Sally’s husband Gordon is violent and controlling. She manages to escape one night and the only place she can turn is to her estranged family. Her father and uncle reject her but her sister Alison is delighted to be reunited. But Gordon refuses to let her go…
The Family Home is an intense psychological thriller set in the UK.
The opening chapter is pretty horrific. Sally’s fear was so palpable that I felt scared for her. The writing was so vivid and powerful yet incredibly difficult to read. Gordon is terrifying and I was desperate for Sally to run away. But out fo the frying pan and into the fire, as they say! She heads to her estranged family where she finds her father battling with dementia and she is rejected due to her mother’s past. Luckily she has her half sister Alison to rely on and stick up for her. But she doesn’t feel welcome and is living in fear that Gordon will find her, and he does…
The majority of the book is written from Sally’s perspective but there are some chapters that focus on Gordon. These heighten the tension as we realise he will stop at nothing. As well as her difficult present situation, Sally suffers from flashbacks and nightmares about the past. The writing is vivid throughout the book and I found that I cared about Sally and wanted her to find happiness after so much pain.
There are big hints about what may have happened decades ago and I did guess the twists. I thought that there was a bit too much repetition (many references to Sally looking like her mother, Alison and Peter arguing etc) which slowed the pace of the book a little. My credulity was stretched and the ending was quite abrupt.
The Family Home is very intense and the issue of domestic violence was handled very sensitively but explicitly.
The Family Home
IS BLOOD ALWAYS THICKER THAN WATER?
Sally has lived in fear of her husband long enough. But after twenty years of suffering, she has been left with nothing of her own and no one to turn to – except her estranged sister, Alison.
When Alison agrees to help Sally escape, she knows she must return to the one place she was told never to show her face again – the family home – and confront her father once more.
But soon, Sally begins to suspect that all is not as it seems, and as she is forced to face the ghosts of the past, she discovers there may be secrets hidden in her own memory that are best left buried . . .
A twisting and compulsive page-turner, with a shocking twist. If you love Keri Beevis, L H Stacey and K. L. Slater, you’ll love The Family Home.
Author Bio – Born and raised in South East London, Lorraine lived and worked in South Africa, on the Island of Gozo and in France before settling on the Costa del Sol in Spain. She lives with her partner in a traditional Spanish village inland from the coast and enjoys sampling the regional dishes and ever-changing tapas in the local bars. Her knowledge of Spanish is expanding. To stop her waistline from doing the same, she runs five times a week.
Lorraine is the author of the D.I. Sterling series and two psychological thrillers, The Guest and The Family Home.
