good psychological thriller - ending a little too pat ( )

I don't understand how I've been reading mystery and suspense, esp. by British authors, for decades and not stumbled across Laura Wilson's work before. This is a great read, albeit quite disconcerting/uncomfortable at times. I stayed up waaa...y too late in order to finish this. ( )

In 1987 Sheila Shand was given a suspended sentence for murdering her father. At her trial, it emerged that she and her mother and sister had been forced to shield brutal sadist Leslie Shand while he subjected them to a reign of terror, daily beatings and sexual abuse. Years later, investigative journalist Amy Vaughan discovers letters and a newspaper cutting about the Shand case while clearing out her late mother's flat. Concluding that she must be related to the Shands, she decides to visit Sheila's mother who is in a care home. Amy is curious about the elderly Iris Shand who pores over an album of family photos, for Amy knows that photographs tell lies. Her own mother had subjected her to a different form of abuse - Munchausen By Proxy, using snaps of the daughter she'd made sick to try to keep the affections of Amy's father George, a charismatic con-man. Then George appears on Amy's doorstep after a long absence and tells her that he is dying of cancer. Soon she discovers that he may be lying about far more than his health. As she pursues her investigation of the Shand case, Amy realises that there is more to the murder of Leslie than the police ever unearthed, including two long-buried skeletons in woods near the family's home.

A very raw and harrowing account of the mental, physical and sexual abuse of a family, but mainly one sister. It was a very graphic and uncomfortable book to read but compelling as I wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. The scary part is that this sort of abuse on this scale does really happen, remember Cromwell Street and the Wests. All the characters are believable and I felt for all the family even though some of their own actions where questionable. At times I wanted to jump into the pages to try and help. A very good read again from this author even though the subject was disturbing. ( )

I think this is Ms Wilson's best book so far. It is a thriller that will keep you up late at night and I notice that LibraryThing's members have given it an average rating of 4.29. It truly is a great read. Amy Vaughan, a young journalist, finds a newspaper clipping and an old letter, while clearing out her dead mother's home.
Two decades earlier, Sheila Shand was given a 3 year suspended sentence for killing her father. The father had terrorized her and her sister and mother for years with beatings, sexual abuse and torture. The newspaper clipping that Amy found was about the Shand case and the old letter and a diary which she also found convinced her that they were related. Amy starts with a visit to the elderly Mrs Shand in a care home.
And that is all that should be said about this chilling tale. Enjoy. ( )

Als Amy Vaughan de flat van haar overleden moeder opruimt, vindt ze een dagboek met bizarre teksten. Het is niet van haar moeder. Tussen de pagina’s ligt een oud krantenknipsel over een moordzaak in de familie Shand. In 1987 kreeg de 36-jarige Sheila Shand een voorwaardelijke straf vanwege doodslag op haar vader. Tijdens de rechtszaak blijkt dat zij, haar moeder en haar zusje jarenlang onderworpen zijn aan het gewelddadige regime van hun vader/echtgenoot. Ze werden dagelijks geslagen en seksueel misbruikt. Amy vraagt zich af waarom dit in het huis van haar moeder ligt. Ze zoekt Sheila op en raakt direct meer betrokken bij de zaak dan ze had gewild. De hele kwestie wordt sinister als vlakbij het huis van Sheila twee lichamen worden opgegraven. Wie waren dit? En wat doen de lijken daar? Amy stort zich op de zaak, terwijl ze eigenlijk heel wat anders aan haar hoofd heeft. Ze heeft zelf namelijk ook geen al te gelukkige jeugd gehad en wordt daar nog regelmatig mee geconfronteerd. ( )