by Diana Cambridge
Cover Design by Jennie Rawlings
Published by Louise Walters Books
Writing was so much more than a job for Emma. She loved it but frustration & life got in the way too often.
Life with a stylish, luxury Manhattan apartment, trips to the Hamptons & a husband with a prestigious medical career sounds like a dream. But sometimes dreams get blurred - or shattered.
Two novels under her belt & TV deal negotiations on the table... but they're not providing the glitzy life Emma craves & loves.
Secrecy & tragedy are ever-present in her world but Emma struggles to cope or find her way to a life that might redress the balance. Willing her to succeed, I found myself fully invested in Emma's character & immersed in the drama.
With multiple threads of her traumatic childhood woven through this fascinating story, Emma's complex challenges provide an intriguing framework, delivered brilliantly by the writing style of Diana Cambridge. The time-shift element is clever & works well.
1960s New York City: Established in a job she enjoys & status she particularly loves, Emma's life was gradually smoothing over but losing that job brought everything crashing down to a low nobody could imagine. You can feel the physical energy gradually drain from her character until Emma's sense of self completely evaporates & her world collapses one more time.
With flashbacks to old traumas & Emma's confusion about what is truth & what is a tranquilizer-induced fog, we are taken on an emotional ride through several lives that cross paths.
Family tensions firmly rooted in the past keep interrupting any possibility of Emma finding a way back to some kind of civilised life. Wonderful meals at sophisticated restaurants with her beloved husband, shopping & cocktails with real friends seem a distant, haze-frosted memory. Something has to change & help is available but is Emma ready for it?
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This book was my choice for April from Cosy Club - a unique book club that gives members a choice of books each month. It's run by the fabulous team at Mostly Books, a superb independent book store with excellent community presence in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Throughout the year Mostly Books https://mostly-books.co.uk/ is helping to highlight various independent publishers & this is the 2nd month to feature Louise Walters Books.
Cover design by Jennie Rawlings http://www.serifim.com/
*Support Local Independent Bookshops*
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