For fans of Louise Penny and Tana French, this haunting debut novel “with a slight Broadchurch feel” (Sunday Herald) explores the devastating repercussions of a long-ago crime as it delves into forbidden relationships, the emotional bond between mothers and daughters, and the dark consequences of harboring secrets. It is the summer of 1956, and fifteen-year-old Betty Broadbent has never left the … Broadbent has never left the Cornish fishing village of St. Steele or ventured far beyond the walls of the Hotel Eden, the slightly ramshackle boarding house run by her moody, unpredictable mother. But Betty’s world is upended when a string of brutal murders brings London’s press corps flooding into the village, many of whom find lodging at the Hotel Eden. She is instantly transfixed by one of the reporters, the mysterious and strangely aloof Mr. Gallagher–and he, fully twice her age, seems equally transfixed by her.
The unlikely relationship that blooms between Betty and Mr. Gallagher is as overlaid with longing and desire as it is with impropriety and even menace. And as the shocking death toll rises, both Betty and Mr. Gallagher are forced to make a devastating choice, one that will shape their own lives–and the life of an innocent man–forever.
With narratives that shift from 1956 to the present day and back, The Unforgotten is a mesmerizing and eerie portrayal of two people bound to each other by a secret that has the power to shape, and destroy, lives.more
It is hard to describe this book. The book goes back and forth between 1956 and now. You meet Betty who is 15 years old and live with her mother in an Hotel. Her mother is a drunk and Betty does whatever she can to make her happy and keep the place running. There is a serial killer running lose in the small town she lives in. I found Betty at age 15 annoying but I think it’s is because I am no longer a teenager can’t relate anymore to how desperate teenage girls feel. As an adult I just thought she was losing her mind. I believe this was suppose to be a mystery book but that part of the story really takes a backseat to Betty and her love for Mr. Gallagher. The ending does leave you with a twist sort of. The whole book is kind of sad between how Betty lives, how she grew up and how she is as an adult.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*
The Unforgotten by author Laura Powell starts in 1956 with the discovery of another body in the Cornish village of St.Steele. There does not seem to be a suspect and the press from London are wanting a story.
Betty Broadbent is fifteen years old and helps her mother at the boarding house which is filled with strangers due to the sensational murders of another young woman. Betty is a bit worried about her mother, who has her times of instability which swings with emotional highs and lows. This condition escalates. Betty seems to be naive or emotionally immature for her age.
Betty becomes intrigued with Mr. Gallagher, one of the reporters who is trying to get a tip for a story before the other competitors. Betty follows him down to the cove and Gallagher tells her the possibility of Mr. Forbes the local butcher being a suspect in the murders. During their course of the conversation, Betty refers to the seagulls and the Cornish Cleaver as being the only predators in their village. Thus Gallagher seizes on the name of Cornish Cleaver as the reference for the murder in his article and it sticks.
The next chapter fast-forwards fifty years and we read as Mary awakes from a disturbing dream. She does not want Jerry to be concerned about her restless nights. She has not been well, but memories can be as devastating as a physical illness. Later Mary has an emotional meltdown when she sees a poster on the front of the Star Newsagents, ” Cornish Cleaver Speaks”!
As I read the story, I could not warm to the characters. Betty and Gallagher made choices which caused consequences for themselves, St. Steele, and the innocence of others.
I won’t post spoilers about the more interesting parts of the book. But the story is segmented into parts alternating between the 1950’s and present day. There is a twist in the plot, but overall it seemed a bit slow.
(Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book)
Forbidden romance? May/December romance? I went into this one expecting and hoping for a gripping thriller and mystery to solve. What I found was neither thrilling, nor all that mysterious. The mystery of the ‘Cornish Cleaver’ is more side story to Betty’s romance than anything else. For most of the book, the murders do little more than supply the reason for Mr Gallagher to be in this small village. So, while I didn’t find the thriller I was hoping for, I can enjoy a good romance, except this one just wasn’t all that good. The characters aren’t at all likable, which makes it hard to invest oneself in the story, and the romance was more disturbing and pitiful than anything approaching romance. The back and forth between past and present could have added to the story, but what I found in the present was an aging woman who never got over her first love, She has plenty of regrets, but they apparently didn’t bother her enough to do the right thing until she’s approaching the end of her life. Sad, yes, compelling reading material, no. I almost DNF’d this one more than once, but out of sheer determination, I did finish. We do get an interesting twist in the end, but by the time I got there, it was just too little, too late to save this one for me.