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Rachel Goddard Mystery #1
The Heat of the Moon
Young veterinarian Rachel Goddard's world begins to crumble when a client rushes into the animal hospital with a basset hound struck by a car during a thunderstorm. The dog owner's terrified tot, drenched with rain, loses sight of her mother in the flurry of activity and screams, ""Mommy! I want Mommy!"" Instantly Rachel is hurled back in time to a day in her own childhood when her baby sister Michelle uttered the same cry while thunder crashed and rain poured down on them. The unearthed memory feels like a fragment from a nightmare, and Rachel doesn't understand its meaning or the anguish it stirs up in her.
When she seeks answers she learns nothing from Michelle or from Judith, their loving but manipulative mother. Judith is a psychologist who is only too happy to have her adult daughters still living in her elegant Tudor house outside Washington, DC. But their apparently serene home is a house of secrets where Judith's unspoken rules forbid questions about the family history or the daughters' long-dead father. As more baffling memories surface, Rachel begins to suspect that nothing about her family is what it seems. Fighting her mother's attempts to control her, Rachel embarks on a quest that takes her deep into her own memory as well as halfway across the country. The heartbreaking truth she uncovers will shatter her world and force her to make an unthinkable choice.
The Heat of the Moon is Sandra Parshall's first novel.
When she seeks answers she learns nothing from Michelle or from Judith, their loving but manipulative mother. Judith is a psychologist who is only too happy to have her adult daughters still living in her elegant Tudor house outside Washington, DC. But their apparently serene home is a house of secrets where Judith's unspoken rules forbid questions about the family history or the daughters' long-dead father. As more baffling memories surface, Rachel begins to suspect that nothing about her family is what it seems. Fighting her mother's attempts to control her, Rachel embarks on a quest that takes her deep into her own memory as well as halfway across the country. The heartbreaking truth she uncovers will shatter her world and force her to make an unthinkable choice.
The Heat of the Moon is Sandra Parshall's first novel.
280 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
86 people are currently reading
755 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Parshall
10 books60 followersSandra Parshall is the author of the Rachel Goddard Mysteries: The Heat of the Moon, which won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel of 2006; Disturbing the Dead; Broken Places; Under the Dog Star; and Bleeding Through (Sept 2012). A former reporter on newspapers in her home state of South Carolina as well as West Virginia and Baltimore, MD, she now lives in the Washington, DC, area with her journalist husband and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
December 5, 2016
Rachel Goddard’s job as a veterinarian was one she loved – but the day the injured dog was brought in by its owners for treatment, Rachel’s life became a mix of confusion and terror. Suddenly fragments of memory flashed through her mind – her little sister Michelle terrified in a storm; Rachel trying to comfort her, not much older herself. But now, in her twenties, it didn’t make sense – because there was nothing else there…
Rachel and Michelle’s mother Judith was a well-known and respected psychologist and while both adult daughters still lived in the family home in Washington with their mother, they all lived comfortably with each other. That was until Rachel began asking questions about their father who had died in a terrible car crash when she was five years old. Rachel had no memories at all of her father and wanted to see photos; she needed to know more about him.
What would Rachel discover as she defied her mother in her search for the truth? And why wouldn’t her mother talk about her past? Could Rachel break through the control her mother had over her?
Her show of affection for me was like the heat of the moon, an illusion, a glow that gave no warmth
Excellent! The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall is this author’s debut and also the first in the Rachel Goddard Mystery series. An intense and gripping psychological thriller I flew through the pages, thinking I knew the answers but nowhere near correct! I’ll be checking out the next in the series and have no hesitation in recommending The Heat of the Moon to fans of the genre.
Rachel and Michelle’s mother Judith was a well-known and respected psychologist and while both adult daughters still lived in the family home in Washington with their mother, they all lived comfortably with each other. That was until Rachel began asking questions about their father who had died in a terrible car crash when she was five years old. Rachel had no memories at all of her father and wanted to see photos; she needed to know more about him.
