"He released her immediately and she fell backwards, gurgling. She was almost but not quite dead, so I grabbed the crook lock from the footwell at her feet and smashed it down on to her skull, just once."
Liz Nugent's novel is a slow paced novel constantly full of revelations and twists. It's a somber psychological thriller about what we do to protect our loved ones, and on what one is capable of doing to keep them with us at no cost.
PLOT
Lydia and Andrew, her husband, murder a girl during an argument gone wrong. They cover up the murder as an investigation unfolds on what happened. Lydia is decided to cover up this event that might have repercusions for the family, but specially would put in danger Lydia's economical position. They consider that no one will suspect them, but their own son, Laurence, distrusts his father who is unable to conceal his concern.
The explanations behind this murder unravel slowly: the girl who was murdered, Annie Doyle had been hired to be a surrogate mother, but eventually tried to take advantage and bribe Andrew because he is a very renowned judge. Lydia feels completely justified in her actions, but her husband eventually dies because of guilt.
Laurence discovers the body of Annie accidentally, and his mother asks him to keep the secret given the repercusions of coming clean.
This would seem the end of it, but Annie's family constantly look for her and her sister, Karen, knows that there is more than meets the eye and never loses hope of finding her sister.
Years later as Karen still is looking for her sister and after becoming a model, she meets Laurence who falls in love with her and promises to help her find her sister just to hinder the process by giving her false information. Eventually, he sends her some letters pretending to be Annie. Karen believes in the content of the letters but does not stop her quest for the truth.
Lydia is the mastermind behind all the schemes that Laurence uses to distract Karen from finding the truth. Eventually, Laurence makes too many mistakes and it's not difficult for Karen to realize that she has been tricked, but she believes Laurence has done it for love.
Fearing that she will lose her son, Lydia lies to Karen on her first visit to the glamorous house that intimidates Laurence's girlfriend. Lydia hints (in not a very subtle way) that it was Laurence that accidentally killed Annie in a hit-and-run accident. Karen leaves the place astonished and apalled. Lydia confesses her nasty scheme to her son who has a heart-attack due to his poor health condition. Karen never gets to know the truth.
STRUCTURE
The novel is narrated by Lydia Fitzsimons, Laurence and Karen independently and we see their limited versions of the truth, specially Karen.
Lydia's narrative constantly goes back to the past. It is mentioned she was abandoned by her mother and that she accidentally killed her sister. These are events that shape Lydia's character and eventual weak state of mind. However, most of the events take place in the present.
THEMES
Motherhood is a very complex theme. Lydia is an overprotective mother while Annie was a reckless teenager who was obliged to give up her daughter in adoption.
Mental illness is an important topic mostly conveyed through Lydia's childhood and life experiences.
ABOUT THE ENDING:
I have never been a fan of happy endings, but this on was too bleak for my taste. Laurence is left to his mother's care which is not a solace, and Karen comes back to an abusive husband and never discovers that Laurence did love her and did not kill her sister. It was a bold move on the author, but a confusing one.
CHARACTER: 7/10 (I really liked Lydia's character at first, but later got confused about her true temple during her constant breakdowns)
PLOT DEVELOPMENT: 8/10
THEMES: 6/10
GRADE: Good
What did you think of this novel? Do you think this should have ended differently?
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