Publisher: Penguin / Michael Joseph 
Publishing Date: 4th March 2021
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley, thank you!
Number of pages: 400
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Women’s Fiction
Synopsis:
From the outside, anyone would think that Lucy Palmer has it all: loving children, a dashing husband and a gorgeous home.
But when her marriage to Michael comes to an abrupt and unexpected end, her life is turned upside down in a flash.
As the truth of her marriage threatens to surface, Lucy seizes the opportunity to swap her house in London – and the stories it hides – for a rural escape to her parents’ farmhouse in the Chilterns.
But Lucy gets more than she bargained for when she moves back to her childhood home. With her parents growing older disgracefully, she can hardly keep up with their social life – especially when it throws her into the path of an old flame.
Coming face-to-face with her mistakes, Lucy is forced to confront the secrets she’s been keeping from herself and those she loves.
Is she ready to let someone in? Or will she leave the door to her past firmly closed . . .
Rating: 
Lucy Palmer seems to have it all – great family, loving husband, two grown – up children, big house in London and a writing career. However, it’s all behind closed doors. Because in fact life is very different for Lucy and her little family. Her husband Michael is controlling and manipulating and knows how to keep Lucy in a corner, crushing her, her independence and confidence. He’s clever – on the outside, there are no scars. But inside…
But then Lucy’s marriage, suddenly and unexpectedly, ends. Now she has some dealings with the past. Leaving behind house where all bad things happened, Lucy moves back with her elderly and cheerful parents where she’s about to try to re – built her life. Will she manage? Is it possible to forget about the past when it still seems to haunt her so much?
This book is different to previous Catherine Alliott’s books, in fact so different that I have started to panic, especially at the beginning that felt so sad and grim and not so Alliott-y at all. Then, when THE thing happened, it started to feel more like this author, but let’s be honest, there wouldn’t be this story without this dark beginning, it was established on the things that happened to Lucy before. And the author has written her story brilliantly, Lucy’s feelings and emotions were so incredibly well captured and brought to the pages, it was truly amazing.
A huge part of the story focuses on taking care of your elderly parents and while it doesn’t concern me yet I used to have grandparents that needed looking after, so those part truly resonated with me and was written just like it really was for me, just like I can remember – reluctant to accept help but then so thankful for it, for the edible things to eat in the fridge and for organising the health care. Lucy and Helena were brilliant daughters and they were worried about their parents, but I also loved their parents’ spirit and well, they threw the best parties ever. Though I still can remember how annoying the parties my parents organised at home were for me. But the older I was, the better they got for e too, so there.
The story is told by Lucy and she’s a reliable and honest narrator – she reveals all and tells us how the things really were in her marriage and her life. She was so real in her emotions, she knew that things were going wrong but the way she explained what was happening that kept her in her marriage made the whole situation crystal clear and her fear was palpable. We have seen the warning signs, and Lucy started to notice them too, but it was too late for her then. I liked her, and I liked how she was able to return to the person she was before, although it was, of course, not an immediate process – but the subtle changes in her were to see and they made me feel happy and glad for her. She was so true to life, our Lucy, strong but on the other hand also weak, out of her depth but still going and trying.
I also loved Lucy’s family with its dynamics being the heart of the story. They are sometimes a handful, they’re eccentric and eclectic, but they’re all so colourful and realistic, and they are all there for Lucy, supporting her on the way.
Catherine Alliott has so thoughtfully and sensitively portrayed Lucy’s damaged family, capturing Michael and the way he treated them spot on. We can think, why didn’t she leave him, simple like that, but there is so much more to her story than meet the eye, with Michael and his psychological games and threats.
This was a complex story full of secrets, twists and turns and I really didn’t know what’s going to happen – and I really loved it. I was totally involved – I felt sad, I felt anger, I laughed and raged but also nodded along with understanding – this is the best what can happen when reading a book.
It was an engaging, emotional story filled with great characters, sadness and humour. It was so close to reality, the story felt so real and it was impossible not to fall for Lucy and her family. Emotional and touching upon many heavy issues, such as domestic abuse, ageing parents, staying true to yourself and second chances. Written with tons of empathy, emotions and warmth, it’s close to life and relatable. It kept me glued to the pages, it was full of tension and suspense and altogether, it was simply a brilliant read, it was worth to wait so long fort his new Catherine Alliott’s release. Highly recommended!
FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR:
onmybookshelf 