The Staffymum's Book Nook: Louise Jensen

Showing posts with label Louise Jensen. Show all posts

Friday, 25 April 2025

REVIEW: The Liar by Louise Jensen

The Liar by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller

Read: 25th April 2025

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 24th April 2025

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The Abbotts’ new lodger Luke hasn’t told them much about himself, but they can’t expect to know everything about a stranger who’s just moved in.

But Luke keeps asking about their family photos and looking through their things. Why does he want to know everything about them? And why does daughter Jen think someone is watching her?

Then, suddenly, Mum Mel texts the family to say she needs a break. But Mel has never gone away alone before. And now it’s been days, and no one has heard from her.

The Abbotts’ house is full of secrets.

They say people never tell the whole truth.

They’re right.

MY THOUGHTS:

I think this is the seventh or eighth book by Louise Jensen I've read and I just love her style. She begins with a slow burn - but not in sluggish way that makes you lose interest or wonder when you are going to get to the point. More of a build up of atmosphere as each of her thrillers have been. Though this one had more of a domestic suspense feel to it rather than the atmospheric chill of previous thrillers. A tale of secrets and lies and whole load of drama that leads to even more secrets and lies.

The Abbott family are just your average family - loving and caring. Mel is a single mother of two - Jen (26) and Amy (13). She's a social worker and fights for the underdog and the misunderstood. When Jen was about sixteen, she took in her best friend Camilla after the foster system spat her out and loved her as her own. In fact, she became like another daughter. Then when Camilla gave birth to Mason, Mel and her family doted on him. So when Camilla and Mason move into their own flat, Mel's house seems that little bit empty. And so they decide to take in a lodger.

Mel loves her family, she loves her life. But many years ago, she did something which she fears has come back to haunt them. But as she keeps those fears to herself, when she goes missing no one is aware of those fears or what she did for them to come back to haunt her.

As the hours turn into days, Jen receives word from her mum that she needs some time out but will be home soon. And the lodger didn't turn up when he was meant to, instead showing up the day after looking at her somewhat blankly. Despite this, Jen and Amy decide if their mother checked him out and was happy with him then they are too. Until they find him rifling through things which don't concern him. What exactly is he doing here? And what does he want with them? Does he know what's happened to Mel?

This is a deftly woven tale that to say much more would give too much away. Suffice to say things get a little complicated before being made clear but Jensen weaves her tale through the multiple timelines and narratives with expertise. I devoured this in a day. I'm sure you will too.

I did note in the final lines of the book, I welled up somewhat as I felt it rather poignant and somewhat fitting considering Jensen's mother passed away just before the book published. When you read those final lines, you will know what I mean.

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen, #Netgalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheLiar in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate, The Date and The Family. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Louise's sixth thriller, The Stolen Sisters will be published in Autumn by Harper Collins.

The Sister was nominated for the Goodreads Debut of 2016 Award. The Date was nominated for The Guardian's 'Not The Booker' Prize 2018. The Surrogate was nominated for the best Polish thriller of 2018. The Gift has been optioned for a TV film. The Family was a Fern Britton Book Club pick. Louise was also listed for two CWA Dagger Awards.

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Tuesday, 9 April 2024

REVIEW: The Intruders by Louise Jensen

The Intruders by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 9th April 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 11th April 2024

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

They were told to leave. They should have listened.

The perfect opportunity…

A manor house available rent-free to house-sitters is an offer too good to miss for Cass and James, who have been saving for a deposit on their own home for so long.

Although it had been abandoned for almost thirty years, after a home invasion left almost all the inhabitants dead, it is an amazing chance for them to build their future.

But is it worth the price?

Shortly after moving in things take a sinister turn. Objects disappear and turn up in odd places, the clock always stops at the same time, the house is strangely oppressive and sometimes it feels like Cass and James are not alone.

Newington House may have bad energy, and a dark reputation. But surely there’s no reason for history to repeat itself, is there?

