The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler : REVIEW

 The Happy Family by Jackie Kabler

Release Date: 4th June 2021

Publisher: One More Chapter

Genres: Thriller / Suspense / Psychological crime

A mother who disappeared… 

When Beth was 10 years old, her beautiful, wild mother Alice walked out and never came back. Beth’s life since hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but now she is happy and settled, with a successful career, a loving family and a beautiful home. 

 

An unexpected visitor…

Then one day there’s a knock at the door. Alice has returned. Overjoyed to have the chance to rebuild their relationship, Beth invites her mother to move in.

 

A life that comes crashing down…

At first, everything seems wonderful. But then Beth’s friends begin to drift away, strange things start to happen at home, and rumours begin to circle about her past. As the mysterious events around Beth become darker and more dangerous, she is forced to question everything. Is somebody in her life trying to destroy her happiness? And how far will they go?

Beth's life has settled into a routine since her divorce. She's got a good job, an okish relationship with her ex husband and a good group of friends around her. However, things begin to become unsettling for her when she keeps spotting the same man over and over again and her nerves become jangled. For Beth has a secret. One she doesn't want anyone else to know. Something from her past. However, despite the fear that someone has found out her secret, she's managed to build a good life for herself despite the absence of her mother in her life for 30 years. So many unanswered questions as to why her mother just walked out. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her mother would one day be standing on her doorstep. But there she is! Beth is so overcome with emotion that she immediately welcomes her mother into her life. And its here that Beth's life starts to unravel.

I really enjoyed this book and thought the plot was interesting and suspenseful. As someone who has not seen her own mother for many years I have to say that I'm not sure I'd have been quite so welcoming and naïve as Beth was but the heart is a funny thing and its difficult to predict just how a person would react at seeing the mother they had longed to see for such a long time. For Beth, it was a time to have closure on so many unanswered questions. Or does her mother's reappearance simply create more questions than answers for her and she becomes a victim of manipulation. In her now isolated state, Beth struggles to cope.

At times the story was a little slow but overall was paced pretty well and because I was so engrossed, I ended up downloading the audible book to so I could listen to the story while I worked. It was hard to tear myself away from it. There were a couple of twists and turns and some plot twists that surprised me. I love it when that happens. Throughout the course of the book there were times that I wanted to shake Beth and scream at her to open her eyes but instead of finding that annoying I actually think it simply shows a well written book. Evoking a strong reaction in a reader is after all the end goal. A great book and recommended read. 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC. The Happy Family is her sixth book; previous novels include the international bestseller The Perfect Couple. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

Social Media Links –

Twitter @jackiekabler

Instagram @officialjackiekabler