Home Truths by Charity Norman

 

Here is another stunning book by Charity Norman! Livia and Scott and their two children, Heidi and Noah, are confronted by the sudden death of Nicky, the beloved brother of Scott and uncle of Heidi and Noah. Nicky was a sweet, gentle man who, although capable of looking after himself and his little dog, also suffered from diabetes. On the morning of Heidi’s thirteenth birthday Nicky was in his garden when he realised his sugar levels had dropped; in his anxiety he couldn’t get back into his house so he tried to call Scott for help but Scott had lost his phone and didn’t get Nicky’s frantic messages until he came back from bike riding with Heidi for her birthday. 

The story that follows is pure Charity Norman. Everyday lives can so easily be torn apart, and there is always someone around ready and able to do the shattering. Livia believes her life is pretty much perfect but when grief is accompanied by feelings of guilt it creates vulnerability and, unfortunately, if someone wants to take advantage of that vulnerability, now is the time to strike.

The internet is a modern marvel and those of us who were around before its introduction can attest to its great advantages; however, as everybody knows, bullies, chancers and charlatans lurk in the shadows of social media, ready to pounce. 

Home Truths is told as seen through the eyes of Livia, Scott and Heidi. It is a dramatic, suspenseful page-turner in true Charity Norman style and I love that it features the beautiful town of Whitby, home of one of my ancestors, which I’ve had the joy of visiting. I can’t recommend this brilliant book highly enough.

Published by Allen & Unwin

The Secrets We Keep by Amy Lillard

 

Nate Fisher is on extended leave from his job as a deputy sheriff in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nate has been cleared of any charges relating to the shooting death of a young offender, which has left him traumatised. He hears from his brother that their father has died in the Amish community in Cedar Creek, Mississippi, which Nate had left ten years earlier. Although Nate has been banned from returning to the community he travels to Cedar Creek to visit his father’s grave.

Nate had been in love with an Amish woman, Rachel, who had refused to go with him when he left, aiming to earn enough money, originally trying to make it as a professional baseball player, in the hope of paying for treatment for his terminally ill sister. When he arrives back in Cedar Creek ten years later Rachel approaches him and asks him to help her prove that her brother’s death was a murder, and not suicide as has been recorded. Rachel is now married with two daughters, although her husband has disappeared.

I used memories from the Harrison Ford movie, Witness, which I’d watched again recently, to picture Amish people and their kind of country; but although Nate was a police detective like the character, John Book, the similarities to this story ended there. It was a good, solid mystery with emphasis on the main characters’ private lives, just as I like it. The Amish people, including Nate’s mother, are rigid in their condemnation of Nate for having left the community, in contrast to which Nate has gained, as an outsider, tolerance and compassion; he still cares for Rachel and agrees to look into her brother’s death.

I do hope Amy Lillard is thinking of writing another book explaining the disappearance of Rachel’s husband. I would love to read it!

Published by Crooked Lane Books