MY THOUGHTS:

They were told to leave...they should have listened...

Holy flipping moly!! This was one super creepy thriller...and not at all what I expected. I feel a touch of John Marrs with this one and boy, did Louise Jensen pull the wool ever so neatly over my eyes that I didn't see what really was at play until it began to unravel.

Newington House sits dormant, abandoned and untouched for thirty years. It has a past that is so shocking and so much more than met the eye at the time. Thirty years ago, the Madley family were brutally murdered, their secrets dying along with them.

Thirty years later, James has brought girlfriend Cass to Newington, agreeing to house-sit for a big conglomerate who intend to turn the Grade 1 listed house into a retreat. Though she was oblivious to its history to begin with, Cass soon decided it was the perfect opportunity for her and James to save a deposit for their own place as they are being paid to live as caretakers for the duration.

But it isn't long before Cass begins to hear whispers, sees shadows and movement, hears the creaking of the swing, the rocking of the chair in the nursery. The breeze from the window that is continually opened. The grandfather clock that stops at 8.30 every night. The scent of lemon. The giggling, the sing-song nursery rhymes and the strains of an old song about rabbits and running. Cass is confused. What does it all mean? Is Newington House haunted? Is the ghost of the murdered family still rattling around the rooms and creaking on the stairs? And why does he name Rose echo around her?

The same opportunity that seemed to good to be true is starting to look like it is just that. Cass starts to fear being in the house on her own and feels as if she is being watched. But nothing will prepare the reader for what is to come...

The creaks and sounds of the house echo through the pages as Louise Jensen skilfully pens this cleverly crafted plot that will fool even the seasoned thriller fan. I have read a good many of her thrillers and this has to be the creepiest...one that she takes to a whole new level! As I said, I felt tinges of John Marrs in this one, it was so creepy, so chilling and so cleverly done.

And can we just take a moment to appreciate that creepy, atmospheric and chilling cover? It gives me vibes of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "Psycho" in one!

How very apt that this extraordinary atmospheric thriller that is an addictive read from beginning to end is my 1000th review for Netgalley. I am thrilled that this is to mark that milestone with such a fantastic read!

Easily 5 stars!

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen #Netgalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheIntruders in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Monday, 24 April 2023

REVIEW: The Fall by Louise Jensen

The Fall by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 23rd April 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 27th July 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

She promised not to tell. They made sure she couldn’t…

At her surprise 40th birthday party, Kate Granger feels like the luckiest woman in the world but just hours later her fifteen-year-old daughter, Caily, is found unconscious underneath a bridge when she should have been at school.

Now, Caily lies comatose in her hospital bed, and the police don’t believe it was an accident. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that not everyone in the family was where they claimed to be at the time of her fall.

Caily should be safe in hospital but not everyone wants her to wake up. Someone is desperate to protect the truth and it isn’t just Caily’s life that is in danger.

Because some secrets are worth killing for…

MY THOUGHTS:

She promised not to tell...they made sure she didn't...

It has been such a while since I've read a Louise Jensen thriller that I'd forgotten how well she can spin a tale. And that is why, despite only a few hours sleep, I have devoured THE FALL in under twenty-four hours. So many twists; so many secrets. I flipped through all 450 pages faster than I could read them. Short chapters kept the pace moving and multiple perspectives kept it interesting. who pushed Caily from the bridge? And why? And what secrets are they trying to keep from coming out? A family under pressure from all angles, nothing will prepare them for what is about to unfold.

Twins Kate and Beth have just turned forty and celebrated with a surprise party in a barn on the family farm. Throughout their entire lives they have been each other's half, always there when they need one another. But a day after their party, Kate's world comes crashing down when her 15 year old daughter Caily is found unconscious below a rickety bridge, having been pulled from the water. Her rescuer dialed 999 but was nowhere to be found once emergency services arrived. Rushed straight to hospital, Caily is in a coma having suffered a head injury and nearly drowning. But only time will tell when and if she comes out of the coma and how much she has been affected by the fall.

