In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings

 The Last Word Review

 

Haunting and emotional, a journey of self-discovery that stay with the reader. Exceptional, compelling a triumph.

 

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 her life.

Chilling, complex and profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family – and reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home. 

 

I have just discovered the writing of Amanda Jennings with her forthcoming latest novel In Her Wake a book of incredible rare beauty when it comes to the writing style of incredible elegance.

In Her Wake deals with the many subjects that can be painful for both the writer and the reader, but a story so powerful and charged with emotion that any reader will struggle to let this one go.

The story starts with Bella along with her controlling husband David arriving at the family home her mother Elaine is dead and she is grieving, for Bella the past memories of her childhood centre around her mother and the home she grew up in she did not have a close relationship with her father Henry. But now Henry looks not only a man grieving but a man riddled with guilt an empty shell of the man she remembers. Bella relationship with the two men in her life is strained to say the least and is struggling to understand these men.

Then the story becomes dramatic with her father wanting to tell Bella something that she should know but he cannot tell her. Bella then suffers another painful blow and with it news that that her parents hid the truth from her and everything she thought and believed now lies in pieces around her, a case of families, secrets and lies. Bella is left trying to unravel the mystery that her mother started all those years ago. She is determined to find the truth about the past.

We now find Bella in a Cornish seaside town leaving behind her husband and her past that she now knows to be a lie, and now trying to uncover the mystery that was left for her by her dead father. Like the Cornish coastline fully of mystery that cries out to be uncovered Bella sets out to do just that as the story now takes on a real psychological journey for the reader. There are many pitfalls that await Bella as she meets people who seem to her know who she is and the past she belongs too. There are periods darkness that explode like a winter’s storm along the rugged coastline.

The path to the truth can be a painful journey and there is real empathy for Bella as she seeks the truth despite the mistakes she makes. How would any of us cope in a similar situation. Without giving anything away the ending is utterly devastating.

This is an incredible novel of a woman’s journey seeking the truth and identity it is dark and at times just plain chilling and plays with your mind. But In Her Wake also has hope, something we all cling to from time to time. Amanda Jennings latest offering In Her Wake has just become of the best books I will read in 2016. I urge you to pre-order your copy and discover the writing of Amanda Jennings for yourself.

You can visit Amanda Jennings website Here

Thank you to Karen Sullivan (Orenda Books) for a review copy.

In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings published on 1 April 2016 by Orenda Books and available through Waterstones and all good bookshops.