What would Rachel discover as she defied her mother in her search for the truth? And why wouldn’t her mother talk about her past? Could Rachel break through the control her mother had over her?
Her show of affection for me was like the heat of the moon, an illusion, a glow that gave no warmth
Excellent! The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall is this author’s debut and also the first in the Rachel Goddard Mystery series. An intense and gripping psychological thriller I flew through the pages, thinking I knew the answers but nowhere near correct! I’ll be checking out the next in the series and have no hesitation in recommending The Heat of the Moon to fans of the genre.
October 30, 2013
I think I can understand all the positive reviews. The story was good. It was gripping and engaging.
But I really had issues with some aspects. It was written in 2006. As far as I can see, the pub date and the award were both 2006. Maybe it had been written long ago, and published later? Hear me out. The only reason a character uses a computer is for school. A mobile phone is only used once in a while for calls. The main character visits the Library of Congress and uses... microfiche? And calls directory assistance to reach the public records office in a city in a different state? As a twenty-something in 2006, I can tell you that those functions had been replaced by computers and the internet. Finding those answers didn't require leaving the house.
Also, the main character is 26 and still living at home with her mother and 23 year old sister. Yet no one seems to think this is unusual (okay, it's mentioned once). And the controlling mother still has control over how the kids spend their time. They aren't allowed to date as they see fit. There's no hope for privacy in a place where each visit can only entail either visiting outside or in the "parlor". And they only ever use the word "mother" to describe the woman who supposedly gave birth to them.
These setting incongruities make it very hard for me to follow the story without feeling like the author has no idea what 21st Century USA looks and feels like. This book feels like it should have been set back decades in time. Or like maybe it was written then and recently edited without much thought put in to some of these things.
I really wanted to like this book. The story was really good. But every time someone said "mother" or "parlor" I got wrenched out of the story and my brain flinched at language people rarely use any longer. And every time a character did something that didn't fit in with a time period in which mobile phones have become abundant, I was yanked out of the story and found myself asking why someone would act in such a way.
I'm going to try the next book because I hope someone caught these issues and smoothed them over. But I'm not counting on it. And if the issues are still there, I'm sadly going to have to leave Rachel Goddard in my past.
But I really had issues with some aspects. It was written in 2006. As far as I can see, the pub date and the award were both 2006. Maybe it had been written long ago, and published later? Hear me out. The only reason a character uses a computer is for school. A mobile phone is only used once in a while for calls. The main character visits the Library of Congress and uses... microfiche? And calls directory assistance to reach the public records office in a city in a different state? As a twenty-something in 2006, I can tell you that those functions had been replaced by computers and the internet. Finding those answers didn't require leaving the house.
Also, the main character is 26 and still living at home with her mother and 23 year old sister. Yet no one seems to think this is unusual (okay, it's mentioned once). And the controlling mother still has control over how the kids spend their time. They aren't allowed to date as they see fit. There's no hope for privacy in a place where each visit can only entail either visiting outside or in the "parlor". And they only ever use the word "mother" to describe the woman who supposedly gave birth to them.
These setting incongruities make it very hard for me to follow the story without feeling like the author has no idea what 21st Century USA looks and feels like. This book feels like it should have been set back decades in time. Or like maybe it was written then and recently edited without much thought put in to some of these things.
I really wanted to like this book. The story was really good. But every time someone said "mother" or "parlor" I got wrenched out of the story and my brain flinched at language people rarely use any longer. And every time a character did something that didn't fit in with a time period in which mobile phones have become abundant, I was yanked out of the story and found myself asking why someone would act in such a way.
I'm going to try the next book because I hope someone caught these issues and smoothed them over. But I'm not counting on it. And if the issues are still there, I'm sadly going to have to leave Rachel Goddard in my past.
April 16, 2015
Rachel Goddard was not an easy person to like. A young veterinarian, her best relationships had always been with animals. Little did she know how screwed up her life had become.