Kate gets the call and rushes to her daughter's bedside. What was Caily doing on the bridge? She should have been at school doing the final rehearsal for the opening night of "La La Land" in which Caily had the female lead. So why was she on the bridge and not rehearsing? And Caily's cousin Tegan came bursting into the house she shared with her mum Beth, Kate's twin sister, tears streaming down her face the moment Kate received the call about Caily. Did she have something to do with Caily's accident? Does Tegan know more than she's letting on?

Both fifteen, Caily and Tegan are more like siblings than cousins and they do everything together. Actually, interestingly enough I recently read that genetically, children of identical twins are more half-siblings than first cousins. Anyway, the girls are as inseparable as their mothers have always been with their own language - "I see you" countered with "I saw you first" - and their indivisible closeness. When Caily wins the female lead with Tegan as her understudy the girls are thrilled and can't wait to share the news with their family. But jealousy is rife and one Dani King can't help but make pig references to Caily with utterances of "oink oink" which only serves to chip away at Caily's already dwindling confidence. And that is only the beginning.

Add to this a nefarious character or two, some secret plotting while other secrets are exposed...with Caily uncovering one of them, did someone then serve to silence her for good before she could reveal what she discovered? Or was it the cyberbullying that lead to her fall? Caily's despair is felt throughout in the lead-up to her fall as is the despair of those around her. Everyone, it seems, has secrets to hide but who would want to silence a teenage girl to keep them hidden?

Louise Jensen is a masterful storyteller. Her settings are always atmospheric and Marsh Farm was the perfect backdrop for the unravelling of all their lives. There is a sense of claustrophobia, a tension that's palpable and a growing despair amongst the characters that just may be their downfall. There's a growing threat of danger as revelations emerge whilst a suspicion towards foul play over what happened to Caily is ever present. But who would push her and why? Everyone but everyone is under scrutiny that no one escapes suspicion.

THE FALL is a totally immersive and atmospheric psychological thriller in which twist after twist and secret after secret is unravelled. Prepare to be shocked because I was. I never suspected for a moment. But once it became clear, I just felt so so sad. In the end, it was a tragic tale. But without question, an addictive and compelling read from beginning to end.

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen, #Netgalley and #HQStories for an ARC of #TheFall in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Sunday, 30 January 2022

REVIEW: All for You by Louise Jensen

All for You by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 29th January 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 20th January 2022

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Meet the Walsh Family.

Lucy: Loving mother. Devoted wife. And falling to pieces.

Aidan: Dedicated father. Faithful husband. And in too deep.

Connor: Hardworking son. Loyal friend. But can never tell the truth.

Everyone in this family is hiding something, but one secret will turn out to be the deadliest of all . . .

Can this family ever recover when the truth finally comes out?

IT WAS ALL FOR YOU.

MY REVIEW:

O.M.G.!! What a wild ride that I read in almost one sitting and definitely completed in one day...staying up until the wee hours to unravel the mystery and find out just what the hell was going on! Louise Jensen is one of my favourite authors, though she has written just a handful of thrillers, none of them are a disappointment and each one of them is a thrill ride the reader never forgets!

So what of ALL FOR YOU? I can say that it is with a huge sense of foreboding I raced through the pages trying to work out exactly what was going on...but I wasn't even close! Most authors can't hoodwink me but Louise Jensen manages to skillfully do just that as she weaves together one hell of a twisted tale with so many twists and false turns that leaves us breathless by the end. I dare anyone to guess the outcome...because it's so unexpected and disturbing even that one has to wonder exactly what goes on in the author's mind! The entire tale is twisted that much of it is revealed to be unexpected, though I do proudly claim to have unravelled at least one or two twists! Yay...go me!

