One step too far

This book was a recommendation to me from my mum. She's heard it had good reviews and had been likened to One Day and thought it would be my cup of tea. So I downloaded a sample from Amazon and read the first 3 chapters in record breaking time.

From the very outset as the lead character Emily walks away from her marriage and disappears to London to start a new life it grips you. The author weaves a tale of mystery as she flits backwards and forwards between Emily's old life and new and even back through her childhood and her relationship with her husband Ben. This was where the sample took me and I was so hooked I immediately downloaded the rest of the book.

I read it in just over 24 hours, I was gripped. The way in which Emily leaves her old life behind and starts anew is really well crafted. It really does make you question how she could possibly leave behind her family and swap it for a grotty London flat-share.

Mixing this with childhood tales of her tenuous relationship with her twin Caroline and the story of how her twin became the dysfunctional one of the pair, always in trouble and driving a wedge into the family leads you to a real sense of impending doom.

To be fair though Emily is not a perfect heroine, in the second part of the book she's not that likeable. Her new life is questionable and she's unraveling pretty quickly all around talk of the one year anniversary of the event that has clearly caused her to run away to begin with. When her new life does unravel it does so in spectacular fashion an in a way that made me feel the heroine was actually becoming quite difficult to like.

The big secret hinted at in the cover blurb was actually very touching, not as dramatic as I'd expected but devastating and redeemed Emily for some of her earlier behaviour (but not totally). The author has clearly written the book very cleverly so as to ensure that you cannot see it coming.

It has a nice ending, one that again is built to slowly and with some mystery to it and with a real sense of closure around all the characters. All the loose ends are tied up nicely so as to leave you with a sense of satisfaction.

This was a good book, not a comparison to One Day which was much more emotionally evocative but this had a darker undertone. It is very much worth reading and will grip you throughout so be warned not to make too many plans as once you start reading you'll find it hard to stop.