We’ve had alot of rain recently, so it’s nice to see the sun, at least for a day (more rain in next week’s forecast… *sigh*). So I’ll make the best of the good weather today and go for a long walk, but first I have a steaming cup of chai tea with a few extra cloves thrown in for a bit of extra spiciness (*yum*), a date bar and a slice of banana bread to enjoy while I tell you about the book I read last week.
I don’t remember how I heard about this book, Her One Mistake, but I’m glad I came across it, as it was pretty unputdownable. This debut thriller by British author Heidi Perks is told from alternating points of view, and the narratives take place over a two week period. Charlotte and Harriet have been friends for the past five years, ever since Harriet moved into the village, although they couldn’t be more different. Charlotte is scattered, carefree and divorced, while Harriet is orderly, quiet and submissive, When Harriet asks Charlotte to watch her three-year-old daughter Alice one Saturday while she attends a bookkeeping course, Charlotte is thrilled, and makes plans to take all the children to the school fair. Harriet has never left Alice with anyone before, but Charlotte assures her that everything will be fine… until Alice disappears from the fair shortly after their arrival. Charlotte is frantic, Harriet is devastated, and Harriet’s husband, Brian, is furious. Who took Alice, and why? Could this abduction be linked to the recent abduction of a little boy, Mason, from the same village? Following the investigation through the eyes of Charlotte and Harriet, we learn, bit by bit, that all is not what it seems, and are drawn deeper and deeper into their lives until we discover the shocking truth. This psychological thriller had everything you could want in an “unreliable narrator” type thriller. It shifted from one point of view to another, and from one time period to another (not quite a “before” and “after”, more of a “during” and “after”). Having read quite a few of these types of novels, it was easy enough for me to guess what was going to happen, but I still enjoyed it, and thought Perks did a great job, especially since this was her first book. She will definitely be an author to watch, and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys these types of novels.
Oh, and I went to the big Used Book Sale on the weekend, both Friday and Saturday, and found quite a few books that I didn’t know I wanted but decided I had to have on my bookshelves. Friday is a day to choose individual titles that you really want, because you are charged per item, but Saturday is the “fun” day, when you can fill a box for $10, so you can put into your box anything that looks like it might be interesting. It’s my favourite weekend of the year, and this year did not disappoint.
That’s all for today. Get outside and enjoy the sunshine!
Bye for now…Julie
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