The story begins with a rather thrilling and incredibly intriguing prologue as Lucy races home with a deep sense of foreboding...way deeper than mine...panic stricken that something has happened to her eldest son Connor, in the wake of the recent disappearances of his two best friends Tyler and Ryan. Panicking when he fails to answer his phone. He may well not answer her calls but he would never ignore his 13 year old brother Keiron, who is very ill with a rare disorder that has no known cure.

What ensues is the countdown to Connor's disappearance as the clock is rewound thirteen days prior and readers are introduced to the Walsh family who are under a considerable amount of strain. In the midst of Keiron's life-threatening illness, Connor is consumed with guilt over something that took place several months before at a school camp of sorts. Readers don't know what but are gradually drip-fed throughout and keeps us guessing, as we think we know what happened. But we don't...oh, no. It goes way deeper. Meanwhile Lucy is trying to keep everything perfectly balanced holding the family together, caring for Keiron all the while aware that her eldest son is struggling. And then there is Aidan, husband and father, who has secrets of his own that have in too deep to dig himself out of the hole in which he now finds himself. Again, readers think they know...and yet again, we know nothing.

In the lead-up to Connor's disappearance and those of his friends Tyler and Ryan beforehand, Lucy feels she is being watched as she spots a single white car on more than one occasion parked outside their house and even following her to the supermarket. Her paranoia is clear for all to see that even Connor becomes aware of the car but instead of it being his mum being under threat, he believes the car is stalking him. And Aidan? Well, you guessed it...he thinks they are watching him. Each one of the Walsh family, except Keiron, believe they are the ones under threat as they fight to keep their secrets from coming to light. And instead of talking to each other, their world - along with their secrets - become a tangled mess.

There are very few characters in this nail-biting read so there aren't that many suspects to choose from and yet Jensen still manages to confuse the reader and spring on us the unexpected. As the story progresses, I was continually surprised by each revelation as we are kept guessing throughout. I honestly could not put this book down and simply had to read it to the end...even if it kept me awake into the wee hours. I have to say, it was worth the sleep deprivation. What a ride!

The story is initially told from the three perspectives of Lucy, Aidan and Connor in the first part of the story, which is divided into three parts. Ryan does share a narrative in the second although his doesn't shed any real light and pretty much only serves to thrown even more confusion our way. The chapters are short and snappy which keep the reader engaged and the story moving at a lightning speed throughout. Towards the end the chapters are even shorter again - some only a page or even just a few lines as we flip the pages in our quest to find out what happens. These short snappy chapters (my favourite) reflects the intensity and creates a building tension of the drama playing out before us. Each chapter flows from one narrative to the next as we see into each of the characters' minds. This made the pace move at a breakneck speed that was almost faster than the speed of light!

In the midst of the thrills is plenty of emotion as we witness each of the characters' heartbreaks and struggles at the struggles they each face...even if we don't know exactly what they may be. The entire read was an adrenaline rush I found I was laying on my pillow at 4am thinking...what the hell was that?

ALL FOR YOU is fast paced throughout, picking up even moreso in Part Two and not letting up until the end. It was an adrenaline rush from start to finish. Who needs skydiving when we have Louise Jensen penning such thrillers? I have read four, of which "The Sister" and "The Stolen Sisters" had been my favourites, but this one takes that to a whole new level!

A thrill-ride till the end, ALL FOR YOU is one hell of a fast-paced read that you will not be able to put down. A bit far-fetched? Maybe. But predictable it is not! But one thing is for sure...it is incredibly entertaining and addictive and one hell of a ride!

I didn't think I would be able to say much about this book for fear of revealing anything...but I can't stop talking about it! It's just mind-blowingly brilliant and I just loved it from beginning to end! I can't wait to see what Louise Jensen brings us next! Keep them coming!!

Perfect for fans of twisted psychological thrillers that keep you guessing.

