With eminent paediatrician Greg, single mother Tess has found an immediate connection and after a short romance, followed by a quick marriage and pregnancy, Tess and nine-year-old son Joe are heading out to Boston to start a new life with Greg. But from the get-go, it’s not the dream life Tess had hoped for: Greg is constantly working, Joe is struggling to settle in at school, and there’s strange, disturbing incidents at the house, not least with their hostile neighbour Helena and a mystery woman who keeps turning up. When ominous notes arrive and Tess begins to delve deeper into Greg’s past, she discovers a complex web of lies. But what exactly is going on? Lucy Atkins creates the unsettling and tense atmosphere of her novel extraordinarily well. She draws the readers into Tess’s predicament and makes them question and guess just what’s happening. Her depiction of Greg is especially enigmatical and you find yourself going back and forth with Tess to uncover the truth. Helena’s role is less convincing and I found the ending a bit deflating after all of the insinuations. Nonetheless it’s an addictive read that you’ll rush through to get to the conclusion and will appeal to fans of psychological drama. (JC)
