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Sunday 24 June 2018

THE GRAVE TENDER by Eliza Maxwell

The Grave Tender My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The other day, hubby signed us up for Amazon Prime. So of course I had to check out the books that were on offer, and see how this Prime thing works. Turns out that it's pretty much like a library, and I get to borrow 10 books at a time. Sweet!

This was the first one I grabbed, and I'm very glad I did.

Hadley Dixon's family has always been the topic of conversation. Between the problems her strange mother has and her reclusive, scarred uncle, there's plenty to assume. But Hadley's a happy child and enjoys spending time with her friends.

When one of them goes missing, and then her mother's desperation reaches breaking point, Hadley's world is turned upside down.

Years later, when she returns to the small town with a daughter and is now a widow, she must face the awful truth about what happened to the lost boy. And how it ties back to her crumbling family...

Oh my god.

Let me just take a deep breath, and... exhale.

This book is really something. A work of psychological suspense that creeps up on you. One minute you're getting to know four little kids and how their rocky friendships are actually based on something much stronger. And the next, a disappearance and fire destroys any sense of childish ease the story introduced.

Wow.

Yeah, this is an emotionally-heavy story that doesn't shy away from the terrible scars an abusive family member can cause. How they ripple out and physically destroy some, damage others beyond repair, and in the worst case scenario can breed the cycle of corruption.

I was pretty much hooked by the writing style, and kept firmly gripped by the characters. In spite of the uncomfortable and disturbing narrative, this is a book worth reading.

This story definitely gets inside your head. I couldn't put it down.


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