THE HEAT OF THE MOON is the first book in a mystery series about this young woman. It gives you the backdrop of who she is and provides you with an understanding about her insecurities. She has had 'a number' done to her. While reading the story, I had to constantly remind myself of this. One moment she is acting her age and the next she reverts to an annoying child. But, I digress....
It contained a romance but the story is not a romance, if that makes any sense. The actual mystery is not hidden: within the first couple of chapters you will choose sides. Ms. Parshall cleverly entices the reader into believing that everything is black or white. Instead, there are many shades of grey: Rachel's relationships with her mother, sister and her boss/boyfriend.
I would only recommend this book if you had intentions of continuing with the series. In that case, it provides the atmosphere and framework of what I am sure will come.
THE HEAT OF THE MOON is the first book in a mystery series about this young woman. It gives you the backdrop of who she is and provides you with an understanding about her insecurities. She has had 'a number' done to her. While reading the story, I had to constantly remind myself of this. One moment she is acting her age and the next she reverts to an annoying child. But, I digress....
It contained a romance but the story is not a romance, if that makes any sense. The actual mystery is not hidden: within the first couple of chapters you will choose sides. Ms. Parshall cleverly entices the reader into believing that everything is black or white. Instead, there are many shades of grey: Rachel's relationships with her mother, sister and her boss/boyfriend.
I would only recommend this book if you had intentions of continuing with the series. In that case, it provides the atmosphere and framework of what I am sure will come.
June 10, 2018
This was a DNF. After numerous attempts, I've given up.
August 13, 2015
I LOVED the first half of this book. I found the setup fascinating, the characters intriguing. I really wanted to know how the situation had come about, and I had a hard time putting the book down.
But as the story went on, the behavior of the main character and her love interest made less and less sense to me. Stupid decisions, out of character for what seemed like very intelligent people just kept stacking up. Coincidences also became more and more common. Hints slipped in at the beginning never were revisited.
If I hadn't been so impressed, so drawn in at the beginning, I could have let all of this slide by. I've certainly enjoyed books that had all of these issues. I just set my expectations a little too high.
But as the story went on, the behavior of the main character and her love interest made less and less sense to me. Stupid decisions, out of character for what seemed like very intelligent people just kept stacking up. Coincidences also became more and more common. Hints slipped in at the beginning never were revisited.
If I hadn't been so impressed, so drawn in at the beginning, I could have let all of this slide by. I've certainly enjoyed books that had all of these issues. I just set my expectations a little too high.
dnf
March 3, 2021DNF at 33%
May 18, 2008
The Heart of the Moon is a compelling debut by Sandra Parshall which hooks the reader from the first page. Rachel Goddard, a young veterinarian, has overwhelming yet confusing reaction after watching a toddler in her office, crying and screaming for her mommy. This scene seems like it is reminiscent of one she experienced in her childhood but it is nothing she can place in her concrete memory. Rachel remembers bits and pieces of such a scene, but a feeling tell her there is more. And the feeling will not go away. As Rachel keeps digging trying to remember her childhood more questions than answers arise.
Rachel wants answers from her mom about what happened but her mother doesn't want to discuss the past. As a psychologist, Rachel's mother has always been the controller, the perfect parent who expects nothing less of those around her. Rachel enlists the help of a friend of her mother's from the past but he doesn't want to betray Rachel's mother's trust or friendship. He also isn't sure he knows exactly what transpired himself. Her boss, fellow veterinarian Luke Campbell , encourages her to delve into the mystery of what might of occurred to cause her feelings. But Rachel is up against the desire of her mother and her beloved sister to leave the past alone. To make matters worse, the mutual attraction between Rachel and Luke is not appreciated by her mother who has taken an active dislike to him. Her sister, whom she has been close to all her life, is becoming distant and distinctly unsupportive of her quest for answers.
The Heart of The Moon is a page turning mystery as one tries to figure out what secrets Rachel's mother is hiding from her and her sister. In this psychological thriller Sandra Parshall has created characters that sizzle and steam, not women easily forgotten. Using the emotion between a mother and her grown daughter, the eternal struggle to grow up and separate from a parent as the launches this plot's suspense to a place we can all understand. It examines the bonds between mother and daughter, the ties that hold sisters together and the knots that can become hopelessly entangled. The ending, both explosive and heart wrenching, is as powerful as it is unexpected.
