Picture of Innocence by T.J. Stimson (ARC)
Genre: Domestic Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Read: 19th November 2018
Purchase: Amazon (pre-order)
(release date: 18th April 2019)
★★★★★ 5 stars
I was given an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
WOW! I've not read Tess Stimson before as I understand she wrote primarily romance novels before deciding to try her hand at a thriller. Well, I hope she doesn't stop there because PICTURE OF INNOCENCE is an absolute compelling page-turner! I'd read the first half in one sitting and had to call it a night at 3am to actually get some sleep. Needless to say I completed it the following night.
PICTURE OF INNOCENCE is an emotional family drama meets psychological thriller with a killer twist you won't see coming! I didn't see it till just before it unfolded and then I got that "a-ha!" moment and began to realise just what erally occurred. Admittedly, I did suspect at some point as just an idea - a notion - I'm not sure I really expected it to be what actually happened. But WOW!
The story begins with Maddie, mother to three children - Emily, Jacob and Noah - and husband Lucas. Outside, she is a happy young mother running an animal sanctuary charity as well as a household; but inside, she is exhausted. Maddie is struggling to juggle everything with the demands of a colicky newborn who is constantly crying and unable to settle, a teething toddler and the financial restraints her charity is facing. Her one true rock is her husband Lucas and her 9 year old daughter Emily, who had always been a happy and settled child from the moment she was born. Maddie was mistaken to think her other children could be as well-adjusted as Emily.
But then strange things begin to happen. Maddie begins losing time, suddenly finding herself somewhere - in a room, in the car, in her office - without any memory of getting there or what she had been doing beforehand. It frightens her but she doesn't confide in Lucas or her mother. Or anyone. Then in the early hours of one morning, she suddenly wakes to find herself in her rocking chair beside Noah's cot...with no Noah. What happened? She is alarmed to find Noah had slipped from her arms down beside the chair with his face wedged against the arm railings. Afraid to admit the truth to Lucas - should he begin to question her ability to look after the children - she absently makes up a story of finding him wedged against the bars in his cot.
All is forgotten until Noah is found dead in his cot the following morning. It is assumed it was a simple yet tragic case of cot death, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (known here in Australia as SIDS), but then the police begin to question how Noah actually died. The bruises on his face. They don't believe Maddie and question her for hours. But she would never hurt her son. But...what if she can't remember? DID she do this in one of her blackouts? Should she tell the police about them? Maddie doesn't know what to do, as her life begins to fall apart.
While Maddie's story is unfolding we then meet a young girl called Lydia. There is no time on when Lydia's story takes place, but it begins when she is about four. Lydia lives a horrific life, abused at the hands of her mother. One day when her mother is "entertaining" one of her punters and he absently corners Lydia in the bathroom, her mother confronts the punter and asks him "How much?" From that day on, Lydia is regularly prostituted by her mother from an early age. Her mother made no secret of what a bad girl she was and how she should have gotten rid of her before she was born. Lydia had no self-worth and no self-confidence. Whilst being raped by her mother's punters, she took herself to a place where she felt nothing. Although her mother constantly told her she was a bad girl, deep down Lydia knew she wasn't an evil person...but maybe she was a bad person. Because when she was 11 years old she did something bad. Something unforgivable.
As Lydia and Maddie's stories unfold, you begin to wonder who Lydia is and how she fits into this present day story. As there was no time as to when Lydia's story took place, you find yourself pondering who is at a loose end in the story who could be Lydia. The most obvious seemed the most likely particularly as Ms Stimson threw in a few aspects that would lead the reader to the said conclusion. But was it too obvious? Or was being too obvious just a red herring to lead us in a different direction? Either way, once you discover Lydia's identity it will make perfect sense. And of course sends Maddie on a journey to find out the truth, because she is appalled to think that someone she knows, loves and trusted could have done such a horrible and unforgivable thing.
But then Maddie has another blackout. This time whilst driving. And the next thing she knows she wakes up in a foreign place without any memory of how she got there or what had happened. Everything she had learnt about Lydia's past is wiped from her memory when she had the blackout. And Maddie wonders who can she trust? Can she even trust herself?
PICTURE OF INNOCENCE is every mother's worst nightmare. In more ways than one. But it is not a story you know...and nothing is what it seems. Looks can be deceiving because everyone is capable of terrible things. Even the most innocent.
A dark and disturbing story, PICTURE OF INNOCENCE explores themes or nature vs nurture, grief and loss and how far we'd go to protect the ones we love. A multi-layered thriller that will give you the chills and keep you guessing to the end, #PICTURE OF INNOCENCE is a definite book to look out for when it is released. I HIGHLY recommend it! You won't be disappointed.
Thank you to the #TJStimson, #NetGalley and #AvonUK for an ARC of this most exciting and compelling read #PictureOfInnocence in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Since then, she's written more than a dozen novels, numerous short stories, and two non-fiction books, which have been published internationally and translated into more than twenty languages.
In recent years, Tess has moved away from writing women’s fiction and towards darker psychological thrillers, which seem to suit her personality better. As well as writing fiction she continues to work as a journalist, and also teach reporting for media and creative writing at a university in the North-Eastern US.
Tess live in Vermont with her husband, and am visited intermittently by her three grown-up children whenever they need their laundry done.
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