Lost Innocence

by Susan Lewis

When Alicia Carlyle returns to the home of her childhood after the tragic death of her husband, she is hoping to put the past behind her. But first she must come face to face with the woman who nearly destroyed her marriage and tore her family in two - her sister-in-law, Sabrina. Their enmity runs deep, but Alicia is determined to make a fresh start for herself and her two children, Nathan and Darcie, and to heal her fractured relationship with her beloved brother. However, just when it looks as if they might have a chance at a brighter future, Sabrina's fifteen-year-old daughter, Annabelle, accuses seventeen-year-old Nathan of a crime he insists he didn't commit. And once more the two families are locked in a battle that is fraught with mistrust, betrayal and lies - a battle that threatens to destroy them all...

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Crime, Ebooks, Mystery, Family, Chick Lit

658 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 16, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.


Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, once I started this book it was really difficult to put it down.

Easy five stars.

[Helena Wildsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and really struggled to put it down. Emotional yet totally believable and with a terrifying storyline, it's one I'll be recommending to family and friends. Susan Lewis seems like a British blend of two of my favourite authors - Jodi Picoult and Kristen Hannah - so I'll definitely be reading more by her.

[Tracy Barrall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couldn't put down book. Alicia's ife is turned upside down when her husband Craig dies suddenly. With two children to think of she has no choice but to return to her home town of Holly Wood and face an even bigger problem, Sabrina her husbands mistress who just happens to be her brothers wife. Things go from bad to worse when their children Annabelle and Nat go to a rave and the two familes have to deal with the mess that follows. A great read!

[Nisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man this book was seriously slow! Then picked up in moments then dragged! Found Sabrina and Annabelle to be way over the top

[Laura Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, you thought the story was going one way then went another

[Nurshafiqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh my god. i did NOT expect this book to be so good. i could not stop reading.

all the characters were wonderfully written. they were all so real and made me feel things. like, i absolutely despised sabrina. that bitch. she cheated and showed no remorse. she was so delusional, i wanted to slap her so bad. i tried to see things from her point, but i can't. if you REALLY love someone, you wouldn't be as selfish as her. it was all about her. ugh. susan lewis sure is one heck of an author for making me so mad about a character!

one of the things the book was about is rape. it's a horrible thing but i can't quite muster the sympathy for annabelle. i feel like a bad person but that's just how i feel. it's not like nat wanted to, or was thinking about it. plus he DID stop, after he realized what he's doing. annabelle said no, nat couldn't hear her cause he was so mad, but what, in a few minutes, seconds maybe, he got to his senses and stopped. fine, he called her names, but it's not like it was only her feelings being hurt here.

ended too nicely to be realistic, so thumbs down for that. all in all, a pretty awesome read. 3 stars. wouldn't mind reading more books by susan lewis.

