Title: Cross Her Heart
Expected publication: 4 September 2018
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
Lisa lives a very quiet life. A single mother nearing forty,
she devotes herself to raising her sixteen-year-old daughter, Ava. Wary of men,
Lisa doesn’t speak of her past or Ava’s absent father. Her best friend Marilyn
wishes she would open up more and maybe finally go on a date—with the sexy new
client who’s obviously keen—but Marilyn has problems of her own.
Ava is getting tired of her overprotective mother. She wants to live like a normal teenager—chill with friends, go to swim practice, study for exams, have a boyfriend. Her mom would freak if she knew that Ava’s already got someone special, someone who makes her feel sophisticated—and wanted.
Lisa has spent a long time looking over her shoulder, but lately she’s been especially uneasy. Small things from the past have begun to appear in the present, feeding her anxiety. As her life begins to unravel, Lisa knows that the only way she can protect herself and her daughter is to face her fears. Yet courage won’t be enough. She’ll need help from the only person she can trust—Marilyn. Between them they have to save Ava, and to do that, they have to be honest with each other. Truly honest. Marilyn did promise she’d do anything to help.
But a long time ago, Lisa made a promise too. Then she broke her word. And that betrayal hasn’t been forgotten—or forgiven.
Now, someone is going to make her pay for her sin.
Ava is getting tired of her overprotective mother. She wants to live like a normal teenager—chill with friends, go to swim practice, study for exams, have a boyfriend. Her mom would freak if she knew that Ava’s already got someone special, someone who makes her feel sophisticated—and wanted.
Lisa has spent a long time looking over her shoulder, but lately she’s been especially uneasy. Small things from the past have begun to appear in the present, feeding her anxiety. As her life begins to unravel, Lisa knows that the only way she can protect herself and her daughter is to face her fears. Yet courage won’t be enough. She’ll need help from the only person she can trust—Marilyn. Between them they have to save Ava, and to do that, they have to be honest with each other. Truly honest. Marilyn did promise she’d do anything to help.
But a long time ago, Lisa made a promise too. Then she broke her word. And that betrayal hasn’t been forgotten—or forgiven.
Now, someone is going to make her pay for her sin.
My musings:
Sarah Pinborough has been on my tbr list for ages and I had
heard so many good things about her that I was really excited to receive a
review copy of her latest thriller Cross Her Heart. The story starts innocently
enough in a been-there-done-that manner: a single mother (Lisa) of a teenager (Ava)is
living under the radar on the run from a deep dark secret in her past. A common
theme, and one that would be difficult to make stand-out-original, or so I
thought. I had of course not reckoned with his author’s skill! After having
been lulled into a false sense of security – BANG! There it was, the twist that
made the story stand out from the rest. And no, I will not be giving anything
away here, because this one is a book that should be dived into blindly – allow
yourself to get swept up in the story, knowing that there will be plenty of
surprises to come.
Not being able to reveal anything about the story leaves me
slightly at a loss for words when it comes to reviewing this book, except to
say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not have predicted its many
surprises. The story is being told from multiple POVs and different timelines,
which all do a great job to put doubt in the reader’s mind as to who is telling
the truth and who isn’t. Aren’t those mysteries of the best kind? Even though
the book deals with some very dark themes, the story never crossed the line for
me to make it too difficult to stomach and I appreciated the author’s honesty
in exploring some very disturbing issues. Pinborough has an engaging writing
style that drew me in immediately and will make me seek out more books from
this author, especially Behind Her Eyes, which I keep hearing about! Whilst
there was one character who missed the mark a little bit for me, and whose
actions didn’t always fully make sense, this was an enjoyable, gripping read I
devoured over the course of a weekend and have no trouble recommending to
lovers of the genre.
Thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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