Finally! Now, everything will be better. At least that is what Rachel Tucker is hoping for. After seven rocky years of marriage to her controlling, mentally abusive husband, Shane, Rachel has hope for a new beginning. That hope comes when Shane lands a new job and the family moves from Seattle to a beautiful, new lake house in a small town in Mississippi.It’s just what Shane has always wanted! He … wanted! He finally has his wife and kids to himself – away from the watchful eyes of protective family and friends. With fantasies of a “new beginning” in her head, Rachel is excited for this new road in life. However, her fantasies are smashed when reality sinks in. New job, new town, new house, new friends, new environment.
Same old Shane.
With her new friends rallied behind her, Rachel begins to see how frightening, cruel, and selfish Shane truly is. The mental abuse Shane dishes out begins to manifest in physical ways, and Rachel begins to fear for the lives of herself and her children. Hell-bent on breaking away, Rachel finds obscure ways to bank small sums of money in an effort to fund their escape. However, after a freakishly strange series of events leads to Shane Tucker’s “fated” demise, one has to wonder how much of it was truly driven by “fate.” Everything in life is a ripple effect. The question is, what will Rachel do when a new set of Ripples forces her to choose between right and wrong? In this bizarre tale, what is right? And what is wrong? If you were in Rachel’s shoes, what would you do?
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This book is somewhat dark but there is also light and hope in it. Due to the topic of domestic abuse there are some possible triggers for some readers. It’s my first time reading anything from this author, and I think she has done a wonderful job with this book. I was completely mesmerized by the plot and liked the depth and dialogue given to the characters. This is a must read for lovers of dark emotional suspense filled books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 4th book I’ve read written by Laney Smith; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
I wanted to like it. The synopsis seemed so promising, but failed to deliver. Or maybe I was expecting too much … or a different outcome. It was okay.
Rachel Tucker married the man of her dreams, her bet friend. Shane was kind and patient. He was fun and adventurous. He never disrespected her.
That was just seven years before.
Rachel now feels trapped. Her husband turned out to be a vicious, verbally abusive drunk. He moved them and their two young boys far away from her family. She has to ask him for every little thing she or the boys need. He didn’t want kids anyway, wanted her to get “rid” of it…He keeps a tight hold on the money. She’s a stay at home mom, not allowed to work. He’s admitted that he’s been cheating on her way before she caught him, twice…. what Shane did not count on when he moved his family to Mississippi was good old southern hospitality and neighbors that are like family. Rachel was immediately accepted by the close knit group and became best friends with one of the wives that along with everyone else over time could see what a horrible person Shane was and they told her to leave him, they would help her. But Rachel was afraid because of his threats, he promised her that he would take the boys away.
Shane is becoming more and more aggressive and threatened to kill her before she’d see one dime of child support or alimony…
Then he started being rough with the boys while drunk….. the signs are there. It’s just a matter of time before he kills her maybe the children too.
Then a collapsed rubber raft and Shane are found floating in the lake. The reports later confirmed he was drunk, tore the raft and drowned… case closed…. or is it?
This is a story of survival. Of healing. Of learning to live, trust and love again.
Domestic Abuse is a serious issue. Kudos to this Author who is so spot on as to how women in situations like this can and often do feel trapped, isolated and alone. Abuse doesn’t have to be physical. In fact, mental, verbal abuse can be so much worse. …I am a domestic abuse survivor and I recommend this to anyone who’s created Ripples for themselves or someone else.