Review: The Memory by Lucy Dawson

Many years ago something happened to my daughter Isobel, something that broke her from the inside. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces…

When tragedy strikes, single mother Eve retreats with her daughter Isobel to Fox Cottage, their isolated home on the outskirts of town. Izzie, seven years old and sensitive, needs time to heal away from prying eyes.

Days become years and the town moves on, but Eve won’t let go and Isobel can’t grow up. When a new family comes to Fox Cottage, their presence in the house will unearth a dark past that has long been buried… that somebody close to them would do anything to hide. It will expose secrets that Eve never knew about her own daughter – that she can scarcely believe could be true…

Review

Lucy Dawson is an author whose books I have always enjoyed. The Memory turned out to be different from anything that I have read by her. The story mainly revolves around Isobel and her mom, Eve and Timothy and his wife, Claire.

This was an atmospheric read with an interesting setting.  Fox Cottage, where most of the story is set, is a huge, old house. I still can’t tell you exactly how many rooms it had. The house is kinda falling apart with musty, old carpets, a door that sticks. I can tell it had a smell even if the author didn’t out rightly say so. This house had such a creepy vibe to it that added to the tension in the narrative. At the same time, there was something charming about it.

The Memory is a slow burn thriller. The suspense took time to build though it did lead to an explosive ending. There were mysteries that held my attention especially surrounding Izzie. Some of the events had my scratching my head wondering whether there was something supernatural going on. Another thing that I loved was the descriptive writing. I feel like I can recognize Isobel if I ever met her. I can imagine her child-like voice and the long hair. The author also gave the old house a personality. It was so vividly described that I can still picture some of the rooms. The descriptive writing wasn’t just in the main things but other smaller details such as Adam’s Van. I always appreciate writing that everything come alive like that.

Although I loved the writing and especially the descriptiveness, the pace and parts of the dialogue did bother me a bit and I found myself frequently checking how many pages were left on my kindle.  In the end, I liked this story but I didn’t love it like I thought I would.

Review: White Lies by Lucy Dawson

When you have everything, you have everything to lose…

Alexandra Inglis is a respected family doctor, trusted by her patients to keep their most intimate secrets. And if sometimes the boundaries between duty and desire blur… well, she’s only human.

But when Alex oversteps a line with Jonathan, one of her patients, she knows she’s gone too far. Jonathan is obsessive, and to get what he wants he will tear Alex’s world apart – threatening not only her career but her marriage and family too.

Soon Alex finds she’s capable of doing almost anything to keep hold of her perfect life, as it begins to spin dangerously out of her control…

Review

Wow! I was impressed by Dawson’s previous title, The Daughter. Once again, I am completely in awe of her writing and storytelling. In White Lies, Alex goes to Ibiza and ends up having one night stand. If you read the book, you will understand the reasons why she decided to do this. Alex doesn’t usually take such risks; she is a mother, a doctor and … a wife. With lot remorse, she hopes to put the incident behind her. Needless to say, things don’t quite work out that way especially when the past refuses to remain hidden.

The story is narrated through multiple POVs. Alex tells her side of the story about her night with Jonathan. We then get to follow her narration on how the night affected her life. Jonathan is also another main narrator. We get his side of events before and after the incident. There are a few chapters narrated by David, Alex’s colleague, Rob, her husband and Cherry, Jonathan’s girlfriend.

This was quite a roller-coaster. I thought the story was going to be pretty straightforward but soon realized that there were way too many versions of the same incident hence making it hard to guess who was telling the truth. I kept shifting between Alex and Jonathan because both were so convincing. I like the character development in the story. The author made it easy to understand each of the personalities. I was especially drawn to Alex whose life was quickly unraveling because of that ‘one’ drunk, mistake.

This book has unpredictable twists. The tension escalated towards the end with a couple of reveals that made my jaw drop. The final chapter left me thinking about the reveals and their implications. You know how you read a book and then  start analyzing events and thinking about how certain things could have happened differently if the characters had made different decisions? I am still thinking about this one and I love the fact that the author decided to end the book that way. No, it wasn’t a cliffhanger but an ending that just makes you analyze everything.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, White Lies by Lucy Dawson is perfect for you. Its fast-past paced, captivating with enough suspense to keep you turning pages until the end.

Review: The Daughter by Lucy Dawson

You lost your daughter. You will never forgive yourself. And now someone’s determined to make you pay…
Seventeen years ago, something happened to Jess’s daughter Beth. The memory of it still makes her blood run cold. Jess has tried everything to make peace with that day, and the part she played in what happened. It was only a brief moment of desire… but she’ll pay for it with a lifetime of guilt.

To distance herself from the mistakes of the past, Jess has moved away and started over with her family. But when terrifying things begin happening in her new home, seemingly connected to what happened to Beth, Jess knows that her past has finally caught up with her. Somebody feels Jess hasn’t paid enough, and is determined to make her suffer for the secrets she’s kept all these years.

Review

Let me start by saying that I was wrong about this book. I read the first sentence in the blurb and immediately made an assumption on what the book would be about. The first chapters caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to feel such heartbreak. I was fighting back tears as I turned the pages. However, the story gradually changes as it progresses.

So 17 years ago, Jess lost her daughter and this is where the story begins. Readers are taken back to that day. The author shares details of the day right from when it started. Some of these details later prove to be key in the story. After the first chapters, the story moves to 17 years after the tragedy when weird things start happening.

Jess is the MC in the story and the story is narrated from her POV. She is easily likeable and relatable. Still, there are events that took place that made me want to yell at her. However, her character was so well crafted that it was easy to understand even her ‘crazy’ actions.

I loved the suspense in the story. I was able to guess part of the mystery a bit early. I knew who the perpetrator was and guessed their backstory. However, I wasn’t one hundred percent certain. The author brilliantly managed to throw me off and I ended up changing my mind a couple of times. In the end, my guess was right but I was still surprised by the reveal. I think the author handled this aspect really well.

As you can probably tell already, I enjoyed this book. I liked the premise and the twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed reading  about the characters and I admit, I absolutely fell in love with one, little gentleman called James. This is an entertaining, gripping read perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.