In Her Wake (Amanda Jennings)

A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life.

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I didn’t know what I was expecting exactly, but I wasn’t expecting this. I thought this would be a psychological thriller. Instead, this was was such a dramatic story… and I loved every page. In Her Wake is a beautiful, sad and moving book about good people making wrong decisions. This is the second book I’ve read this year that deals with the same issue (I don’t want to say anything more) and both were outstanding. Let’s just say this: Bella is a shy and lonely woman who, after the death of her mother, discovers that her life is different from what she had always thought.

Bella is not your typical strong character at first sight: she’s incredibly anti-social and insecure and is married to a much older man who practically makes all the decisions in her life. When she finds out something regarding her parents, she decides to investigate on her own and moves to the Cornish coast. There, Bella will start gaining bit of independence and become a much more confident person.

I deeply enjoyed reading about Bella’s awakening and her relationship with Dawn. Dawn wasn’t an easy character to like at first and it took some time to warm up to her, but her story was so tragic that, after a while you couldn’t help but feel for her inmensely. In addition, I also loved how the parents were portrayed, with their virtues and flaws, something which I always find interesting to read.

Perhaps, the only thing that I didn’t like so much was that I felt like Bella’s husband was way too obviously possessive and toxic. I guess I like reading about characters who are more complicated and he was just too easy to hate. Then again, it completely made sense that Bella would marry him before the events of the book and I loved how she later started realizing that her relationship  wasn’t as healthy as she thought.

The ending had a few surprises that I didn’t expect: it was all so unfortunate and tragic that I had to stop myself from crying (I was reading it at the beach, so it wasn’t exactly the right moment…) All in all, this is a book I’d recommend to everyone, but especially those who want to read something different and emotional. And no, there’s no love story (well, there is, but not what you’re expecting).

Orenda Books, 2016

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review