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen, #Netgalley and #HQ for an ARC of #AllForYou in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Sunday, 4 October 2020

REVIEW: The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 4th October 2020

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 30th September 2020

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Sisterhood binds them. Trauma defines them. Will secrets tear them apart?

Three little girls missing. One family torn apart…

Leah’s perfect marriage isn’t what it seems but the biggest lie of all is that she’s learned to live with what happened all those years ago. Marie drinks a bit too much to help her forget. And Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe.

Twenty years ago these three sisters were taken. What came after they disappeared was far worse. It should have brought them together, but how can a family ever recover?

Especially when not everyone is telling the truth . . .

MY REVIEW:

One word - WOW! It's been a while since I've immersed myself in a Louise Jensen thriller and I wasn't disappointed. It's taken me a couple of hours to assemble my thoughts after finishing THE STOLEN SISTERS and I'm still not even sure where to begin my review because I doubt my words could do it justice and illustrate just how bloody brilliant it was!

Meet the Sinclair sisters. Carly was 13 when she and her 8 year old twin sisters Leah and Marie were abducted. For twenty years she has blamed herself - for being too preoccupied waiting for a text from a boy at school, for snapping at her younger sisters, for not taking better care of them. Now she hides herself away in her flat, too afraid to come out, raiding charity shops for bargains and selling them on eBay for a profit. Her issues with trust keep her from forming relationships or having children...though she dotes on Leah's son Archie.

Leah blames herself for not closing the gate properly - with a firm three goes to latch it - from which the family dog Bruno had escaped leading the sisters to go in search of him. Now living with chronic contamination OCD, Leah cannot do anything without wearing cotton gloves to protect her from germs and bacteria, nor completing the "three time" ritual with everything she does. When she discovered she was pregnant she was horrified at the thought of giving birth in a germ-infested hospital, not to mention having another loved one that she must constantly look out for and protect.

But it's Marie that has the biggest regret of them all. Now she drinks to forget whilst waiting for the next acting job to come along. At least when she's playing a part she can pretend she's someone else in another life and she can forget. But it's not just alcohol that has become Marie's demon...and now she finds herself in debt to her dealer.

So when she approaches her sisters about going on live TV for the twentieth anniversary of their abduction, part of it is for the money they will be paid for it but mostly Marie feels that it is time for the truth. Truth? What truth? Her sisters both feel "the truth" means revealing their portion of the blame that each have shouldered alone. What other truth could Marie mean?

When the sisters were taken, there didn't appear to be any rhyme or reason for their abduction. And what followed was several fear-filled days of terror, waiting for what was to come next. From the moment they were bundled into the van, blindfolded and tied up, the sisters huddled together drawing strength from each other. Thrown into a dark abandoned room with bars on the only window and a smelly mattress, they were supplied with an insufficient amount of junk food snacks and cherry Cola - not enough to keep them fed or hydrated. But...why were they here? What did the men Carly nicknamed "Doc" and "Moustache" want with them?

Carly cleverly found an escape as the girls followed their older sister around the rabbit warren of corridors and buildings in an attempt to find their way out. When at last they did, they flagged down a passing car and were recognised instantly as "the missing Sinclair sisters". They were taken to the police station, gave their statements and reunited with their distraught parents. But the nightmare was far from over...what was to come would be even worse than the ordeal they had just survived.

How will they ever move on?

Twenty years later and their nightmare has never gone away. All three sisters are a mess and are shadows of the young innocent girls they used to be. Their family has fallen apart; their parents divorced; the sisters are estranged from them but have remained close to each other. And now the person responsible has just been released from prison. So when Leah begins to find hand delivered notes on her doormat each morning counting down to the anniversary date, she begins to fear he is coming after them again. And this time, he will silence them.

