Liz Currently Loves…The Son in Law by Charity Norman.

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https://www.facebook.com/CharityNormanAuthor?fref=ts

For three years Joseph Scott has been haunted by one moment-the moment that changed his life forever. Now he is starting over, and he wants his family back more than anything.
This is the story of Joseph and his wife, Zoe; of their children, Scarlet, Theo and Ben, for whom nothing will be the same; and of Zoe’s parents, who can’t forgive or understand.

Family Drama. Not my go to type of book when it comes to my choices but I do love a good one. For me there are not many authors out there who can pull off the realism of family life and make it interesting – even in the most extreme of circumstances that can happen to any of us. So last year a very good friend of mine handed me “After the Fall” from Charity Norman and basically said, hey, here you go. HERE is one. And she was right. It was absolutely compelling and yet very real.

So it is true I was looking forward to “The Son In Law” and to finding out if it would have the same resonance for me and it absolutely did. If anything I loved this one even more, probably because it had some extreme emotional truth at its heart and a question I would find hard to answer…how do you forgive the unforgiveable?

Here we meet Joseph, recently released from Prison, wanting to reconnect with his family, but that will not be easy considering the circumstances of his incarceration. As we hear from him, and at various points his Mother in Law Hannah, and Daughter Scarlett, a picture begins to emerge of a tragedy that has torn a family apart. As Joseph tries to put the pieces back together, this is a somewhat dark but also beautiful story, with some truly remarkable characters at the heart of it.

Not least Scarlett. The best part of this one for me was the way she approached things, lost her way occasionally, really wanted to do the right thing without knowing what the right thing is. All her emotions are there on the page and are stunningly real. There is a lot of that going on here, from all the characters. A most terrific reading experience.

Tackling some difficult subjects in a very real, compelling and addictive way this was outstanding. Charity Norman is the latest addition to my “must read” list.

You can follow Charity on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/CharityNorman1

Purchase Information: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/charity+norman/the+son-in-law/9763360/

Also Available:

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In the quiet of a New Zealand winter’s night, a rescue helicopter is sent to airlift a five-year-old boy with severe internal injuries. He’s fallen from the upstairs veranda of an isolated farmhouse, and his condition is critical. At first, Finn’s fall looks like a horrible accident; after all, he’s prone to sleepwalking. Only his frantic mother, Martha McNamara, knows how it happened. And she isn’t telling. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Review:

Finn Fell. With these chilling words starts “After the Fall”, a novel about a family and their move to New Zealand. Through a series of flashbacks from Mum, we discover how they came to be in NZ, what has happened to them since they arrived and the true nature of the accident that has befallen Finn.Charity Norman has written a terrific novel about what really could be any family – yours, mine, your next door neighbours. They are normal, happy people, very well drawn and it is easy to move into their world. A pretty stunning comment on some of the social issues that can affect families in these times (I don’t want to say too much, as this would have to include spoilers) you are right there with Martha and Kit, as they begin life in a new country, with all the challenges that brings, and as the story unfolds you find yourself rapidly turning the pages to discover how they cope with some very hard issues and choices. It was a book that makes you think…what would YOU do if you found yourself in their situation. It stayed with me long after finishing the last page and I will certainly be reading more from this author. Very very good.

Purchase Information: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/charity+norman/after+the+fall/9466802/

Happy Reading Folks!

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