My Review:
I’ve read a few books by the author and have always enjoyed them so I was keen to read Missing Pieces. However, once it was published I read a few reviews by bloggers that I trust that made me unsure about whether I would enjoy it. I normally try not to let reviews influence me but it did mean that Missing Pieces sank down my tbr pile.
It is unfortunate that I kind of wish that it had stayed there. Although the writing was good and it was easy to read with decent characters the story just did not grab me. I think that the reason is that the book gets straight into the story, there is absolutely no getting to know the characters before they’re thrown into turmoil by the events in the book, this meant that I really wasn’t sure what I thought about the main character, Sarah, although as the book went on I liked her less and less, but was she a reliable narrator? That I didn’t know and I think that the book suffered as a result.
When Sarah’s husband’s Aunt is critically ill in hospital after a fall down the stairs in her home Sarah and Jack head to his hometown, somewhere that he hasn’t returned to since he left twenty years ago. Sarah has never met any of Jack’s family and is looking forward to meeting them, she knows that Jack’s parents died in a car accident when Jack was a teenager and his aunt and uncle looked after him and his sister Amy.
However, soon after they arrive it becomes clear to Sarah that maybe she doesn’t know her husband as well as she thought that she did. This is where things got a bit difficult for me, Sarah’s reaction seemed slightly unusual, as did the actions of one of the locals who decided to help Sarah investigate her husband’s past.
If I’m honest I nearly gave up on this book many times, I felt guilty that it had taken me so long to get round to reading this book to review and that kept me going, it is also quite easy to read so I kept going. I was pretty sure that I’d worked things out long before the end, and I’m giving the book an extra half a star because the ending wasn’t quite what I had expected.
I’m not sure what went wrong with the author for this book, as I said I’ve read other books by Heather that I’ve really enjoyed, but next time I will be less keen to read one which is a shame.
I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley, I was under no obligation to review and all thoughts are my own.
Blurb:
A woman uncovers earth-shattering secrets about her husband’s family in this chilling page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf
Sarah Quinlan’s husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded.
Upon arriving in Penny Gate, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago—barely a trace of the wounds that had once devastated them all. But as facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack’s past. But the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for.
Missing Pieces is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
If only I could read faster 