This is a fantastic read. No gore or terrifying and brutal detail, just a clever, beautifully written psychological thriller that keeps you guessing. Who did murder Izzy's Mum all those years ago? Was it her father who was convicted, lost his appeal and spent 20 years in prison? Or was it someone else?
This story is breath-taking in its sadness, how a 17 year old girl loses both her Mum and her Dad, her home, her ballet and her boyfriend because of a murder. Izzy is trapped running her Mum's restaurant, trapped in the past, bereft of a family and too scared to examine how her life has become what it is.
Her Dad is released from prison and it follows a short period where Izzy is drawn into her own investigation, hiding her exploits from her husband and meeting alone with her Dad. It is such a vivid portrayal of innocence and loss, of doubt and certainty, of memories and love.
I found the end so poignant. Tears were running down my face. The book left me with a huge gap in my reading heart. I felt Izzy's pain and Gabe's pain too so accutely (Gabe is Izzy's father). There were some revelations towards the end of the book that left me gasping with shock and crying for so many lost years.
The book ends on a hopeful note (although for me it was still immeasurably sad) with Izzy finally living the life she wants and Gabe doing what he wants to do too. Displacement, suspicion, dead ends and deliberately misleading clues make this book a TERRIFIC read.
I am off to devour the rest of Gillian McAllister's novels.