[Manuela Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando pego em livros de certos autores as minhas expectativas começam em alta, e Susan Lewis é uma dessas escritoras que nunca me desiludiu, é uma verdadeira contadora de histórias de intriga, segredos, mistérios e paixões.
A sua escrita é fluida, directa, acessível e cativante. A leitura é intensa, surpreendente, emocionante e encantadora. A história apodera-se de nós da primeira à última página.
Quando pensamos que está tudo sob controlo, tudo à nossa volta se desmorona, o segredo é mesmo saber controlar as emoções e revoltas Vi-me enredada pela narrativa, fazia parte da história e que história! Uma verdadeira aglomeração de sensações e perturbações se acercaram de mim.
Este livro foi daqueles que quando acabei a leitura senti tristeza por ter acabado.
Simplesmente um livro EXCELENTE uma autora que recomendo a qualquer pessoa.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author's always been a bit hit 'n' miss for me....some of hers I've given 3 or 4* and others I deleted....and I can't give this one more than 3 because of the mistakes in it, especially one where she got her own character's name wrong. THAT transgression always costs any book a star penalty from me !!
There was an odd moment in it when they were at a pub about to order a meal but then went and got bags of nuts and crisps as well !! The girl crying rape in the story is certainly an unlikeable one for sure.....and a real tart for someone as young as she was !! Alicia mentioned as an artist trying to flog her sculptures on Ebay whereas I would've thought she ought to use Etsy in this fashion. I did find Darcie's vocabulary more advanced than I could believe as well, especially at one point in the story when she was only nine. Later on the CPS is referred to as a "him" and this was penned before all the gender nonsense they try and push down our collective throats these days !!
She misused or missed too many hyphens...basic stuff: sister-inlaw or black-currant or backup or carryingson.....then there were also a lot of question marks missed off sentences where someone was clearly asking something....highly annoying. But when she writes Annabelle instead of Alicia I almost combusted !
The story itself was a good one and kept me interested (and it illustrates well where secrets and lies get you) and there were some very touching passages in it that resonated with me but the mistakes just had me too irritated, to be honest. I think this is where myself and this author part ways. I had a few by her saved in my wishlist but I've taken them off now. She's just too inconsistent for me, unfortunately.
Oh, and I told her last year that a black preacher type had hijacked her bio page on Amazon and it's still there !!

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise story! Rather like a Gone With the Wind theme A fast read and one I found hard to put down.

[Anne Hannan pike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read enjoyed it ..!!!

[Debbie Loader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers.....Oh wow what a book, it starts slowly with that subject that I am not comfortable with ....adultery The story is told from past and present using different characters POV. Craig is a barrister married to Alicia and they have two children Nathan and Darcie.

Robert is Alicia's older brother and he marries Sabrina who already has a daughter Annabelle but was previously married.

Alicia finds Craig and Sabrina in the guest room of their home boinking whilst the house is filling with guests for Craig's 40th birthday party - was he stupid to shag his mistress in the marital home or did he want to get caught??? Sabrina milks this one smirking at Alicia over his shoulder whilst telling Craig to go faster and harder. Alicia demands "the slut" leave her house and that the party is cancelled. Craig is devastated and says it was all a mistake but Sabrina lets slip they have been at it for a year. Alicia walks away telling him he can explain to his guests that they must leave.

So Sabrina....what a witch...she gives a genuine tart a bad name ..... I think she goes after Craig because she cannot bear to be ignored and go she does whilst on a shared family holiday in Italy. It's not clear how long she has been dangling her assets but its enough that Craig finds himself in lust. Equally his 14 year old son Nat is exploring things with his 12 year old cousin!!

Craig gives her up but cracks after two weeks, they continue to meet until Alicia catches sight of his mobile and credit card bill and tells him give her up or their marriage is over. He dumps Sabrina who fools herself that he will come back as he did before. Time goes by and she realises that its over but she cannot let go and stalks, harasses and drunkenly contacts him saying she will kill herself. It's not until Robert threatens to end their marriage that she stops. But she drops into a deep depression, squawking her life is over and for two years openly pushes her daughter and husband away.

She drove me nuts with her constant self obsessed internal monologues on how heart broken she is and how Alicia stole him back and ruined her life ...err sorry that was her husband. She cannot understand or see what she did wrong or the harm she caused!

So during all this a huge flaming row between Sabrina and Alicia takes place when Alicia and Robert's mother decides to try and bring peace to the family. It all goes horribly wrong with both women receiving bruises and bloody noses, the bald patches made me grin!

Her mother also gets a little bruised trying break this up, but in the end she asks Alicia to not come home anymore as its too upsetting for Sabrina and Robert! She gets steadily sicker and once she ends up in a hospice it is easier for Alicia, Nat and Darcie to spend time with her until she dies. She leaves the Coach House (the family home) to Alicia which becomes essential as Craig has a bleed on the brain and dies instantly. Alicia and the children loose everything as there is no insurance,

Returning to the family home in Holly Wood, Sabrina starts a campaign to get her sister in law out of the village as she views this as her territory and her jealousy is out of control. Annabelle meanwhile is completely off the rails with no respect for either her mother or herself which gets worse when she eavesdrops on a row between her mother and Robert where she hears about her mother's affair with Craig. She realises now what had been happening. Because she and Nate had been close once she goes out of her way to catch his eye, with the flirting, "I'm easy" flag flying but all she does is annoy him and make him angry.

