Review: In Her Wake

Book Title: In Her Wake
Author: Amanda Jennings
Series: None
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction
Goodreads

Date Read: 01/21/17
Pub Date: 04/01/16

4 STARS

A perfect life … until she discovered it wasn’t her own.

A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life.

Once again, Orenda has published a novel that is too complex and significant to confine into a single genre. While this is partly a mysterious psychological thriller, it’s just as much an emotional rollercoaster of feelings and deep thematic elements. <—(Lot’s of vagueness as to not spoil all of the things.) I love opening a book from Karen; I never know exactly what I’m going to get except I know that it’ll be great. In Her Wake was no different; it was heavy and thorough while containing messy, flawed characters in an unappealing scenario. In short- a read you simply can’t put down.

If you are looking for a dime a dozen psychological thriller that is fast paced and cliche, this isn’t the book for you. This was a wholly unique read that requires patience from the reader as a slow sense of dread and horror begins building in your gut. The POV jumps around between past and present, which made for an interesting unfolding to the journey; this kept things fresh and held my attention from beginning to end. In fact, I almost wouldn’t categorize this as a psychological thriller; while it has some aspects of one, it is so much more as it contains the depth and emotion most people seek in literary fiction. There is a high quality to the writing style and even with the time hopping, I found there to be a seamless flow to the plot and dialogue.

Go into this one as blind as possible. If you’re anything like me, you’ll appreciate being led along with no prior notions as to what to expect and will appreciate the wrap up of things not being perfectly tidy and neat (don’t worry, there is plenty of closure). I adore the cover and think it conveys the feel of the story perfectly. This is a heavy and somewhat disturbing story that will leave you feeling a wide array of emotions after turning the last page. I’d highly recommend to readers looking for something to spice up their choices, as there is really nothing like it out there.

*Many thanks to Karen at Orenda for gifting me my copy; it was a delight and privilege to review it on my blog!