The Lost Sister by Tracy Buchanan

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for The Lost Sister which is the latest release by Tracy Buchanan and I am going to be sharing my review for this book with you.

Becky and her mum Selma have had a strained relationship after Selma left Becky when she was younger to go and live in a cave with cave dwellers. When Becky receives a phone call out of the blue from her mum to say she is dying Becky is unsure how true this is due to her mother’s previous elaborations of the truth but when she arrives at the hospital it is clear her mums time is running out and she helps her mum with her last wish of returning back to the cave to live out her final hours but in her dying hours Selma mentions a sister to Becky, a sister Becky has never known about.

Becky embarks on a journey to try to find her long lost sister but she makes more discoveries about her mother along the way. The storyline is told from both Selma and Becky’s viewpoints which jumps back and forth in time which did take a little getting used to but was a good way to see the situation from both of the women’s points of view and to see the truth ourselves rather than listening to thoughts, opinions and assumptions of other characters. Becky was a likeable character throughout whereas I found my opinion on Selma constantly changing throughout the storyline.

At times the storyline lost me as it felt extremely far-fetched but then my interest would be piqued again and I was desperate to uncover the truth surrounding the mysterious sister. I was so happy to see that the authors exquisite skill in setting such a breath-taking and vivid location that I love was still strong in this book

Although this is not my favourite by this author it was still a very entertaining read with shocking truths and twists as well as some real heart-breaking moments that made a real impact.

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No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan

When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter. 

But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister.

A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago. 

Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child’s life…

I am still yet to read Tracy Buchanan’s debut but I was gripped by her book My Sister’s Secret last year so I wasted no time getting stuck in to her new release No Turning Back.

The book gets off to a quick dramatic start when radio presenter Anna is attacked by a teenager whist she was walking along the beach with her baby daughter. She instinctively tries to protect her daughter and herself but she never imagined that when she woke up the next morning her life was about to crumble around her.

The boy had died……

What starts off as self-defence soon becomes doubtful when the autopsy comes back which suggests something far more alarming.

The book races along and gradually reveals more twisted and disturbing situations that all seem to have a link to Anna and with each chapter I found myself getting increasingly tense and more suspicious of Anna as well as two other characters. I couldn’t put this book down I was desperate to find out who was the sick twisted person responsible.

The storyline alternates between Anna’s point of view and also snippets of the killers actions which were chilling and sickening. Anna isn’t a character I liked but for this particular book that wasn’t an issue as her character contributed to the suspicious and wary feel that the storyline has.

I love this authors writing style it draws you in from the start and holds your attention the whole way through not letting your attention waver in case you miss a clue. You will be suspicious of everyone. I haven’t read a book in a long time that has kept me in complete suspense the whole way through, but I had no idea what we would discover and when everything was revealed I was genuinely in complete and utter shock! So if you’re looking for a tense pacy read that will have your mind working overtime trying to solve the mystery then you will not be disappointed with No Turning Back.

I would be happy to recommend this book to anyone looking for an unpredictable, sinister and gripping read.

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I want to see all of your faces when you reach THAT moment! Tweet me @bookreviewbyrea with the hashtag #OMGNoturningback

My Sister's Secret by Tracy Buchanan

Everything you’ve built your life on is a lie. 
Willow’s memories of her parents are sun-drenched and full of smiles, love and laughter. But a mysterious invitation to a photographic exhibition exposes a secret that’s been buried since a tragic accident years ago. 
Willow is forced to question everything she knew about Charity, her late mother, and Hope, the aunt she’s lived with since she was a child. 
How was the enigmatic photographer connected to Willow’s parents?
Why will Hope not break her silence? 
Willow cannot move forward in her life without answers. But who can she really trust? Because no one has been telling the truth for a very long time.

Having not read Tracy Buchanan’s debut The Atlas of Us I was not sure what to expect from this book but I do like to find new authors so I was looking forward to reading My Sister’s Secret especially after reading rave reviews of the author’s debut.

The storyline alternates between the present day with Willow who has been raised by her Aunt Hope after her parents died when she was 7 in a tragic accident at Sea, then we fall back on the story to the past with Charity who is Willows mum. Willow has grown up with happy positive memories of her parents but everything changes when Willow comes across and invitation for her to attend a famous artists exhibition questions start to arise and it soon becomes clear there are secrets being concealed and Willow is determined to get to the bottom of them.

What a thoroughly addictive read. The author has such an easy writing style to follow, she manages to pull you right in to the storyline straight from the prologue and manages to great the perfect pace to the book which keeps your mind whirling over various scenarios the whole way through.

I love reading books where I find out about a topic that I know very little or nothing about and in this book I discovered submerged forests, the authors writes in beautiful, informative detail about these forests and this really piqued my interest and I soon found myself googling away trying to find pictures of these fascinating forests, the author must have done a fair amount of research on this topic.

I have to admit that as the storyline progressed I thought I had worked out what the twist was going to be and so I thought the book was a little predictable but then what I thought was going to happen did but then another twist happened that came to bite me on the bum!

There was a diverse range of characters all of whom were developed well. Willow was a very determined and direct character who was not going to give up on trying to uncover the secrets even if it meant finding out something that would change her life completely. Charity was my favourite character and her story was a hard and devastating one and at times I wanted to try and help her choose the right path only remembering after that it was too late.

I really enjoyed this book and after being so absorbed in the storyline with its twists and turns, intriguing subject matter and hidden secrets I now can’t wait to go to town and pick up the authors debut book. 

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