It doesn’t matter how many books you have written, seeing a
review of one of your books never ceases to bring a huge smile. The review
below was added on Amazon 2nd November for The Wendy House.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2020
Nicola’s father has just died and she has something urgent
to tell her mother Barbara. She is drinking too much and who is the man in the
wheelchair she shows such disdain for?
The narrative of the past is woven into the present as we come to understand just what happened to Nicola as a child. The tension is skilfully built and the way her abuser grooms her when babysitting her is realistic and authentic. Nicola trusts him, why wouldn’t she? He is a kind and generous friend of the family.
What follows is a heartbreaking account of that betrayal and the effects on Nicola who is determined to protect her younger sister Becky at all costs.
Nicola’s bad choice of relationships is explored and her mistaking sex for real love after her early abusive relationship is very well done.
But what drives the suspense throughout the whole book is the conflict between mother and daughter: her mother seeing her as a rebellious and promiscuous daughter when we as the reader are privy to the truth. We want so much for the mother to know what the daughter has been subjected to but the shame, secrecy and blackmail have destroyed Nicola’s trust and confidence.
I won’t add any spoilers but this is an important subject which the author hasn’t shied away from but has written with great sensitivity and authenticity.
The Wendy House has receive two distinctive awards.
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