Sandra Parshall won an Agatha for Best First Novel for The Heat of the Moon. Readers will easily see why she won this one the honor and agree that it is well deserved. She has now also written Disturbing the Dead, again featuring veterinarian Rachel Goddard. It will be interesting to watch if Parshall continues to develop the character of Rachel even more in the future.
Rachel wants answers from her mom about what happened but her mother doesn't want to discuss the past. As a psychologist, Rachel's mother has always been the controller, the perfect parent who expects nothing less of those around her. Rachel enlists the help of a friend of her mother's from the past but he doesn't want to betray Rachel's mother's trust or friendship. He also isn't sure he knows exactly what transpired himself. Her boss, fellow veterinarian Luke Campbell , encourages her to delve into the mystery of what might of occurred to cause her feelings. But Rachel is up against the desire of her mother and her beloved sister to leave the past alone. To make matters worse, the mutual attraction between Rachel and Luke is not appreciated by her mother who has taken an active dislike to him. Her sister, whom she has been close to all her life, is becoming distant and distinctly unsupportive of her quest for answers.
The Heart of The Moon is a page turning mystery as one tries to figure out what secrets Rachel's mother is hiding from her and her sister. In this psychological thriller Sandra Parshall has created characters that sizzle and steam, not women easily forgotten. Using the emotion between a mother and her grown daughter, the eternal struggle to grow up and separate from a parent as the launches this plot's suspense to a place we can all understand. It examines the bonds between mother and daughter, the ties that hold sisters together and the knots that can become hopelessly entangled. The ending, both explosive and heart wrenching, is as powerful as it is unexpected.
Sandra Parshall won an Agatha for Best First Novel for The Heat of the Moon. Readers will easily see why she won this one the honor and agree that it is well deserved. She has now also written Disturbing the Dead, again featuring veterinarian Rachel Goddard. It will be interesting to watch if Parshall continues to develop the character of Rachel even more in the future.
May 1, 2014
So frustrated with this book. 27 and 23 year old daughters are still living with a "mommy dearest". Very weird about having to go the Library of Congress to look up articles in a newspaper and using directory assistance when the book was written in 2006. Not a mystery, not a thriller and sure not a romance. The main daughter and the weird relationship she is involved with was laughable. Parts of the book were so good and very believable but just hard to reconcile the flat characters. The ending was horrible and felt rushed.
March 26, 2016
Buried memories surface to reveal a past.
August 16, 2023
Oh, my. What a truly horrifying villain/criminal!
Judith Goddard makes Cinderella's stepmother look like Mrs. March. A practicing psychologist, she devises a way to make her cheating husband pay--even after he is dead in a car crash. Her daughters, Rachel and Michelle, are controlled in the most devious manner ever, and when Rachel tries to assert herself, Judith stomps on her like a ton of dynamite.
Everyone has secrets. Everyone.
The resolution is hard-won and sad/happy. I have read one other in the series (out of order, for sure) and now I understand some of the backstory. I had to keep reading to find out how these two young women were going to survive.
Judith Goddard makes Cinderella's stepmother look like Mrs. March. A practicing psychologist, she devises a way to make her cheating husband pay--even after he is dead in a car crash. Her daughters, Rachel and Michelle, are controlled in the most devious manner ever, and when Rachel tries to assert herself, Judith stomps on her like a ton of dynamite.
Everyone has secrets. Everyone.
The resolution is hard-won and sad/happy. I have read one other in the series (out of order, for sure) and now I understand some of the backstory. I had to keep reading to find out how these two young women were going to survive.
August 6, 2020
It was OK, there wasn't enough suspense and the ending definitely left too much to be desired, although since this is a series, maybe the 2nd one ties up some loose ends
December 5, 2012
This book isn't a mystery in the usual sense. It isn't a book about solving a murder, but I won't tell you what it is--beyond something I would classify as psychological suspense--because telling you anything might ruin the book.
