Part of the Family (The Most Difficult Thing) - Charlotte Philby

Description

WHAT WOULD YOU SACRIFICE TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

On the surface, Anna Witherall personifies everything the aspirational magazine she works for represents. Married to her university boyfriend David, she has a beautiful home and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. But beneath the veneer of success and happiness, Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that threatens to unravel everything she has worked so hard to create.

As Anna finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of secret intelligence, she is forced to question her family’s safety, and her own. Only one thing is certain: in order to protect her children, she must leave them, forever. 

And someone is watching. Someone she thought she could trust. Someone who is determined to make them all pay.

Stylish and assured, The Most Difficult Thing is an irresistible combination of contemporary espionage and domestic suspense, and a compulsive, highly charged examination of betrayal.

Review

The book begins as Anna is meeting someone in subterfuge. The book then fast forwards three years. Without giving anything away this part of the book is then repeated at the end so it felt like some kind of deja vu when I got to the end of the book. It also slightly spoiled the book for me as when the tension was building I was aware of what was going to happen near the end of the book.

The book then reverts back to Anna's earlier life when she had just left Uni and has a sub heading of "Then". At this point I felt the book got a little too drawn out and I thought I was going to struggle to stay with it. Eventually the plot turned into more of a spy type thriller and at times I was on the edge of my seat, but then the beginning of the book would come back to me. It felt a little like an episode of Star Trek, when you know nothing will ever happen to the main characters just those who have a walk on part. 

Somewhere around part three of the book there was so much double, treble crossing that I got really confused about who was working for who and what was actually happening. Then came the ending - apart from the bit from the beginning of the book, there is a twist and then what felt like falling into a black hole. I have been trying to reconcile it in my mind - what did it mean? I've re read it and I'm no clearer with it, just wondering if there is a follow up book maybe?

It has taken me a while to be able to write this review because I have such mixed feelings about it. I was happy with the writing, but cared little for Anna or David. They were both so self absorbed in their own worlds and most of the supporting characters were too. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of stars. My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.