FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book
from Revell Reads and a complimentary electronic copy from NetGalley. A
positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.
Living Lies by Natalie Walters
What an important book for mental health awareness!
I was quite impressed by the author’s handling of
depression, suicide, PTSD, and the support (and lack of support) various
characters encountered and lived with. I’m eager to see how Mrs. Walters builds
on these topics (or introduces us to new ones) in book two of her Harbored
Secrets series.
The only characters I truly despised were the leading lady’s
parents. Their controlling personalities were written so well that I struggled
to get through their scenes because of previous personal experience with that
type of people. Not fun memories! But I must applaud the author for nailing it,
even if it made the book a bit challenging to get through. (The second half was
easier for me to fly through, and I doubt this issue will slow down most
readers.)
Plot twists aplenty kept me riveted to my seat and flipping
the pages quickly, particularly in the back half. The pace was fairly decent
for a suspense novel, though it read much more like a police procedural than
the thriller sort of suspense book the cover implied I was getting into. As
much as I enjoyed this book, there were spots where characters randomly thought
about (and for too long on occasion) about potential romance, and this ground
things to a halt in a few scenes.
The faith thread was sprinkled in very lightly. When it
showed up, it was strong. I would have liked this to have been a more important
aspect of the plot rather than almost as an afterthought.
Content: one expletive, drugs, alcohol, tattoos,
dysfunctional family, depression, suicide
Note: There is violence associated with the suspense genre.
Nothing I wouldn’t expect.
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