WOW! What an emotional rollercoaster THE STOLEN SISTERS is! Louise Jensen has captured all the emotions from guilt, betrayal, sorrow, fear and an inability to trust like a raging storm ready to burst. As the reader is drip-fed information from the past and the present, the story slowly unfolds building a picture of the abduction, imprisonment and the aftermath through the eyes of Carly, Leah and Marie. There is also an underlying plot through the narrative of Leah's husband George in the present day. Each tendril of the story is cleverly woven together to create a tangled web of secrets, lies, betrayal, guilt and fear.

All the sisters are damaged from their childhood experienced and its aftermath so it is easy to empathise with all of them. They were just children. Children who should have been protected at all costs...not used as pawns in a grubby and unforgiving world. While it is Carly who shoulders the blame of responsibility, it is Leah whom the present day story primarily revolves around with the focus highlighting her struggles with her mental health and contamination OCD. It is clear her fixation on germs, bacteria and the like stem from their time imprisoned in the grubby room. And now it has become a necessity to maintain an element of control. It is because of this that it is Leah I particularly empathise with. She knows it is illogical but she still feels the need to go through her rituals before she can leave the house, drive the car even bathe her son Archie. The portrayal of OCD and mental illness is done sensitively with care.

A twisted emotional psychological thriller, THE STOLEN SISTERS is not your usual child abduction tale with a happily ever after. The story is unique, it is original and it is different. A dark and disturbing tale that will have you going through a range of emotions throughout, I was literally in tears by the final chapters. It really is a sad, sad tale that delivered such ingenuity with a satisfying end.

A gripping read that slowly builds with a palpable tension, THE STOLEN SISTERS becomes a fast paced ride to the end that will leave you breathless.

Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen, #NetGalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheStolenSisters in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Sunday, 7 October 2018

REVIEW: The Gift by Louise Jensen

The Gift by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Read: 7th October 2018

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★ 3 stars

THE GIFT is a compelling psychological thriller with a difference. It centres around the yet to be proven hypothesis/topic of cellular memory - in that memories can be stored in individual cells and that these cells can be transfer to the organ recipient, with them often experiencing recognition of a memory, an event, experience or emotion alien to them but one that was familiar to the donor.

When Jenna fell ill with the flu but failed to recover, she was diagnosed with viral myocarditis (which in layman's terms is a viral inflammation of the heart muscle). Growing more and more exhausted by the day, she grew weaker and weaker till a heart transplant was her only option. However, we all know how long those waiting lists are.

Callie was a young outgoing woman, engaged to be married and with a loving family and her whole life ahead of her. Till one night, on a road in the middle of nowhere she crashed into a tree and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

BUT...Callie's heart was a match for Jenna and despite the relief they felt at this second chance, they were also painfully aware that this gift only came to her through another family's grief.

But then something happened. While Jenna was incredibly grateful for this precious gift - this second chance - something changed inside her. She didn't know what. Only that it had. The plans she had made with boyfriend Sam who wanted to marry her were now alien to her. She couldn't. Her life had changed drastically. It now consisted of life before and after, and what they had planned for BEFORE could no longer happen now AFTER. Although she still loved him deeply, she lied to him and said she no longer did. It was the only way she could give him the chance to have a better life and the children she will never have. Her precious gift of life, her new heart, had come at a great cost.

But it's not the only thing it came with...

Soon after the transplant Jenna began having obsessive thoughts. As well as a range of emotions, panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, obsessive fears and very strange surreal dreams. The barrage of medication she is on is to ensure she does not reject her new heart. However, these medications also come with side effects....many of which Jenna is experiencing. So she dismisses them as just that at first.

But then strange things start happening. She hears a woman screaming, brakes screeching, and has a sense she is being followed. These things are seemingly so real to her she no longer feels they are just mere side effects. Something is happening to her and she has no idea what.

She Googles (as you do) and discovers something called "cellular memory", where a memories of a donor's life and experiences are retained in the cells that are transplanted along with the organ the recipient received. She becomes obsessive about finding out more information, printing off pages, and is convinced that this is what has happened to her...as it all begins to make sense. The strange dreams, the sudden love of strawberries (which she loathes), the emotions she feels when she comes into contact with people her donor knew, the sounds and experiences - it all makes sense. Callie's memories have become a part of her.

