When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s not a sound that disturbs me. It’s a feeling. Silently, I creep to my daughter’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when I see her sleeping, her night-light twirling, butterfly shapes moving their pink wings. Quickly, I lock the door. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl.You tell him everything. The husband you adore, the father of your … father of your child, your best friend.
He knows, just by looking at your sage-green eyes, when something is wrong. The two of you can communicate with a glance, or a touch of the hand.
Except what if you can’t?
What if your happy marriage has plastered over one huge lie? A lie you have even started to believe yourself, in order to survive?
What if you have a secret, something you have hidden from your beloved husband and your strawberry-scented baby girl, to keep them safe? What if the guilt has kept you up, night after night, for as long as you can remember?
Because, after twenty-eight years, that secret is refusing to stay buried. The past you have tried so desperately to outrun is catching up with you. A faded photograph, torn in half, threatens to expose the truth and everyone you love, everything you cherish, is in harm’s way…
An emotional, thought-provoking and beautifully written novel which examines the pieces of ourselves we are afraid of, and the impossible decisions we make when we are desperate. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kerry Fisher and Liane Moriarty will be moved by this heartbreaking tale.
Readers absolutely love The Life She Left Behind:
‘Oh my… This was literally “un-put-downable”… This was not a book I could read chapter by chapter and take breaks in between, I NEEDED to keep going!… I know I will be thinking about this story for days… Amazing.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘What a fantastic book!! I absolutely loved it, and it is hands down the best book I’ve read this year so far… Amazing… I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Now I’m off to buy several more of Trope’s books to get stuck in to.’ My Little Bookcase, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow oh wow, what an absolutely gorgeous read. I devoured this beautiful book in just over an hour… I adored the writing style in this one, the author writes elegantly and in a way that just pulls you into the pages. I cannot say anything negative about this book, I have been truly engrossed and shocked by how quickly I read this one. I didn’t want to put it down. This is definitely a beautiful read by a very talented author.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Loved this book! Very emotional! Read it in 1 sitting!’ Reading through the Looking Glass, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A highly emotional read that had me hooked from the start. This is another fantastic book by Nicole Trope!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. It was that good. It was definitely emotional, and left me guessing until the end.’ The One Where She Blogs, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Page 1, I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down… So enthralling.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Loved it!… This is my third book by this author and they have all struck gold!… As soon as I picked it up, everything around me faded to grey… The author is a great storyteller and she enchanted me.’ B for Bookreview, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘5 stars! Nicole Trope continues to be one of my favourite authors! While her books aren’t often easy to read due to their content, I’m always left amazed at her ability to tell a story so well… Very gripping and I found myself race through it. I think this one will stay with me for a while.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐more
Waste of my time. Terribly boring!!!
*possible trigger warning; abuse*
‘The Life She Left Behind‘ is a chilling novel, one that is all too real for many people… female and male alike. Told from several points of view as we begin, it may take a little bit to fall into a natural rhythm of who exactly is speaking, but it didn’t take all that long for it to begin to flow for me. I also feel that this story could have triggering aspects for some readers, hence the triggering warning at the beginning of this review (I’d rather act as if it’s possible than harm someone).
Today Rachel has a good life, a loving, adoring husband, a daughter she would do anything for… yet the past lives behind her eyes, in her compulsive double-checking on Beth as she sleeps, in the knowledge that she is not at all what her husband, Ben, believes her to be for Rachel is holding onto secrets that will not stay buried for much longer.
I’ve chosen to not go into any details in this review. I firmly believe that ‘The Life She Left Behind‘ is a powerful story that each reader needs to experience firsthand for not everyone will read it in the same mindset. While that is, of course, true for any book it is particularly true for this one for when Rachel’s past begins to interfere with her present and her future how that plays out should be experienced in each reader’s unique way. I will say that while I guessed who the culprit was that knowledge (or guess) did not affect how I viewed the rest of the story.
This story is emotional in differing ways. I felt for what Rachel was going through. I was angry on her behalf, scared for her family, and on the edge throughout by not knowing what was coming at them next. It is a compelling story that I would recommend. This would make a chilling movie.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Bookouture, via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Favorite Quotes:
Poor Dad. Things have definitely not worked out the way he hoped. He had a plan for perfection. The perfect house, the perfect kids and the perfect wife. He had an idea of this Christmas card, picture-perfect family, all smiling widely in matching red sweaters. The trouble is, we live in Australia. It’s too hot around Christmastime to wear sweaters. You have to wear T-shirts and T-shirts don’t hide bruises very well. The trouble is, his wife and children hate him. The trouble is, you can’t beat perfection into someone. Although he tried, he really tried.
His mercurial nature kept us all on our toes. We were his dancing monkeys.
My Review:
This wasn’t an easy read, it was a painfully realistic, intensely insightful, tragic, and cringe-worthy tale of family drama with long-held secrets, shame, guilt, anger, violence, emotional battering, mind games, and regrets. The storylines were well scaffolded and cleverly paced with powerful and emotive word choices. There were times I wanted to scream at the characters in disgust for allowing and enabling a long-standing pattern of abusive and violent behaviors, and other times I wanted to comfort them, ease their pain, and assuage their confusion. I despised the male contingent of the family in near equal measure as they were vile and heinously twisted, while the females were nearly inert in their learned helplessness – until they weren’t. I fell into this challenging read and had a hard time resurfacing as while my experiences were paltry in comparison to the horror of this monstrous family, Ms. Trope’s strong word voodoo resurrected and stirred some uncomfortable feelings and memories that left me more than a bit rumpled.
A Mother’s Choice
This is the heartbreaking story of a dysfunctional family. A father, a mother, The son Kevin and the daughter Rachel. I held my breath as Rachel describes the abusive acts her father committed against her mother, her brother and herself. No one was brave enough to resist until one day when Rachel and her mother left leaving her brother behind. A decision that would haunt both of them for years to come.
Rachel is now grown with a family of her own. All at once troll dolls start appearing everywhere, her home, her husband’s car, her husband’s office. Rachel is sure her father has found her because he troll dolls were hers as a child. She can’t tell her husband he thinks her father is dead and her mother is dying in the hospice center. She doesn’t know what to do.
Then she finds out her father is dead and her daughter is missing from her bedroom. She knows it has to be Kevin, he was mean to her as a child, has he grown up to be like her father? Will she find them in time to save her daughter?
This book is filled with suspense start to finish. I would recommend it.
Thanks to Nicole Trope, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for an honest review