The author uses foreshadowing to build up suspense initially then maintains it with excellent story telling. I liked the characters and was satisfied with the writing and editing. I did have a formatting issue either with the ebook itself or its display in my android app, but the issue is the trivial but annoying issue of boxes added to the end of many paragraphs. I would like to see it fixed, but the author can't be blamed for it (not fairly anyway).
Overall an intense but worthwhile read that I recommend.
The author uses foreshadowing to build up suspense initially then maintains it with excellent story telling. I liked the characters and was satisfied with the writing and editing. I did have a formatting issue either with the ebook itself or its display in my android app, but the issue is the trivial but annoying issue of boxes added to the end of many paragraphs. I would like to see it fixed, but the author can't be blamed for it (not fairly anyway).
Overall an intense but worthwhile read that I recommend.
September 14, 2015
*Audio book* - The main character is an idiot. She and her sister act like they are living in the 1950's, not 2006. I couldn't get past how "miss priss" they were! Also, I don't care what the "mother" did to them, I find it hard to believe she would have that much control over her children. I just kept thinking, God, this Rachel is really an idiot to not see all the manipulations! And Luke, how he put up with Rachel's stupidity is unreal! I hated everyone in this book, except for Luke, and I only liked him a little.
January 24, 2013
A few days ago after plodding through the first part of the book, I almost put it down. Actually, I did. Then picked it back up 10 minutes later and am glad I didn't. This is a good book. I'm realizing I don't need to read some books word for word, as I found myself skipping through a page of describing things I didn't care about just to get back to the meaty parts. Nice twists and although I had it figured out about halfway through, I didn't know the whys or hows.
April 6, 2015
Veterinarian Rachel Goddard’s life is pretty much going along OK until a screaming wet child starts to cry in her waiting room. Rachel tries to comfort the child and experiences a flashback moment of deja vu. This leads Rachel on a quest to find out what has happened in her past that she has forgotten.
August 5, 2011
Disappointing. I know it won an award, but to me it read like a romance novel, not a mystery. The characters never really came alive. About halfway through, I started speed reading--never a good sign.
October 18, 2012
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. But like almost all these type of books, it never ceases to amaze me how the "amateur" sleuths can just go from town to town following meager clues, while I sometimes have trouble finding my local 7/11. Only kidding about that but you get the point, right!
December 22, 2016
This of course was the first book in a series of Rachel Goddard
Mysteries. It gives you an insight in her past and how she
became the person she is now.
So many twists and turns. I didn't even see coming.
Very good. Held my interest through out.
Mysteries. It gives you an insight in her past and how she
became the person she is now.
So many twists and turns. I didn't even see coming.
Very good. Held my interest through out.
June 23, 2015
My first Rachel Goddard mystery. Audible has it as the Daily Deal for $3.95. Narrator sounds intriguing. Looking forward to this!
June 20, 2025
SPOILER ALERT
In this compelling story, Judith Goddard loses her stability when her husband and daughter Michelle are killed in an automobile accident, probably when Judith began a fight in the car accusing Michael of adultery. He had an affair with Barbara Dawson, a secretary in the law firm in which he worked. A child, Stephanie is the result. When Michelle dies in the accident, Judith sees no reason that Barbara should keep a daughter when hers is dead. So she steals Stephanie and her older sister, Catherine, from the playground, where Barbara had left them for a short time.
Judith, a psychologist, hypnotizes the girls, over and over, to remove memories of their prior lives. But Catherine, now Rachel, does not completely forget, and frequent, if frustrating and confusing flashbacks, cause her to question Judith for information especially about her father. There is only one picture of him, with only Michelle. It will lead to Rachel sneaking info from her mother's office, files and locked boxes. It will move her look up the accident that happened in Minneapolis where they had once lived. She finds the article that tells of the death of Michael AND MICHELLE. So who are they? She tells Michelle, who is studying to become a psychologist, and is particularly close to their mother. Rachel realizes that she is an aside as far as her mother is concerned. A mother who continues to hypnotize her reenforcing the orders not to remember, and to sever all attachments to boyfriends, even Michelle from Kevin.
