The Girl You Gave Away by Jess Ryder


☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 340 pages
Expected publication: March 20th 2020 by Bookouture
About the Book:
All she wanted was the life they had. It is the day of Erin’s fortieth birthday party. Pink and silver balloons drift through her garden, the platters of food are empty and the recycling is overflowing with empty wine bottles. As Erin mingles with groups of family and friends, surrounded by love and laughter, she feels like the luckiest woman alive. She has no idea what fate has in store. Then a little red envelope lands on the doormat and everything changes. Inside is a birthday card from somebody she never dreamed would get in touch. Its message is a chilling reminder of the dark past that Erin has worked so hard to bury, a past that could put her precious family in terrible danger.

Well, this one kept me guessing pretty much all the way through. I really thought I had it all worked out quite early on but, although I was partly right about some things, I was way off the mark with others right up until the very end. This is a great novel by Jess Ryder, a go to writer for me. It is a psychological thriller containing all of the necessary components , suspense, mystery, unusual family dynamics, subterfuge and love. The two main protagonists, Erin and Jade are very well fleshed out and are the mainstays of the novel.

Characterization was very well done. I changed my opinion about the main characters quite a bit along the way which is quite normal for a book of this genre. At times I wanted to slap them, other times I thought they could just do with a hug. Not sure I liked them but then that doesn't matter as long as there is some connection.

All in all, a well written book that will work as long as you keep your wits about you and suspend belief and believe in coincidence along the way. I'm definitely interested in seeing what the author has for me next time.

Thank you NetGalley, Jess Ryder and Bookouture for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheGirlYouGaveAway #NetGalley

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