Saturday 22 April 2017

A Life Between Us - Louise Walters


Tina Thornton's twin sister Meg died in a childhood accident, but for almost forty years Tina has secretly blamed herself for her sister's death. During a visit to her aging Uncle Edward and his sister Lucia, who both harbour dark secrets of their own, Tina makes a discovery that forces her to finally question her memories of the day her sister died. Who, if anyone, did kill Meg?

As Tina finds the courage to face the past, she unravels the tangled family mysteries of her estranged parents, her beautiful French Aunt Simone, the fading, compassionate Uncle Edward, and above all, the cold, bitter Aunt Lucia, whose spectral presence casts a long shadow over them all. 

A Life Between Us is a beautifully evocative story of a family torn apart at the seams, which will appeal to readers who enjoy family sagas and modern-day mysteries.

What did I think?

This was a very intriguing book that looked very innocent from the cover but contained a darkness inside that I could never have imagined.  It's a past and present story whereby we learn of Tina and her Aunt Lucia's stories.  Both as heartbreaking and painful as the other but for very different reasons.

Tina blames herself for the death of her twin sister, Meg.  She cannot let go of her sister and hears her voice clearly when she regularly visits her grave.  Tina is so engrossed at Meg's graveside that she doesn't notice the mysterious woman in the green coat who seems to be taking an interest in her.  Who is this woman and why is she interested in Tina?

Lucia is Tina's bitter old Aunt and it is no surprise to learn that she was horrid as a child.  She doesn't forgive her little brother William for being born on her darling brother Edward's birthday.  Poor little William suffers at the sneaky hands of Lucia and when big brother Edward finds out what is going on, he takes a softly softly approach with Lucia when she really could have done with a clip around the earhole.

The stories intertwine nicely as Tina talks about Meg in therapy and flashbacks show us Lucia's life as she grows up.  Lucia grows up a little too quickly and as she plays with fire she does indeed get burnt.  I found some of these scenes hard to read but that just shows the depth of emotion that was present in the writing.

A very well-written and addictive book, A Life Between Us surprised me at every turn.  I found myself engrossed equally in both stories, which is rather unusual for me as I usually prefer one timeline over another.  It is shocking at times but compassionately so, ensuring that the reader is made aware of the butterfly effect of one badly made decision.  

I chose to read to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:


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