Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott

Description : One Dark Secret. One act of revenge.

When Emma Joseph met her husband David, he was a man shattered by grief. His first wife had been killed outright when her car veered off the road. Just as tragically, their six-year-old daughter mysteriously vanished from the scene of the accident.

Now, six years later, Emma believes the painful years are behind them. She and David have built a new life together and have a beautiful baby son, Ollie.
Then a stranger walks into their lives, and their world tilts on its axis.
Emma’s life no longer feels secure. Does she know what really happened all those years ago? And why does she feel so frightened for herself and for her baby?

When a desperate Emma reaches out to her old friend DCI Tom Douglas for help, she puts all their lives in jeopardy. Before long, a web of deceit is revealed that shocks both Emma and Tom to the core.

They say you should never trust a stranger. Maybe they’re right.

Going back to my earlier post in February you will see I came across Rachel Abbott in January and after reading her third book first by accident I immediately got the first and second book to read.
I was hooked and totally delighted to find out book number four Stranger Child was due for release on February 24th, I instantly had it pre-ordered.
On the day of release Rachel Abbott had a launch party on Facebook and I was privileged to attend. I have to say it was great fun with competitions, party games and Rachel also made time to answer some questions. Rachel is genuinely a lovely, lovely lady.

It didn't take me long to read this book even though I was determined to make it last as long as I possibly could. I've now realised I have no will power what so ever because from the first page I was totally hooked and new it wasn't going to take me long.
I'm not sure how Rachel does it but again this book is totally different yet carrying on the story of DCI Tom Douglas (who I have to say I have a major soft spot for). We find out some of the unanswered questions from the previous book and Tom is as delightful a character as ever.

I felt many emotions during this book and wanted it to last for ever but was so desperate to find out what happened next. There's lots of twists and turns in the story and it had me wondering what I would do in Emma's situation if my child had been abducted.

I'm giving this book 5 stars as it's just a fantastic story and so well written and Rachel's attention to detail takes you right into the story and leaves you wanting more.

I'm so looking forward to book number five.

 

What Jennifer Saw by Hal Schweig

Description : Jim Harris, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist, and his wife, Mary Beth, along with their four beautiful children, are beloved as the "Jack and Jackie" of Monroeville, Missouri, a small town which considers itself "The Camelot of the Midwest." The murder of Jim Harris in time reveals the moral decay festering beneath this family's golden surface. Following the murder of her husband, Mary Beth Harris has metamorphosed suspiciously from a mousy hausfrau doting on her family to a newly energized vamp hurrying to a secret rendezvous with a mysterious lover. Her 24-year-old son later discovers a letter from her paramour, written shortly before his father's murder, and begins to agonize over the unthinkable. Self-absorbed, Mary Beth fails to recognize the desperate plight of her 15-year-old daughter, the ethereal Jennifer, who witnessed her father's murder, but is suffering post traumatic stress syndrome and cannot recall it. A brilliant but maverick psychiatrist, Dr. Timothy Adler, wrestling demons of his own, is brought in to treat her and discovers she is also in the grip of Multiple Personality Disorder. He gambles everything on one high-risk roll of the dice to decipher her psyche, which harbors a grotesque melange of angry "personas," one of whom holds the key to the identity of the killer and also possesses shocking knowledge about the murder victim as well. Dr. Adler knows that his battle against the cunning and malevolent alter egos who wish to possess Jennifer's soul must be successful, or else she may rapidly descend into madness and even death.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the description for this book and seeing the cover picture I was really excited to read this book and after the first chapter or so I really thought it was quite promising but sadly it's quite a muddled story. One minute you're in the Dr's office with Jennifer and the next minute it's jumped to Lt Braun, so I found myself a few times going back and checking I hadn't missed something.

A few of the characters in the book have some sort of mental disorder, with Jennifer having Multiple Personality Disorder which is quite an eye opener at some points it just seemed a bit crazy to me sometimes and hard to believe.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good story and I found myself wanting to find out what happened next but I feel if the story had a few tweaks and a bit more structure it would be a fantastic book and also a bit more about the main character and a little less about some of the others would be nice.

It has some shock factors and I will never look at a teaspoon in the same way again.

It will be interesting to see how this writer progresses in the future as the story is definitely there it's just the writings not on the same level which is a real shame.

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