What do you think?
Rate this book
Ties That Bind by Catherine Deveney
What would you do if you were invisible to your husband and your teenage son? How would you feel if they no longer spoke to you; if you knew your husband had had an affair? And what if your mother, a life-long alcoholic, had just suffered a stroke and become completely dependent on you? Above all, what if you were nurturing a secret grief so bitter and painful that it was consuming you from within?Now imagine that one day you won £30,000. Would you take the money and walk away?When Carol Ann disappears without trace from her middle-class life in Scotland, she leaves behind a troubled family struggling to come to terms with their past. But the secrets that drove them apart follow her to a new life in Ireland, where she is pursued by memories, particularly of the mysterious Josie. But who was Josie and why does she have such power over the family?In this stunning debut, award-winning journalist Catherine Deveney explores the loneliness, secrets and silences that can haunt even the most loving of families -- and shows how some bonds, against all odds, can never be broken.
Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Read
October 7, 2014I liked the premise of this book, and I usually enjoy books with alternating POV, so I was looking forward to this. Sadly, I ended up skipping too much of it to rate it.
My main issue was with the character of the policewoman put in charge of the case. She was given major childhood issues with abuse by her father, which made her insecure, angry, isolated and unable to enter into any relationship that she didn't try to dominate. This led to problems with her interacting with her colleagues, and made her an incredibly unlikable character - without any empathy, I'm afraid. First of all it was her stupidity that annoyed me, in the way she handled the case. Then it was her arrogance, and the way she, for reasons I still don't understand, decided not to hand it over when she should have, and did stupid things like keep the victim's mobile phone, retain vital information when, for all she knew, that person was dead. Then it was the way that her psychological problems were somehow perceived by the God-like persona of the psychologist, and the unbelievable way she decided to consult him, though she had never talked, never analysed, never accepted she had a problem. But most of all, my issue was with the way she through herself at the victim's husband, and then immediately plotted his revenge when he rejected her - that was a step way beyond the unbelievable for me.
In the meantime, the other protagonist was living a new live in Ireland, and working through her side of the issues, her dead child, the effect it had on her marriage and her other child etc, and this was actually okay, if a little heavy-handed. I think I'd like to have seen more of this, and I'd like to have ssen more from her family's point of view - her husband, her teenage son, and most of all from the one likable character in the book, from Lily, her alcoholic mother.
As you'll have gathered, this didn't work for me, and I'm sorry about that. I wish I'd liked it more.
My main issue was with the character of the policewoman put in charge of the case. She was given major childhood issues with abuse by her father, which made her insecure, angry, isolated and unable to enter into any relationship that she didn't try to dominate. This led to problems with her interacting with her colleagues, and made her an incredibly unlikable character - without any empathy, I'm afraid. First of all it was her stupidity that annoyed me, in the way she handled the case. Then it was her arrogance, and the way she, for reasons I still don't understand, decided not to hand it over when she should have, and did stupid things like keep the victim's mobile phone, retain vital information when, for all she knew, that person was dead. Then it was the way that her psychological problems were somehow perceived by the God-like persona of the psychologist, and the unbelievable way she decided to consult him, though she had never talked, never analysed, never accepted she had a problem. But most of all, my issue was with the way she through herself at the victim's husband, and then immediately plotted his revenge when he rejected her - that was a step way beyond the unbelievable for me.
In the meantime, the other protagonist was living a new live in Ireland, and working through her side of the issues, her dead child, the effect it had on her marriage and her other child etc, and this was actually okay, if a little heavy-handed. I think I'd like to have seen more of this, and I'd like to have ssen more from her family's point of view - her husband, her teenage son, and most of all from the one likable character in the book, from Lily, her alcoholic mother.
As you'll have gathered, this didn't work for me, and I'm sorry about that. I wish I'd liked it more.
July 1, 2010
Is a well written and thought provoking book, that looks at the dynamics within relationships and families. The book is written from two female characters points of view in alternating chapters which allows the reader to experience womens roles in two, on the surface, apparently disparate ways. An interesting debut that will appeal to those who like Joanna Trollope and Maggie O'Farrell.
January 3, 2016
Having very much enjoyed Dead Secret I anticipated something similar from this but was disappointed by two unsympathetic and unconvincing characters and a too obvious and in many places unconvincing, plot.
April 13, 2014
Really enjoyed this book: strong real characters and themes of love, friendship and dealing with loss, and what happens if you create a new life
March 28, 2025
Compelling.
June 20, 2015
a moving read
September 11, 2014
2.5 stars, due to the woeful absence of a proofreader/editor.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews