My Mother's Secret by Sanjida Kay

My Mother's Secret 

by Sanjida Kay 

I had seen lots of reviews for this book from other bloggers and authors and the cover had definitely caught my eye, so I was totally delighted to be offered a copy by the author and couldn't wait to read on and find out just what had hooked so many readers! 

In My Mother's Secret, Sanjida Kay places one of her protagonists in a tricky situation - one she unwittingly finds herself in rather than because of any fault of her own - and then follows the consequences, dilemmas, repercussions and drama from this one moment.  In this well constructed, compelling and cleverly told story, we hear from several different narrative points of view and gradually begin to put the pieces of the jigsaw together to build a picture that reveals dark secrets, propelling the story forward as the secrets become more dangerous and more full of risk. 

Lizzie Bradshaw is a young woman who finds herself married and with a young baby before she was able to complete her university studies, so after much deliberation, decides to travel away from home to complete her education. But while away, she witnesses a terrible crime which then places not only her own life, but the life of her family, friends and anyone who she is close to, in danger. 

Then there is Emma Taylor. Wife, mother and a woman with a secret  - one so deeply buried she can barely bring herself to fully acknowledge it, yet one which she can't forget and goes to immense lengths to keep hidden. Emma lives a dual life, one filled with various apps on her phone with secret alerts to help her protect her apparently 'ordinary' life but time has made her curious. Can she revisit her past without revealing it to her family?

Finally, there is Stella, Emma's daughter, who knows her mother has a secret and is determined to find out what it is. But if you start to delve into someone's life, you have to be ready to accept what you find out, you have to be ready to challenge, confront, accept and understand and has Stella the strength to do this? 

Usually I am grateful for dates, times and other indications to guide me through different narrative viewpoints, dual timeline or flash forwards and backwards in the character's journeys, but this time Kay gives us none and in this book, I actually appreciated this. Keeping the switch between the narratives more subtle and fluid, creates greater impact. We move from Emma to Lizzie to Stella and as the story begins to unravel, it is clear why the plot should be fluid, why is should slip back, move forward, pick up the story from a different character then return again to the other narrator because this is a story where the characters lives are so interwoven, so interlinked and so interchangeable that the flow of chapters has to emphasise this. The fact that Lizzie and Emma's story lines move between the past and the present, the now and then, seem disconnected and separate yet somehow relevant to each other, captures the theme of duality and have obviously been very cleverly managed to enhance that moment of revelation and dramatic impact which we have been unwittingly anticipating. I'm skirting very close to spoilers here so I'm trying to tread carefully but with two characters who have blurred their own histories, confused their own pasts, lied about who and what they are - and with a third character who is a teenager and therefore on the cusp of adulthood, wanting to define themselves, assert their own identity - Kay has used her various narrative voices to incredible effect.

I liked each of the characters and that each has a very distinctive voice. Kay captures the voice of a newly married, young mother placed in a terrible situation, she also captures the voice of a woman with teenage children and a long marriage and, perhaps most impressively, she captures the voice of a teenager. Each character is very well created, depicted, described and each page feels convincing and authentic. I quickly related to each character and wanted to be part of their journey, curious to see what it was that each of them was seeking and how their stories might come together. I think the reader begins to work out what has happened fairly easily but I enjoyed the fact that even though we think we are right, Kay - or Emma - keep denying the evidence in front of us. Just as the characters are able to hide, deny, cover and pretend with such conviction, the sense of who to trust and who is reliable is used to create maximum suspense and tension. And even when we think we've solved all the clues, there are yet more complication to come which really cause dramatic tension!

Although Lizzie's narrative is about a crime and is full of fear, Emma and Stella's narratives are more character driven. The pace is relatively slow yet what Kay does extremely well is to begin to introduce a growing sense of threat, an ominous atmosphere lurking in the background that the characters keep shooing away but it keeps finding it's way back to haunt them. Like a soundtrack, this starts quietly, almost unnoticeable, but the volume creeps up as the characters take more risks and as the cracks become too big to paper over. Then, comes the twist. 

And then, just when you think you have it all figured out, the pace is raised to a gallop. Kay has a few more surprises in store for the reader before you turn the last page and I was completely caught up in it all, delighting in all the twists and turns, revelations and jaw dropping moments of horror. Again, this is a well crafted, beautifully timed plot which tells a great, multilayered story that is compelling and hugely enjoyable from the first page to the last. 

My Mother's Secret is more about the emotional complexities of the characters. There is more time spent getting to know them, exploring their decisions, their reasoning and then their difficulties to live with these decisions and choices. I enjoyed getting to know them, watching things play out and I think Kay balanced the emotional insight into her characters, the good story telling and the psychological thrilling moments perfectly. With My Mother's Secret, Kay delivers a story which will capture the interest of fans of Clare Macintosh and BA Paris. 

I'm off to read more by this author. I think you should too! Starting with My Mother's Secret which was published on 3rd May 2018 by Corvus.