Marianne was never supposed to return to town, the town where she grew up in the shadow of the Nazareth Mental Hospital. Her mother may be suffering from dementia nearby, but she had thought she’d left that place, and its dark secrets, behind her. That is, until her husband buys a flat in its newly renovated interior so that she can be close enough to help her mother, and Marianne can’t tell him why the place fills her with such dread, she can’t risk destroying the careful life she’s built.
This arrived then I read it. Because it’s Erin Kelly, author of now quite a few books that sit in my top reads of all time. Because I love the way she writes and the way she crafts her characters – especially that because truly, none of them ever leave me.
Stone Mothers is an intense, intelligent and extraordinarily emotional novel that takes one unintentional outcome and shows the impact this has on those involved and those linked to them.
Tracing a path back through time, pulling on a thread, unravelling layers, this story is character driven drama at its very very best. It is nuanced and darkly observant, with those now very trademark “moments” I’ve come to associate with this author. MOMENTS not necessarily twists – where your heart stops for a beat or two and you have to just absorb the impact, accept the hit, remember to breath.
Utterly compelling, where the things you think are true can be ironically turned around on you, with a beautifully complex and fascinating core and some plotting perfection, I loved this. Another one for that list.
“They” say Crime can’t be literary and literary can’t be crime – well I say you can have the best of both worlds and here is Erin Kelly’s Stone Mothers to prove my point for me.
Highly Recommended.
You can purchase Stone Mothers (Hodder and Stoughton) Here.
Happy Reading!
