as 'A Mother's Lie' it is sure to be a page turning read. 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 43 chapters. The chapters are short to 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 London, 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 recently visited London so will be interested to see if there are any places I visited mentioned.
This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Isobel and Ruth. 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. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists 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. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.
'Why She Left' discusses some topics that may trigger 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 Leah discusses/includes sexual assault.
OMG!!! JUST WOW!!! WELL DONE LEAH YET AGAIN ON AN ABSOLUTE PAGE TURNER!!
his book is extremely well written with fantastic descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline. The cover and synopsis suit the book perfectly!!
This book is absolutely addictive, I just could not put it down. The storyline isn't just one plot but has many layers that peel apart as you read it and each one is more shocking than the last. The book just keeps getting better and better as you go on. It is based around the school which, to me, had a dark and gothic feeling to it which suited the plot perfectly. The storyline is filled with lies, secrets, abuse, twists, turns, red herrings, suspense, tension and everything you could want in a psychological domestic fiction. I thought I knew what was going on until BOOM!!! I was completely thrown sideways by the revelations which I was not expecting so a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Leah. There is nothing worse than working out what is going on within 50% and actually being right about it. However, to think you knoe what is going on just to be thrown into a blender of bombshells and emotions I'd most definitely something I love in a book!! The atmosphere was perfect for the storyline and it brought up the serious and sadly still hidden subject of abuse from people in trusted positions. Thank you Leah for including this in your book as I am very much the type of person who believes the more something is talked about the more that people come to realise it does go on and victims realise it is not OK and speak out. An absolutely riveting, page turning and addictive read that I would love to see turned into a movie.
The characters were all well written, realistic and strong. The lead characters were female and I found Isobel to be a string female. I'm always pleased to see strong female leads being female myself. They all made the storyline believable and worked well with each other. I was shocked by a certain characters actions and disgusted also. However, I also did have sympathy to them after putting their life on hold. I won't say more than that as I don't want to ruin the book for future readers.
Congratulations again Leah on yet another riveting page turner!! This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors and here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an addictive page turning domestic, psychological fiction with a deep meaning that will keep you up late at night.
Genres covered in this novel include Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller and Psychological Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Jodi Picoult and anyone looking for an addictive, meaningful page turning psychological domestic fiction.
272 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase 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.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@LeahMercer @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R
About Leah Mercer Leah Mercer was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. Her first ambition was to be a journalist, but after completing a master’s in journalism, she soon realised she preferred anything other than reporting the news. After trying her hand at public relations, teaching and recruitment in various countries around the world, she finally settled in London and returned to writing… fiction, this time. Her first two novels, Who We Were Before and The Man I Thought You Were, were shortlisted at the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards. Leah loves books, running and visiting historic houses with her husband and their son. Social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahmercerauthor/ @leahmercerauthor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeahMercer Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeahMercerBooks @leahmercerbooks
Purchase Links
Amazon: http://ow.ly/cZTc50Gpfwv
Apple: http://ow.ly/dAH550Gpfwx
Kobo: http://ow.ly/7BPf50Gpfww
Google: http://ow.ly/I4i550Gpfwy
Comments