I am going to leave it there, go and read it I confess to thoroughly enjoying it, especially the rock throwing tantrum (abandonment issues my arse!!)

[Best Crime Books & More · Rating 4 out of 5]

This particular story introduces us to Alicia Carlyle and her children Nat and Darcie. Alicia has to make some huge changes following the sudden death of her husband Craig. Alicia grew up in Holly Wood which is where her brother Robert and his wife Sabrina live along with Sabrina's daughter Annabelle. When Alicia is forced to move back to her childhood home to start afresh she realises that things aren't going to be easy. She is going to have to face her sister-in-law who nearly wrecked her life and marriage. She also wants to try and build bridge with her brother Robert as things between them have been strained for over a year. When she does return at first it seems like life will bring her a brighter and better future with the introduction of a man who can help her career and a new home and schools for her children.

At 17, Nat has decided to follow in his late fathers footsteps and go into law and his sister Darcie is looking forward to meeting the friends that she used to play with when she was younger. However before long all of their lives are shattered when Annabelle accuses Nat of a crime he says he didn't commit. The following months tell a very sad and tragic tale of two children locked in a battle over who is telling the truth. The truth is marred by the past involving both Sabrina and Alicia with Robert stuck in the middle. Will the truth come out, and more importantly who is telling lies and who isn't?

I must say that although I have been a huge fan of Susan Lewis, this latest book exceeded all expectations. She manages to write a fantastic book that really pulls at heart strings. She manages to write about situations that have probably happened across the world to many different people. She writes with feeling and emotion telling a truly sad tale. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think that unlike other authors; her work seems to get better with every book she writes. I struggle to fit this book into a category as she doesn't fall into my opinion of `Chick Lit'. She writes books that touch a nerve and never fails to impress. I would say that I would HIGHLY recommend this book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este livro é na prática uma grande telenovela. Sabrina é a má da fita. Apesar de ser ela e a filha que dão cor ao livro (que seria aborrecido sem elas) tive pena de ela ser demasiado quadrada, ser desenhada apenas como a má. Não gosto de personagens que apenas têm uma vertente, todos somos bonzinhos e mauzinhos e as obsessões de Sabrina e a forma como foi descrita, tive pena, podia lhe ter sido dada toda uma outra dimensão. Ao contrário da mãe, Anabelle acaba por ter dois lados: a adolescente rebelde devido ás crises da mãe que apenas está em busca de atenção e ao mesmo tempo uma Anabelle frágil e que tem de lidar com as consequências do que fez. Quanto a toda a temática que se torna central a partir de meio livro (a violação) e acaba por lhe dar um novo fôlego, acaba por ser bem conseguida. É difícil para mim, enquanto leitora, saber quem está certo. Anabelle, a vitima, que dormia com tudo o que mexia, assediava o seu violador e depois aparece como vitima. Ou Nat, o menino bonzinho que se passou da cabeça com o que Anabelle lhe disse ao ponto de a violar. O fim acaba por ser agridoce, mas era o fim esperado, em que todos têm razão e todos ficam bem.

Até agora falei de quase todas as personagens do livro menos a protagonista... engraçado não é? Alicia é a típica boazinha a quem acontece tudo de mau. Sem sal completamente. As partes dela foram lidas na diagonal e ainda mais na diagonal o seu romance com o Cameron.

Um livro interessante, bastante novelesco, mas que prende do inicio ao fim. Foi uma leitura semi compulsiva (exceto a parte da Alicia).