As part of her post transplant treatment, Jenna also sees a therapist and she begins to bombard her with this information and details of things she would never know. But her therapist assures her that she is on some very strong medication with these very aspects as known side effects. Jenna doesn't know whether to believe her or not. But that doesn't matter - she just won't tell her everything. She hasn't told her that she sought out and made contact with Callie's family...well, not right away.

So if she has inherited Callie's memories in the form of fragmented dreams and muddled images, what is Callie trying to tell her? Is there something more to her death than otherwise known?

As Jenna continues contact with Callie's family, she begins delving into her past to try and gain some understanding as to what really happened to Callie. Why she was so frightened, and what - or who - she was running from?

Jenna begins to learn more about Callie and is about the uncover to truth...but it could cost her everything - her loved ones, her sanity and even her life - as Jenna begins to feel her body is starting to reject her new heart.

I was a little disappointed in the outcome which I felt to be a little anti-climatic, but the Epilogue just about made up for it.

THE GIFT is definitely an intriguing read, although I didn't enjoy this as much as I did her debut thriller "The Sister", it was still compelling. I'm glad I read it.

Wednesday, 7 March 2018

REVIEW: The Sister by Louise Jensen

The Sister by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Read: 7th March 2018

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I started this book and for some reason, it didn't grab me right away. Maybe because I'd just come off reading my 3rd dud book for the year and wasn't paying as much attention as I began late one night before sleep. So I put the book down and there it stayed for 4 or 5 days. Then one night I picked it back up...and read through till 5am the next morning and had completed it! It was brilliant! Though I must say it loses half a star because of the death of Grace's beloved cat. My motto is "I don't care who dies in a movie or a book as long as the dog (or cat, in this case) lives."

So "The Sister" is a taut psychological thriller that takes place over two time periods. I must say I love this style of writing - as if there are two stories interwoven into one and I want to discover the mysteries of both! I admit, I am drawn to these types more and more lately. The story follows primarily Grace, and her life as it began the day she moved to the little village in Oxfordshire (does it have a name? I can't remember). She is instantly befriended by Charlie who becomes her best friend, and whose death - and last words - haunt her in the present day.

The book begins with the two girls, aged 15, burying a memory box, and Grace fighting the memories as she unearths the box alone years later in the present day and taking it home, afraid to open it. When she does, she sees the pink envelope Charlie thrust in the box at the last minute refusing to let Grace read it until they came back "later" together. But Grace is now alone. All that's left of Charlie are memories and the pink envelope.

Then enters Anna, claiming to be the daughter of Charlie's long lost father whom she never met and therefore, Charlie's half sister. The grieving Grace grabs this morsel of information with both hands and welcomes Anna into the home she shares with her boyfriend, Dan. Soon Anna begins to wheedle her way in in such a way she tries to replace Charlie in Grace's memory. And blinded by her grief and longing for her best friend, Grace lets her.

There are so many secrets and mysteries interwoven into this story that you don't know which to unravel first. The mystery of why Grace suddenly turned up in the village, living with her grandparents, and meeting Charlie at just 9 years old. What happened and where were her parents? The secret about Charlie's father that her mother refused to discuss. The mystery of Charlie's memories of an imaginary friend called Belle and her memory of a fire when she was very young leading to her to have an inane fear of fire when she was older. The mystery of who was tormenting Grace with hateful notes. The mystery of Charlie's parting words before she abruptly left and then six years later, her final words? The mystery of Anna's appearance. The secret that Dan is keeping. And who has been following Grace? Is it real or is she imagining it? I found myself enthralled by it all that I didn't see the twist that when I look back was so obvious it all made sense.

I can't believe this was a debut novel. It is almost too good to be. I hope you enjoy it.