Jack's control over her is difficult to read, but his ability to find her weaknesses and exploit them rings true to life. The book bounces from past to present, so we get a glimpse of Grace's life before Jack. She is a high powered buyer for a major department store, and enjoys the traveling that it entails. She is very close to her teenage sister, Millie, who's was born with Down's Syndrome and resides in a school near her home. Since Grace's parents have more or less abandoned Millie, Grace promises that Millie will soon move in with her.
Grace first meets Jack in a park when he notices Millie dancing and kindly (or manipulatively?) asks her to dance with him. Grace is so taken by this handsome man's kindness to her sister, that she quickly takes him into their lives. A cunning lawyer who specializes in abused women, Jack seems too good to be true, and when he proposes, Grace happily accepts. When he asks her to quit her job (because he wants to spend more time with her) and then buys a house without her (as a wedding gift?) the reader recognizes the potential problems, and I wondered why this bright woman didn't run for the hills.
This book made me too uncomfortable to say I liked it, but the writing is strong and evokes our emotions throughout. The characters are well defined and we pull for Grace from page one. The writer portrays her as loving and vulnerable, coming from parents who told her that they never really wanted children, so when Jack wants her and accepts Millie, she can't turn away.
If you like character driven, suspenseful books that work on your emotions, this is definitely a must read filled with abuse, revenge and page turning tension.
- Beverly
Publisher - Macmillan
Date of Publication - August 9, 2016