It’s been a long while since I read a book by Emily Barr, and this particular book has, according to my LibraryThing profile, been sitting on my shelf since 2007!! (At LEAST, since 2007 is when I made my LT profile in the first place).

Anyhow, I have been doing less reading lately, largely because I have discovered the joys of cross-stitching and have become slightly addicted. Nonetheless, I wanted to get back into reading and a good psychological thriller is usually a great way to get out of a reading slump. I mean, probably – this is the first time I’ve really been in a reading slump since I can remember.

So the plot – Susie, a successful artist, lives in France with her gorgeous boyfriend Roman. She has a great career, a beautiful house – and a BIG secret, which has haunted her since her schooldays. On an impulse she decides to host a reunion weekend with her old schoolfriends, Amanda, Izzy and Tamsin. None of them have seen each other since they left school and it becomes clear that it is because of the aforementioned secret which Susie, Amanda and Izzy share, and which is something to do with their shared guilt over an event years earlier involving Tamsin.

Typically the weekend doesn’t go as expected. It’s not long before tensions are running very high, relationships are fracturing and while Susie wants to come clean to Tamsin about the event that ruined Tamsin’s world years earlier, Amanda and Izzy think it’s a bad idea (although for different reasons; Amanda is being selfish while Izzy feels that no good can come from revealing the truth after all this time).

There is also a side plot about a man who has commissioned some paintings from Susie and his motives. To be honest, I’m not sure why this was in the book or what it added to the story other than some unnecessary padding.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and found it to be an undemanding read. There were two timelines – the present day, and the flashbacks to the four friends’ schooldays, which gradually led up to the secret at the heart of the story.

My favorite character was Izzy and I also liked Amanda’s long suffering husband Patrick. My least favorite character was, without doubt, Amanda. I think we were supposed to feel sorry for her as the burden of guilt she had carried for so many years had made her bitter and unpleasant. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to feel this, given that in the flashback chapters we also saw how Amanda was before the big event and she wasn’t very nice then either.

However, I have one issue with this book and that was the ending. Not that it was awful; it was just – abrupt. It seemed to end very quickly as though the author had run out of time and just wrote the last page in a hurry. I genuinely think there was need for at least another chapter or so to explore a few threads more deeply.

Overall though, an absorbing read, and one which pulled me out of my reading slump and made me look forward to starting another book. ( )

The start of this book, although interesting, seemed to read like most other 'general fiction' books that I've read. Thankfully that doesn't last for long, as the girls start their journey. The story strolls along at a leisurely pace, until suddenly I was finding it hard to put it down. It starts to grab hold of you, and by the end, I absolutely loved it, and didn't want it to end.

The reasoning behind Mary's wishes remain a mystery until near the end, so you share the girls puzzlement along with them.. although there are some tantalising hints. As her story unfolds, it is interesting to witness the differences between the two time zones.

The ending is possibly slightly predictable, but is still beautifully written, and rather emotional. It was at this point when I realised just how much I had grown to know the two girls,and how I felt I had shared their journey with them.

This is another author that I shall be watching out for! ( )

As The Island falls into the category of hard acts to follow it was with trepidation that I started this novel that I had long looked forward to reading. However, this was so different to The Island that it was easy to make the transition. It’s a novel of substance and I’m amazed at Emily Barr’s ability to make you think you’ve guessed an outcome only to prove you wrong. I laughed out loud throughout and found it compulsive reading. I think this is probably the best novel of hers that I've read so far along with Plan B. ( )