Family Secrets

Emily leaves London to be with her dad, after a neighbour of his suggested that she should make this trip to New Zealand as it could well be the last time she sees him. On arriving she finds his dementia is worse than she thought, especially when she discovers notes on almost everything in the house with instructions and reminders of who people are, also it has the name Leah listed down twice, Emily remembered a Leah from her childhood but she is now wondering why her dad has got her name listed down! On the first night in his remote home he gives her an envelope to be opened on his death and not before, Emily is very tempted to open it but obeys his wishes and puts it away until the inevitable happens. Very soon Emily realises that her fathers dementia is a lot more progressive than she first thought and her dad actually realises this as well and has made a living will saying he he is not to be resuscitated in case anything happens, he says he knows his brain is in a kind of foggy cloud and sometimes he can't cope with it and finds it difficult to work out everyday tasks. As Emily slowly uncovers family secrets from years ago, she realises why certain family members behaved in the way they did in her childhood. Also when the anniversary of Leahs disappearance becomes nearer Emily finds little clues, but ones that she can't believe in and she knows her dad in his present state of mind definitely wouldn't be able to cope with, but with reporters from TV and newspapers asking questions Emily wonders how long they can keep these family secrets? At the end of the book it comes to a conclusion that I really didn't see coming but one that I can understand why it ended the way it did.
An extremely moving and emotional storyline which kept my attention from the beginning, an interesting read and from reading other books by this author I was certainly not disappointed in this book and it was a very worthy 5 star read.