Rachel is a veterinarian and is working for Luke Campbell, who has recently bought the practice. He is attracted to her and her to him. He immediately sees what Judith is like and what she does to Rachel and Michelle, undermining their thoughts and relationships, instilling quilt in them when they question her. But Rachel will set up a recording off the latest hypnosis session. When she hears it she confronts her mother. Judith, who is making dinner, does after Rachel with the knife, intending to kill, her. Michelle stops her. Judith flees to the bathroom, where she cuts her wrists and then her neck, severing her carotid. She dies. Rachel and Michelle get their stories straight, hide the articles Rachel had copied from the newspaper, and it is judged suicide. Rachel then finds another article in the St. Cloud paper describing the abduction of the two girls. She goes to Minnesota to interview the detective who was in charge of the case, and also her biological mother. She decides to leave the secret alone. Both the detective and her mother believe the girls are dead. The detective still believes that John Dawson had killed the girls. Her mother has remarried and has two children now.
Very clever, and provocative.
In this compelling story, Judith Goddard loses her stability when her husband and daughter Michelle are killed in an automobile accident, probably when Judith began a fight in the car accusing Michael of adultery. He had an affair with Barbara Dawson, a secretary in the law firm in which he worked. A child, Stephanie is the result. When Michelle dies in the accident, Judith sees no reason that Barbara should keep a daughter when hers is dead. So she steals Stephanie and her older sister, Catherine, from the playground, where Barbara had left them for a short time.
Judith, a psychologist, hypnotizes the girls, over and over, to remove memories of their prior lives. But Catherine, now Rachel, does not completely forget, and frequent, if frustrating and confusing flashbacks, cause her to question Judith for information especially about her father. There is only one picture of him, with only Michelle. It will lead to Rachel sneaking info from her mother's office, files and locked boxes. It will move her look up the accident that happened in Minneapolis where they had once lived. She finds the article that tells of the death of Michael AND MICHELLE. So who are they? She tells Michelle, who is studying to become a psychologist, and is particularly close to their mother. Rachel realizes that she is an aside as far as her mother is concerned. A mother who continues to hypnotize her reenforcing the orders not to remember, and to sever all attachments to boyfriends, even Michelle from Kevin.
Rachel is a veterinarian and is working for Luke Campbell, who has recently bought the practice. He is attracted to her and her to him. He immediately sees what Judith is like and what she does to Rachel and Michelle, undermining their thoughts and relationships, instilling quilt in them when they question her. But Rachel will set up a recording off the latest hypnosis session. When she hears it she confronts her mother. Judith, who is making dinner, does after Rachel with the knife, intending to kill, her. Michelle stops her. Judith flees to the bathroom, where she cuts her wrists and then her neck, severing her carotid. She dies. Rachel and Michelle get their stories straight, hide the articles Rachel had copied from the newspaper, and it is judged suicide. Rachel then finds another article in the St. Cloud paper describing the abduction of the two girls. She goes to Minnesota to interview the detective who was in charge of the case, and also her biological mother. She decides to leave the secret alone. Both the detective and her mother believe the girls are dead. The detective still believes that John Dawson had killed the girls. Her mother has remarried and has two children now.
Very clever, and provocative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2025
The author's writing was good, the story not too wordy. It was a quick read that held my attention.
That said -I couldn't like this family. The characters were damaged people. Judith reminded me of the mother of a guy I dated decades ago. Because of this, I understood why the sisters were clueless about her. Rachel struggled with being obedient, even though she was 26 years old. Her younger sister was just babyish. No way was she going to counsel other people. Nothing mature about her. Their mother didn't want them having relationships outside the family. But ...
