3.5 Stars
I really looked forward to reading this novel since I very much enjoyed previous books by the author such as Little Cruelties and Strange Sally Diamond. Unfortunately this one did not resonate with me as much as the others did.
Ruby and her older sister Erin live a comfortable life with their parents, Maureen and Doug, until 1999 when Ruby is sixteen and involved in an incident with Erin’s boyfriend Milo. The family is ripped apart: Ruby’s mother takes her to Dublin but Erin stays with her father in Boston. The novel follows their lives for the next 25 years. Erin struggles with trust issues for years whereas Ruby indulges in self-destructive behaviours. But then it seems that the truth about the incident has not been told. What will be the consequences if that truth is revealed?
The book is being marketed as a psychological suspense novel, but I found it more of a drama about a family fracturing because of choices made and secrets kept. Multiple points of view are presented but the focus is on Ruby and Erin’s perspectives.
Ruby is not a likeable character. Her insecurity and jealousy of her sister is obvious from the beginning: the last sentence of the prologue is “I blame my sister” and the first sentence of the first chapter is “If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.” This envy is her motivation throughout. Her behaviour at the beginning may be excusable; she is young and immature and so doesn’t know how to manage her emotions. However, she never matures, always remaining self-centred, as demonstrated by her behaviour towards Jack and her daughter Lucy, and never accepting responsibility, as demonstrated by her justifications for her choices. It’s interesting that Jack repeatedly calls Ruby a liar when he first meets her and that more than one person thinks there’s something wrong with her. What they don’t realize, but the reader knows, is how manipulative she really can be.
I had difficulty accepting the choices made by Ruby and Erin’s mother. I understand her motivation is protecting her child, but she could have prevented so much tragedy. It’s obvious that she feels a lot of guilt; I suspected early on that she was trying to make amends, even though anonymously. Her brief section towards the end does clarify her reasons somewhat and emphasizes the impact of choices made and secrets kept.
I found pacing problematic. Initially I was really interested, but once the truth is revealed a quarter of the way through, I found the book dragged. It felt repetitive and predictable, with no real surprises. The only suspense revolves around what Ruby will do next; it’s like waiting for an inevitable car crash. Then at the end, everything seems wrapped up very quickly. Because the novel spans over 25 years, there’s a lot of telling, rather than showing.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I didn’t find this as compelling as the other novels I’ve read by the author. It is, nonetheless, an interesting book which touches on a number of serious topics such as sexual assault, alcoholism, the damaging power of jealousy, and the lasting impact of secrets and lies.
Here are links to my reviews of other novels by Liz Nugent:
Little Cruelties: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-of-little-cruelties-by-liz.html
Strange Sally Diamond: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-strange-sally-diamond-by-liz.html
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
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