The Empty Nest by Sue Watson
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 23rd November 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 1st November 2019)
★★★ 3.5 stars
THE EMPTY NEST is one of those books that I had high expectations for, particularly after enjoying "The Woman Next Door" so much. I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't find it nearly as enthralling as much as irritating. Having said that, it does get better...somewhat.
Kat Ellis is an over-protective mother whose 18 year old daughter has left for university. Sadly for Kat, Amy chose Aberyswyth in Wales over a hundred miles away which brings a whole new set of worries for her mother.
But then, had Kat been my mother I would have chosen Aberyswyth too...and I'm in Australia! Never a more annoying, irritating, insufferable woman have I ever encountered than Kat! That woman grated on my nerves from the first page, and while I did gain some insight and understanding into why she was like that, she still irritated me no end.
The first ten chapters are basically of Kat constantly staring at her phone and rambling nonsensically on and on, subsequently thinking, talking and analysing Amy's every movement. Why hasn't she called? Why hasn't she text? It's what she ALWAYS does! No, it's what's she always DID. Amy is 18 and has left for Uni...she's a big girl now and doesn't need her mum breathing down her neck every five minutes. But Kat refuses to believe that, saying that "a girl always needs her mum". While that is true...Kat just takes it to a whole new level, choking the life out of her daughter. "Smothering mothering" is the best term to describe her.
So when Amy fails to return home one weekend this of course sends Kat over the edge, causing her to imagine all sorts of horrors. Of course, she was just home two weeks before and mother and daughter have exchanged possibly around 100 phone calls and texts in that time. They speak daily without fail...until now. It has been two days and Kat has not heard from her daughter. She has not called...not answered her phone...not sent any text messages...she hasn't even been on social media!
Alarm bells start ringing for Kat, whilst her husband and best friend think she is just overreacting. The assure her that Amy is fine; she's probably just having a good time with her new friends, enjoying her new-found independence and just forgot to call. Forgot? Kat screeches. Amy never forgets to call or text, as she would know her mum would worry. The first ten chapters are honestly spent with this over-wrought, over-anaylitical, over-reacting mum obsessing over the sudden absence of her daughter's communication. No one is listening to Kat and her worries. Amy wouldn't just disappear and not call.
When husband Richard finally agrees that the police need to be contacted, Kat is relieved that he is finally listening to her. He calls the police in Wales and then they both make the two hour drive to Amy's uni in Aberyswyth. Upon arrival, it is soon apparent that Amy's room has not been slept in...and some of her clothes are missing. Has she any reason to run away, the police ask. Of course not, Kat responds. Is she an at-risk or vulnerable person, they ask. Kat wants to scream that of course she is at risk and vulnerable...she is not at home safe with me! But as the hours go by, just about everyone who knew Amy becomes a suspect.
Despite the fact that it is now clear that something has indeed happened to Amy, for the most part we are subjected to yet more agonising and analysing from Kat and some woeful conversations between her, her best friend Zoe and daughter Jodie. But then gradually, a different picture begins to emerge. No one, it appears, is who they seem. Kat has secrets of her own, relating back to her ex-husband and Amy's father. She has not even disclosed to Richard everything from her past. And what is Richard hiding? Who can she turn to when those closest to her around her keep telling her that this is normal behaviour for a teenager? Then when Tony, Amy's father, turns up Kat begins to wonder if her decision to cut him from their lives all those years ago was the right one. Does Tony know where Amy is?
As the story picks up pace, secrets begin to unravel and Kat questions just who she can truly trust as we accelerate towards a surprising conclusion.
I must admit that it was impossible for me to identify with Kat as I am not a mother myself, but even I could see the "smothering mothering" was bordering on unhealthy to dysfunctional. Yes, she had her reasons for her behaviour but I still can't quite grasp her need to be constantly tied to her daughter. And to be honest, I think the closeness Kat envisioned she and Amy shared was pretty much all in her mind. They were close, yes, but not in the way she thought. I think, as much as Amy loved her mum, she craved for the independence she would never have at home which is probably why she chose a uni over a hundred miles away in another country.
Despite my intense dislike of Kat, I gave her my full attention...whilst questioning my own sanity...and I stuck with it. I am glad I did because I was happy to note that the story came alive in the second half. And not because everyone finally started listening to Kat...because goodness knows, I wouldn't have. But because there were secrets to unravel and I love nothing more than some juicy secrets to pick through - the darker, the better.
I have to say that there there is not one likable character in THE EMPTY NEST, except Richard who I thought deserved a medal for putting up with Kat. But I thoroughly disliked Kat most of all. I'm not surprised Amy had disappeared...I think I would have too. And yet, the story is still engaging enough to keep you interested until it gets better... and it does.
Again, despite my intense dislike for Kat (that never changed throughout the book), THE EMPTY NEST is an addictive page turner once you get past the first several chapters of Kat's constant rambling, which inevitably slowed the pace dramatically to start with.
The one thing that saved this story were the twists at the end - albeit a little over the top maybe - but satisfying all the same. I must admit to feeling a kind of perverse pleasure as it unfolded.
Overall, THE EMPTY NEST is a slow burn thriller that will have you tearing your hair out. It will aggravate and irritate you but stick with it as the ending is bound to satisfy in some small perverse way.
I would like to thank #SueWatson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheEmptyNest in exchange for an honest review.
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