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Dora can’t resist taking one last job - escorting a regular to a French château and pretending to be his girlfriend. No sex allowed. Surely that’s fine? I LOVE this authors writing style and the abundance of words in each chapter, I also love the way although the book was dark there were many rye observations and humour When taken as a whole, the storyline isn't all that surprising in the end. I pretty much called everything that was going on. That said, it's still a uniquely told story from an interesting point of view. I don't typically like first person storylines because it's too much "I did this and I did that" rather than letting us in on the action, but in this case it really works. The novel builds well, there is tension and suspense though disbelief suspenders are required on occasions but hey, it’s fiction! There are several twists and turns although one is easy to figure out but not entirely the reasons behind it. The end twist is good. Simon and Daisy seem like a happy couple with their daughter Millie. They had tried to conceive for several years and she is very special to them. Simon has always loved a drink but now his drinking has spiralled out of control which leads to a dangerous accident.
Daisy and Simon are the featured characters and Simon is the one struggling (and losing) with alcohol. Things are spiraling out of control and there is a terrible incident one night after a party. We get to hear from both Daisy and Simon, so I appreciated hearing both sides of the tale. However, I did not gain any sympathy for either character, I am not sure if this was the author’s intent or just my perception of the book. I did enjoy Daisy’s female friendships and wish that had been more of the story. He’s dad having been a heavy drink and for the impressionable young child leads to so many ill judged choices. Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband.
During her career Adele has lived in Italy, Botswana and London. Now she lives happily in Surrey, UK with her husband, son and cat. Well, I really want to scream at Dora as soon as she said yes to Daniel. And when they arrive at the château, she meets with Daniel’s eccentric friends who act like they see an exotic creature as soon as they say hi to her. And one o Daisy and Simon are desperate to have children. The turmoil and stress they have to go through as they undergo tests and fertility treatment is horrendous. Finally they have a daughter, Millie. But the stress of having her has taken its toll on them and their relationship. Simon has started drinking. They are starting to drift apart. Then a starting revelation at the fertility clinic changes their lives forever. This is a story with characters who give out mixed emotions. At times I felt sorry for them and other times I was rooting for them all the way. The characters and storyline were true to life. Readers will either know or be the people this story is all about. (Hopefully not the ending). Obviously there is a lot of lies around this storyline that's also got lots of twists. The only person I felt truly sorry for was Millie. The story is told from Daisy and Simons point of view. I do recommend this book.
I really hate books with gaslighting and I didn’t realize how prominently it would feature here. I couldn’t wait for Dora to catch up with what the reader already knows. The pacing is all off in this book and the first reveal isn’t even a reveal because we have no idea who this person is or why we should care. The story itself is grimly tragic, very involving and covers some uncomfortable topics, got to say though the portrayal of Simon’s alcoholism was genius, never have I understood an addiction so well and how it affects every angle of a life then when reading this AND he was Simon and Daisy Barnes have been married for a while, they were desperate for a child and after several failed rounds of IVF, to their joy Millie was born. She is now 6. Simon is a big drinker, he always has been but after receiving some devastating news he is imploding and his drinking is out of control. The story is told in alternate perspectives by Daisy and Simon. Daisy’s sections seem flat and a but lifeless compared to Simons but the reason for that eventually emerges. Whip-smart protagonist, immensely satisfying"—Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Forgotten
Overall though, I had a difficult time putting the book down because it's compulsively readable and I did want to know how everything was going to shake down in the end. There are some good twists and although I didn't always like Dora's choices I did like her and was rooting for her success. Adele is on fire with One Last Secret. Deliciously deceptive and darkly satisfying. I loved it' Jane Fallon, Just Got Real Simon is so desperate to have another baby he bullies Daisy into attending an appointment to see if they can conceive again. Born in a different era, Connie would most likely have been one of the women knitting by the guillotines during the French revolution, she had the stomach for it. She always put curiosity before sentimentality. She collected experiences.
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