Rachel had been away at college, so where were school friends? She made no friends at college or reflected on their family dysfunction when she was away from it? Her romance with the other vet was laughable as well. Same with the sister, no friends but the boy she used to date in HS?
Judith's friend Theo wasn't developed. He only had a couple purposes in this tale, but he'd have to be suspicious of Judith hypnotizing her daughters because it's not ethical. Judith berates him when he's caught out helping Rachel and he just takes it? Not realistic.
It wasn't terrible and I did somewhat enjoy it. I'd figured out the end. I probably won't read any more of the series because I just don't want to know what comes next.
That said -I couldn't like this family. The characters were damaged people. Judith reminded me of the mother of a guy I dated decades ago. Because of this, I understood why the sisters were clueless about her. Rachel struggled with being obedient, even though she was 26 years old. Her younger sister was just babyish. No way was she going to counsel other people. Nothing mature about her. Their mother didn't want them having relationships outside the family. But ...
Rachel had been away at college, so where were school friends? She made no friends at college or reflected on their family dysfunction when she was away from it? Her romance with the other vet was laughable as well. Same with the sister, no friends but the boy she used to date in HS?
Judith's friend Theo wasn't developed. He only had a couple purposes in this tale, but he'd have to be suspicious of Judith hypnotizing her daughters because it's not ethical. Judith berates him when he's caught out helping Rachel and he just takes it? Not realistic.
It wasn't terrible and I did somewhat enjoy it. I'd figured out the end. I probably won't read any more of the series because I just don't want to know what comes next.
May 8, 2024
When a client rushes in to the vet office where Rachel Goddard works with her young daughter who is upset and crying it triggers Rachel. Rachel soon tries to find out more about her father who died when she was 5 and when her mother won't tell her anything she enlists a friend of her mother's to hypnotize her to find out more. She eventually visits the Library of Congress to look up old newspaper articles and sneaks into her mother's safe in her study closet to find out more information. When Rachel discovers the truth it leads to a tragedy. This was a very well written and well edited book and the story was mostly believable except for the part of Rachel having no birth certificate. The mother would have had to have some type of birth certificate, in my opinion, to register Rachel and her sister, Michelle in school so that part of the book was a little unrealistic to me. The author is a good writer and I was certainly drawn into the book. I have gotten the whole series so I can find out what else happens to Rachel.
February 22, 2021
FYI, this is the same review I wrote on Amazon -- also I'm still working on the book though am more than halfway through it, and I'm not sure I'll be able to stand it enough to finish:
If you enjoy families where an extremely narcissistic "mother" uses fairly constant and obvious passive aggression to manipulate her daughters' lives and prevent them from having meaningful relationships, you'll love this book. Yes, you know from the beginning there's some sort of mystery in the past that will be uncovered -- but that does not rescue the book from the pain inflicted by witnessing this family interact (and from watching the younger daughter become like the mother). It actually reminded me of a bad reality television show (many of which are pretty fake). Beware. (And, by the way, I read a lot but very, very seldom comment -- this book's "family" dynamics are so unpleasant I felt I had to comment on both Amazon and Goodreads.)
If you enjoy families where an extremely narcissistic "mother" uses fairly constant and obvious passive aggression to manipulate her daughters' lives and prevent them from having meaningful relationships, you'll love this book. Yes, you know from the beginning there's some sort of mystery in the past that will be uncovered -- but that does not rescue the book from the pain inflicted by witnessing this family interact (and from watching the younger daughter become like the mother). It actually reminded me of a bad reality television show (many of which are pretty fake). Beware. (And, by the way, I read a lot but very, very seldom comment -- this book's "family" dynamics are so unpleasant I felt I had to comment on both Amazon and Goodreads.)
September 11, 2023
This debut novel is really a fine mystery. With a bit of tweaking, this would be great and I intend to to read the next book just to see if I am correct that the stories will only get better.
Complex plot with secrets galore, focus on abusive psychology, and the ever-complicated mother-daughter relationship combines for an absorbing fast-paced read. Not sure if I agreed with how it ends, and I suspect this author had to make a difficult decision on just how to end it.
