On a cool April evening, fifteen-year-old Marianne lays out a rug on the stone floor of an abandoned cottage and waits for her boyfriend Shane. Her mother does not know she is missing. Shane will never arrive, and by the end of the night, Marianne’s life will be shattered into a million pieces.Years later, in a dimly lit attic, Adele stumbles across the secret diary of the mother she has never … mother she has never met, and a shocking account of a crime committed twenty-five years ago.
Returning to the last place her mother was seen alive, Adele’s arrival and the diary spread like wildfire amongst the small close-knit community. Old memories are stirring up fresh wounds.
No-one wants the truth of what happened that cool Spring evening ever to be told.
And the deeper Adele digs, the more lies she uncovers.
Adele knows Shane is innocent. The question is, can she find those responsible before they silence her?
A heart-stopping, intense and emotionally engrossing read that will keep you compulsively turning the pages late into the night. If you read one book this year, make it The Thorn Girl.
This book was previously published as In My Mother’s Name.
Read what everyone is saying about The Thorn Girl:
‘This is a compelling and gripping read that I didn’t want to put down. I devoured this book in one sitting. Laura Elliott pulled me in from the very start. I highly recommend.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Amazing book! Kept me on the edge of my seat. Tons of suspense and twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong. Can’t wait to read more from this author.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This book is one of my favorites of the year. I finished it in two days. I could not put this book down. This book keeps you guessing and keeps you so hooked on the story… Stop whatever you are doing and pick up a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A powerful emotional rollercoaster.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This is brilliantly written, you feel as if you were in the room with her mother…a really, really wonderful book that I will be thinking about for quite a while.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A really powerful story… handled superbly. A sterling read and one I won’t forget.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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When Adele Foyle returns to Ireland to clear out her late grandmother’s attic, she stumbles upon her mother, Marianne’s secret diary which reveals the disturbing chain of events that led to Adele’s birth. Adele is horrified to learn that her entire life has been a lie and makes the painful decision to travel to her mother’s home town in the hopes of finding some answers to all the horrible secrets described in the diary. When she gets there, she is shocked by the hostility directed towards her and the lengths the villagers will go to to keep the past buried. In My Mother’s Name is a gripping, well-plotted thriller that captivated me from the first page to the last. Told from multiple POVs, this story took me on an emotional roller coaster ride as I tried to piece together Marianne’s heartbreaking story. Adele was a wonderful character, I admired her strength and her determination to get justice for her mother despite the numerous attempts from villagers to silence her. I rooted for Adele throughout the entire book and my desire to see Marianne finally get the justice she deserved kept me turning the pages way past my usual bedtime. I was so sure that I had correctly put the pieces of the puzzle together. But then the last 25% of the story left me completely shocked. Never once did I imagine the story would go in the direction that it did. It was a brilliant and satisfying ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark, twisty thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The storyline enticed me to keep reading. It was suspenseful and entertaining. I would recommend this book.
Loved the Story
First time reading this author! Loved it! Did not see the ending until almost over!
The story starts off slowly with Adele clearing out her grandmother’s house after her death and discovering her mom’s diary of when she was pregnant with Adele.
This diary shatters Adele’s world and leads her back to her mother’s hometown to discover the truth about her mother, her death and her own conception and who her father is.
A fast-paced read that you feel you can’t put down on one hand and on the other hand you feel you just can’t read anymore.
The culmination of the story came like a runaway train – explosive; damaging; fast and left a person surprised.
A great read with a good plot and enough intrigue to keep you hooked.
For me, this book was a little slow to get started but it soon picked up and I couldn’t stop. It tells the story of Adele in the present, whose grandmother has just passed away and who is now packing up the home they lived in when she comes across a backpack in the attic that belonged to her mother, Marianne, who died in childbirth. As she reads it, she realizes she didn’t know her grandmother like she thought and that there are too many secrets about what really happened to her mother. While her fiance moves to the US for a new work project, she stays behind to visit her mother’s hometown and see if she can discover the truth of what happened to her mother and who her father might be.
The story alternates between this timeline and that of Marianne in her diary passages. Upon becoming pregnant, she was sent to a mother and baby home of some religious fanatics and she stayed there until she died. Why she was sent there and how she became pregnant in the first place is apparently much disputed and Adele is working hard in the present to clear her mother’s bad reputation.
The story involves the typical close-knit community covering up lies upon lies. Politicians, police and the local well-known community leaders in this case. Adele comes to town claiming her only interest is making a documentary about the religious cult that ran the mother and baby home, but it’s clear she has ulterior motives and those who were involved do all that they can to prevent her in succeeding in unraveling the truth. The reader will most likely realize who the culprits are early on, but it’s more about finding out what was done than who did it. There are a couple of good twists thrown in but towards the end the story got a little hard to believe, in my opinion. I don’t mind credibility being stretched, but you may find yourself being drawn out of the story and thinking, ‘Oh come on, really?’
Anyway, I did find this to be a good page-turner with plenty of action and I kept wanting to find out if justice would be served in a way all of the scumbags in the story deserved. I don’t think you will be disappointed!
I am not usually one to agree with taglines or blurbs because they often feel over-the-top, but this is one case where I can wholeheartedly say that it is 100% accurate. This book was an addictive, emotional, page-turner of a psychological thriller (that’s a mouthful). The characters are real and well-developed, and the author does a superb job of bringing the village of Reedstown with all of its blemishes, secrets, and tainted history to life. Adele is a protagonist who is easy to support as she journeys into the past to find the truth about her mother’s life and death. In My Mother’s Name is one book you do not want to skip over. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read a complimentary pre-release, digital ARC of this book.