"This was how you lived with a terrible secret. You just did it. You pretended everything was fine. You ignored the deep, cramplike pain in your stomach. You somehow anesthetized yourself so that nothing felt that bad, but nothing felt that good either"
PLOT
The novel follows the lives of three women with lives that are apparently unrelated to one another (beside the fact that they live in the same country, Australia).
Cecilia Fitzpatrick is a succesful and perfectionist woman with a perfect marriage. She is married to John Paul and has three daughters. She wishes for something shocking to happen, and it definitely does happen. One day, she finds a letter that her husband wrote in the event of his death. She struggles on whether to read the letter or not.
Tess O'Leary discovers her cousin, Felicity, is having an affair with her husband. While she decides what to do, she decides to go to her mother's house to take care of her and reflect on whether to divorce or not.
Rachel Crowley is a woman about to lose her grandson, Jacob, because her son is moving out thanks to his succesful wife. Rachel is still mourning the death of her daughter, Janie who died under mysterious circumstances, and her killer was never found.
It would seem that these three women are from different planets altogether, but Cecilia's decision to open John Paul's letter is the event that sets in motion a number of incidents that reveal an uncomfortable truth and a bitter connection.
STRUCTURE
Moriarty uses a present timeline intertwined with flashbacks to the main mystery (Janie's murder).
The novel goes one character at the time, detailing their every day lives. It is until Cecilia opens John Paul's letter that the connection between the three of them makes sense, otherwise, it feels like reading three short novellas.
THEMES
Grief and guilt are the two main topics that this book deals with. Cecilia wonders if she should share the knowledge of the secret she has discovered, evidence of an old crime that has not ben forgotten. Rachel is unable to move on even though there are many reasons to continue moving forward. Tess has an affair with the main suspect of Janie's crime, and she wonders if she should fight for her marriage or just continue a new life.
The narration is excellent although the constant mention of Berlin wall topic is highly annoying and unnecessary. It felt like an attempt to add a historical detail to a story that really did not need it just to pretend that you know about a specific topic or event.
A book with an ambitious premise that sadly fails to deliver in the third act. While I was reading the final chapters, I felt as it the book was really starting to prepare for some important points, shocking plot twists, innovative character development, but the ending ended up being flat, average and easily forgettable. Besides that, was Tess' plot really necessary?
CHARACTERS: 5/10 (Tess' storyline was the weakest point of the novel and Cecilia was not quite likeable or relateable)
PLOT DEVELOPMENT: 7/10
THEMES: 6/10
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