* 3.5 stars *
Home Truths’ could have come straight from the news headlines, portraying as it does, the problem of county line gangs that infiltrate small communities, preying on vulnerable children, turning them into addicts or couriers, or both! It also deals with the issues of internet predators and ruthless landlords - something that is both shocking and heartbreaking. However, if it all sounds like doom and gloom, it really isn’t, because what does stand out in this novel is the love for one’s family, and also the way ordinary everyday people are more than happy to help lift you when life has kicked you to the bottom of the pile.
Steve and Angie’s eldest son Liam has fallen victim to one of the county line gangs, he’s being used as a courier under threat that as long as he does as he’s told, then his family will be safe. Sadly, Steve is brutally murdered by the gang when he goes searching for Liam, and when Liam returns home after the murder, Angie tells him she wants nothing more to do with him, after discovering that Liam was present when Steve was killed.
Left without her husband, and with her other two children, Grace and Zac to provide for, Angie gets into some serious debt, owing money all over the place, and with threats of eviction, life takes on a desperation that spirals ever downwards. When daughter Grace looks for ideas to bring some much needed money into the household, she too finds herself involved in a situation that no 13 year old girl should ever find herself in. In addition to all this Angie needs to know if Liam is ok, she said some unforgivable things to him, but she was drowning in grief at the time, and she just needs to know that he’s still alive.
Well written and sensitive, this was an emotional and powerfully charged novel that really held my interest. The tension builds to such a pitch that it’s hard to know where this devastated family will end up. Not entirely convinced about the ending, not quite believable enough for me, otherwise it would have been a definite 4 star review not 3.5, but overall I enjoyed it.
Home Truths’ could have come straight from the news headlines, portraying as it does, the problem of county line gangs that infiltrate small communities, preying on vulnerable children, turning them into addicts or couriers, or both! It also deals with the issues of internet predators and ruthless landlords - something that is both shocking and heartbreaking. However, if it all sounds like doom and gloom, it really isn’t, because what does stand out in this novel is the love for one’s family, and also the way ordinary everyday people are more than happy to help lift you when life has kicked you to the bottom of the pile.
Steve and Angie’s eldest son Liam has fallen victim to one of the county line gangs, he’s being used as a courier under threat that as long as he does as he’s told, then his family will be safe. Sadly, Steve is brutally murdered by the gang when he goes searching for Liam, and when Liam returns home after the murder, Angie tells him she wants nothing more to do with him, after discovering that Liam was present when Steve was killed.
Left without her husband, and with her other two children, Grace and Zac to provide for, Angie gets into some serious debt, owing money all over the place, and with threats of eviction, life takes on a desperation that spirals ever downwards. When daughter Grace looks for ideas to bring some much needed money into the household, she too finds herself involved in a situation that no 13 year old girl should ever find herself in. In addition to all this Angie needs to know if Liam is ok, she said some unforgivable things to him, but she was drowning in grief at the time, and she just needs to know that he’s still alive.
Well written and sensitive, this was an emotional and powerfully charged novel that really held my interest. The tension builds to such a pitch that it’s hard to know where this devastated family will end up. Not entirely convinced about the ending, not quite believable enough for me, otherwise it would have been a definite 4 star review not 3.5, but overall I enjoyed it.