The hook:
Still grieving the loss of her father, Seraphine finds some photos of the day she was born- the day her mother died- that leave her with unanswered questions. Questions her family seems to want her to stop asking.
My impressions:
I’m absolutely a sucker for anything with old family secrets and dodgy characters with too much to hide, and this story scratched that itch beautifully. Honestly I had been hoping for some sort of Turn of the Screw retelling, given the popularity of The Haunting of Bly Manor and the like. Still, despite the fact that this was a very different kind of story, it was thoroughly satisfying, and the twists were scandalous and intriguing.
I would recommend this book highly as a beach read sort of thriller, the type that will keep you hooked and reading to the end without keeping you up at night after. The characters aren’t the most relatable, but they’re easy to root for, and you’ll certainly find yourself wanting to unearth all their secrets.
Where this book really succeeds is in the pacing. It isn’t necessarily as breakneck as some mysteries, instead it unfolds one petal at a time until the full blooming picture is there for the reader to see and the characters to react to. If you like stories about complicated families with long buried secrets, I’ve got your next summer beach read!
Happy reading!
Kat Pollock 