The Lost Child by Emily Gunnis ★★★☆☆

Updated: Apr 4, 2020

Published : 2nd April 2020

Publisher : Headline

Format : Kindle, Paperback, Audio

Genre : Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis

Her mother was the victim.

Her father was the suspect.

She was the only witness...

Rebecca Waterhouse is just thirteen when she witnesses her mother's death at the hand of her father in Seaview Cottage.

But what else did Rebecca see?

Years later, Rebecca's daughters Iris and Jessie know their mother will never speak of that terrible night. But when Jessie goes missing, with her gravely ill newborn, Iris realises the past may hold the key to her sister's disappearance.

With Jessie in trouble, Iris must unravel a twisting story of love and betrayal in her mother's family history.

Only then will Seaview Cottage give up its dark and tragic secret...

My Review

Thank you Headline and Anne Cater for this proof copy and blog tour spot. I love historical fiction books so I was quite excited about this one.

This is a beautifully written story that is written across three different timelines and is about families who deal with mental health, the effects that war have had on its returning soldiers, and the saddening effects of post natal depression on women as well as the independence they gain from being left at home.

The bulk of the story is centred around a cottage called Seaview and the different families who lived there between the time frame of 1950, 1960 and 2014.

The story line jumps back and fourth between these dates and is also told of three different perspectives.

The story starts with Harriet and Jacob, how Harriet gains her independence whilst Jacob is sent off to war and how life has changed when he comes back with the inevitable PTSD.

1960, Gradually you are then introduced to a teenage girl, Harriet and Jacobs daughter Rebecca.

Her story then progresses to 2014 where she is now an adult with two daughters and a medical qualification. As the two girls grow up you get to see more as who they are as women and the lives they live, the struggles they are living through.

As the individual stories slowly unravel, we get an insight into the thoughts, feelings, guilt, and undeniably the family bonds that they are all tied to.

The way that this author tells the story is slowly layered and leads to a beautifully written book with a great twist at the end bringing the story full circle.

I have not read the authors first book but if it keeps me hooked like this one then I will definitely add it to my tbr.