Haven't They Grown - Sophie Hannah

Description

All Beth has to do is drive her son to his Under-14s away match, watch him play, and bring him home.

Just because she knows that her former best friend lives near the football ground, that doesn't mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her. Why would Beth do that, and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn't seen Flora Braid for twelve years.

But she can't resist. She parks outside Flora's house and watches from across the road as Flora and her children, Thomas and Emily, step out of the car. Except...

There's something terribly wrong.

Flora looks the same, only older - just as Beth would have expected. It's the children that are the problem. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily Braid were five and three years old. Today, they look precisely as they did then. They are still five and three. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt - Beth hears Flora call them by their names - but they haven't changed at all.
They are no taller, no older.

Why haven't they grown?

Review

This is the second book I've read by this author and I thought it was just as intriguing as Have you seen Melody.

The book centres around Beth and her former best friend Flora. She's recently seen Flora after a 12 year absence due to a disagreement. However, although Beth looks a older her two children don't!!! I was reeled in by this premise and couldn't wait to find out why.

At times the book reads like a thriller and so many twists and turns that I gave up with my own theories over what was happening. Other times the dialogue is a little stilted and felt too constructed. This is why I dropped a star from my rating.

This is a far fetched story - the synopsis and title tells you that. Are you intrigued enough to want to read it as I was? I can say without spoilers that this is a genius plot although at times not brilliantly told. I wasn't disappointed in this book and was happy to escape to this as some would say far fetched story line- except that so often the truth can be stranger than fiction.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book is from my own bookshelf.

Comments

The Invisible Women's Club - Helen Paris

Description Readers have fallen in love with this beautiful, heart-warming and uplifting story about one woman's journey from invisibility to being seen once more... 'A heart-lifting and thoughtful read, that gives a huge shout out to the power and strength of women ' 'This book is all heart and soul ... and just the right amount of humour ' 'A story of courage and strength that's witty , warm and filled with wisdom ' 'Helen writes so sympathetically about characters who may not fit into the 'normal' bracket but are so likeable and instantly relatable ' ------------------------------------------------- Ignored. Seventy-something Janet Pimm is invisible. Spending most of her days alone, she tends her beloved allotment with the care and love she doesn't receive from people. Plants, Janet thinks, are more important than friends. Overlooked. Janet's neighbour, Bev, has reached the age when a cloak of invisibility th

Clues to You - Claire Huston

Description One murder mystery weekend. Two rival sleuths. They’re looking for answers. But will they find love? Kate Brannon is delighted to be attending her first murder mystery weekend in a movie-worthy Victorian manor house. Still getting over being dumped, cracking the case would be a welcome boost to her flagging confidence. And the prize money wouldn’t hurt either. But Kate’s dreams of victory become a nightmare with the arrival of Max Ravenscroft. Smart, enigmatic and annoyingly handsome, Max is Kate’s sleuthing nemesis. When she and Max are forced to work together, Kate despairs. But, as the investigation brings them closer, she finds being his partner in solving crime isn’t all bad. With growing suspicions that the game is rigged against them, can Kate and Max beat the odds to find the killer? And, as their partnership deepens, can they find romance too? A sweet romantic comedy with a cosy mystery at its heart. Perfect for fans of Kathryn Freeman, Laura Jane Williams and Ka

Wednesday's Child - Yiyun Li

Description ‘One of our major novelists’ Salman Rushdie‘One of our finest living authors’ New York Times A dazzling new collection of short stories, spanning 15 years of writing, from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose and Where Reasons End A dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, aging and the strangeness of contemporary life – from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she’s lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li’s stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces – death, violence, estrangement – come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar o

BOOKSIMO

Search This Blog