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unbelievably raw story told sensitively and with compassion for all parties. Alicia, Nat and Darcie are a strong family unit shocked by tragedy and a upheaval of moving at a time they are still grieving. Robert, Sabrina and Annabelle are a tormented family struggling to survive a affair between Sabrina and Alicia's husband Craig in the past.
A serious and upsetting accusation of rape causes distress for both families as emotions go haywire between Alicia and Sabrina.
The most impressive character throughout has been Robert, who has been torn between supporting his wife & stepdaughter and his sister Alicia and nephew Nat!
I couldn't help feeling sorry for Sabrina , as her past still tormented her and also caused so many problems in her present life.
Susan Lewis has written an incredibly touching, yet serious story. The letter scene alone had me crying actual tears as I felt Alicia and Nat's pain and yet relief at the same time!
I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys books by Diane Chamberlain or Jodi Picoult!
I've actually stayed up till nearly 2 am to finish this book even though I'm working in a few hours time. It was just impossible to put down!

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Lewis has written an outstanding twenty two novels and yet published another enjoyable novel.
I liked the fact that this story has 644 pages packed with family drama with secrets and betrayal.

Alicia Carlyle comes back to the home of her childhood with her two children Nathan and Darcie after the tragic death of her husband.

Alicia wants to mend her relationship with brother and she has to come face to face with her sister-in-law Sabrina that destroyed her marriage and tore her family apart. Sabrina's fifteen-year-old daughter Annabelle, accuses seventeen-year-old Nathan of a crime he insists that he did not commit.

So much happens in the story that it would spoil it to mention more. I recommend Lost Innocence because it is expertly written with interesting characters. I hope that many more readers will sit back and enjoy this breathtaking novel as much as I have.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and couldn't put it down towards the end. Without giving too much away, it's the story of Alicia and her family who move from London back to the village where Alicia grew up, which is also where her brother Robert and his family live. Whilst Alicia and Robert are very close, the other family members have 'history', and various events trigger arguments and worse....

[Kath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was lent this with a glowing review. Got bored with it pretty quickly so just scanned it. Plot was unoriginal, teenagers' conversations embarrassing in their attempt to sound credible, much too long and a ridiculous ending. Plus some unnecessarily crude passages that didn't do anything for the plot or the characters.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Lots of twists and turns throughout the plot and a fantastic ending.

[Diana Hubbard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit slow to start with and a bit of a lame ending, but ok for a 'holiday read' type book

[Iv Aleks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah,well...I certainly finished the book for “no time”,the plot itself was interesting enough to hook me up,however...I didn’t quite like the characters.For a start I didn’t like Alicia,obviously Sabrina was not to be liked for sure.I felt sorry for Annabelle and possibly the only person that interested me was Robert but his role in the book was nothing but a peacemaker when I believe he was much more complex with emotions and deserved an individual storyline for himself.I didn’t like Craig and his letter to Monika didn’t make me to feel any sympathy or believe him completely.To make mistake once is somehow understandable but the same mistake twice is a serious question whether this time he really had his head cleared.I wouldn’t have trusted him again after the second time.The book was also too long.At times I skipped pages without even loosing the plot.This is a real issue for me with authors willing to write big,fat books.I don’t know why they do it.It requires really strong and profound storyline and also I would say rather masterpiece ability to fill in so many pages and not bore readers.Susan Lewis is a holiday read for me anyway,this is definitely not a chedeuvre.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, but so many disturbing factors.

My review won’t spoil anything for you, since most of what I’m about to say here, you know in the 1st 25 pages.

Alicia‘s husband Craig died, and even though they lived amazingly comfortable with their two children, he didn’t take the possibility of a young death seriously enough to make sure they would be taken care of if you were to die. Well, of course he died! So she loses her husband, and then shortly thereafter loses her mother. Alicia and her two teenagers moved back to the town in which she was raised, into the home where she grew up. Her brother Robert, wife Sabrina and stepdaughter Annabelle live in this same little town.

