When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire Wilkinson, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.
Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.
A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?
Review: I am so in awe of this authors writing and the way her words can have such an effect on a reader. I spent a lot of this book being completely led down one route only to find that it was a dead end and this process repeated again and again. I felt worried for missing Billy, I felt suspicious of literally all the other characters at anyone time and I had my ideas about 5 different possible endings, only to have the ending be something completely unexpected. Cally Taylor's books are always hard to review without a) giving the plot away and b) being too gushy. Don't worry there are no spoilers here, I just loved the plot and I'm going to stop there.
There are always interesting female leads in this authors novels and this latest is no exception. Claire is a really interesting character who definitely undergoes a transformation as the book goes on. She is a wife and a mother but also a freind and a confident. She is the blue that holds this whole novel together and it is interesting that we follow this story along with Claire. The other members of the family and other close friends and neighbours were interesting characters and were so well written that they could have been our own siblings, fathers and neighbours. They all bring something else to the story and all provide a plot twist of their own, some more than others!
I really liked the structure of this novel. There aren't flashbacks so to speak, things are written chronologically but we do have chapters interspersed with instant messenger/text conversations. We never find out who these messages are between or when they took place. All is reveLed at the end, don't worry but I thought they were at least 4 different people having these conversations. This add another level to the whole plot line and also gives clues to the mystery here without you even knowing that each of the conversations are clues-so cryptic.
I read this book in 2 sittings. I literally spent my Thursday devouring it gasping in public and telling everyone about this book. The way it is written is so clever and compelling I defy anyone to pick it up and not be sucked in straight away. If this is your first CL Taylor novel then you are in for a treat, if you are already a fan, then you won't be let down! Clear your schedules because this book will not be one you can put down!
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