The side story of Rachel's workplace romance with Luke is not handled especially well in the sense that by the end of the story, even the reader is not sure whether they should stay together. Moved too fast. Think Luke said "I Love You" on their second encounter.
The mother's pristine and elegant home is also not likely to have an animal refuge in the backyard either. These people eat on fine china on weeknights. Bit unrealistic.
That said though, this was quite riveting.
Complex plot with secrets galore, focus on abusive psychology, and the ever-complicated mother-daughter relationship combines for an absorbing fast-paced read. Not sure if I agreed with how it ends, and I suspect this author had to make a difficult decision on just how to end it.
The side story of Rachel's workplace romance with Luke is not handled especially well in the sense that by the end of the story, even the reader is not sure whether they should stay together. Moved too fast. Think Luke said "I Love You" on their second encounter.
The mother's pristine and elegant home is also not likely to have an animal refuge in the backyard either. These people eat on fine china on weeknights. Bit unrealistic.
That said though, this was quite riveting.
November 6, 2018
1.75 stars. Started the series with volume four, which was an okay, straightforward mystery, so I decided to check out its beginnings and was greeted with this irritating mess of aggravating characters and silly plot. Protagonist is crap, her family is crap, lover boy is crap.
Was also irritated by some of the reviews for this book and their "ye gads, a 23yo and a 27yo still living with their mother?!" Plenty of cultures have multiple generations living together under one roof, and even in this society where brand new adults are expected to flee the nest as soon as they become 18 there are probably more adult children living with their parents than people expect, for a variety of reasons. Likely, these people just don't talk about it, as other people will automatically assume that those adult children are all NEETs living in their mother's basement, or that there is perhaps something else just *wrong* with them and their family, but this is all just me projecting. (Still, fuck this book for further perpetuating the stereotype that any parent + adult child household means that there is something untoward going on behind the scenes.)
Was also irritated by some of the reviews for this book and their "ye gads, a 23yo and a 27yo still living with their mother?!" Plenty of cultures have multiple generations living together under one roof, and even in this society where brand new adults are expected to flee the nest as soon as they become 18 there are probably more adult children living with their parents than people expect, for a variety of reasons. Likely, these people just don't talk about it, as other people will automatically assume that those adult children are all NEETs living in their mother's basement, or that there is perhaps something else just *wrong* with them and their family, but this is all just me projecting. (Still, fuck this book for further perpetuating the stereotype that any parent + adult child household means that there is something untoward going on behind the scenes.)
June 9, 2017
Novels by their very definition require a degree of suspension of belief, otherwise it would be news, not a novel. For me, the closer to that line, the line between fiction and nonfiction, the better. Real locales, realistic situations, no superhero characters, a believable plot, romance and violence that are not over the top, all characteristics that contribute to a great novel. I hope the rest of the series remains similarly positioned.
September 28, 2020
Apparently this didn't impress me much because it wasn't until the last twenty minutes to a half hour of listening to the book that I realized I had already read the book - wasn't until she was interviewing her biological mother that it registered with me. After that I also discovered that I had the 2nd and 3rd book of the series listed in 2017 as having been read. Not sure I'll go on to the last two or not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2022
The first 2/3 of the book was God-Awful. I wanted to give up so many times. The last 1/3 was really good, the whole story could have been good, but it was just so weird int he beginning and it felt so fragmented as if the author wasn't sure from paragraph to paragraph where they were going with it. I will not be continuing the series, just not for me, I really don't care what happens to these people.
October 10, 2017
Would have made a whole lot more sense to read these books in order, but I didn't...I have enjoyed this series, but the writing is a bit disjointed and the main character needs a good shaking and should be told to get out of her own way!!
December 5, 2021
I’ve skimmed a few reviews of this book but seen no mentions of Luke, the least supportive boyfriend ever. The book just isn’t that believable. Rachel isn’t sure what’s up with Mom, but she’s okay with Luke’s judgements? Hard to buy.
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