Turns out Craig had been sleeping with his sister-in-law Sabrina in an affair that only ended six months before he died.

Sabrina is a total whack job! Self-centered beyond belief! Her 15-year-old daughter Annabelle is quite the little slut.

This book was very well written, and had me intrigued all the way to the very end. It would’ve ended a bit differently, had I written the book… but that’s the way it is sometimes.

[Christina Rochester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read but its based around the very sensitive subject of rape. What I think works is that its seen to be a grey area, Annabelle who isn't a particularly likeable character honestly regards herself to have been raped, while Nathan who is accused of the crime, honestly believes he didn't rape her.

For much of the book knowing that Susan Lewis likes to give out happy endings I wss worried that because the rape was neither confirmed nor denied until almost the very end, that this might be a case of it did possibly happen and Nathan will get off scott free. Obviously I'm not going to say how it ends because that would ruin the story. What I will say is that this is definitely worth picking up.

[Fernando Nunes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Livros de bolso e viagens rimam bem. A autora consegue escrever 600 páginas com um romance que com o qual ou sem o qual o mundo fica tal e qual. Contudo, conta como os jovens adolescentes podem levar longe as "raves" e os relacionamentos. Consumos de drogas e de álcool num coqueteile explosivo. Depois, bem, dá que o Reino Unido, onde se desenrola a trama é na Europa quem vai à frente no número de nascimentos por "teenagers". Portugal vai em segundo. A tradutora do livro não vai mal, embora se notem, por vezes, traduções muito literais. Lê-se com agrado.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read other books by Susan Lewis and really enjoyed them but this one, whilst good was a bit simple and predictable. The story follows Alicia and her family moving home after the death of her husband. A difficult time and one where she is keen to connect with her brother and friends again. Sadly and fairly predictably her sister in law appears to not really like Alicia or her family, or truth be told her husband, Alicia's brother. She comes across together with her daughter as spoilt and unpleasant. It seems too contrived and ultimately the novel ended as I expected.

[Stacey Houllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put the book down Susan Lewis writing in Lost of Innocence was fantastic by none It showed the relationships of family's when one partner has an affair with his sister in law and how their lives are turn upside down when he dies leaving his wife and children to move near her sister in law and brother knowing that she nearly destroyed her marriage.
It is also the story of children in both families how they cope growing up and changes in their lives now to come as well as moving on.

[leitora_magica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Já tenho este livro há vários anos e comecei a ler 2 ou 3 vezes poucas páginas mas sempre tive curiosidade para ler(dãã por isso que comprei) mas nunca imaginei que o livro fosse mais pesado do que mostra pela sinopse. Logo aí das nos pistas do que sobre a história é mas mais para a frente é como se tornase ainda mais pesado apesar de que é interessante ver dois pontos de vista que no final se mostra muito importante

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts of this were incredibly slow, I skimmed through them without loosing anything from the story, so they could have been omitted making the book about three quarters it's length. Therefore I feel it was full of padding, working towards a page count perhaps. But the story part of the book was really good and once I was into reading that I was totally absorbed.

[Linda Leedham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another spell Binding read by Susan Lewis, I fell in love with the Craig family despite the accusations being held against Nat. So when I was reading the 21st chapter,I feared what might be happening and wasn't sure I could read any further . It was a truly heart breaking story brilliantly told looking forward to reading more of her books.

[Lidia Craveiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

No inicio do livro achei um pouco chato, mas à medida que fui progredindo na leitura, tornou-se viciante. quando tudo já era tão mau, não esperava que pudesse ficar pior. mas a grande surpresa do livro foi o final que esperava que fosse completamente diferente.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers some tough topics. Susan Lewis has looked at both sides of the stories for both topics.
I did struggle to get behind a couple of characters in this book but that could be due to me not ever being in those situations.