AUDIO BOOK REVIEW: When She Returned by Lucinda Berry


Release Date:
 October 15, 2019
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Format: Audio
Length: 8 hours 22 minutes
Narrator: Coleen Marlo, Lauren Ezzo, Amy McFadden  
Genre: Psychological Thriller 
Buy: Audible | Kindle

Synopsis: 

One woman’s reappearance throws her family into turmoil, exposing dark secrets and the hidden, often devastating truth of family relationships.

Kate Bennett vanished from a parking lot eleven years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult.

Kate’s return flips her family’s world upside down - her husband is remarried, and her daughter barely remembers her. Kate herself doesn’t look or act like she did before.

While the family tries to help Kate reintegrate into society, they discover truths they’ve been hiding from each other about their own relationships. But they aren’t the only ones with secrets. As the family unravels what happened to Kate, a series of shocking revelations shows that Kate’s return is more sinister than any of them could have imagined.

Review:

Free on Kindle unlimited in either ebook or audio format, however I found an audio version on Scribd.  

Holy crap what a ride from page 1! Missing for 11 years Kate is found in terrible shape and holding a baby.  The chapters flip back and forth between present and past in Kate's life and remain in the present for all the other members of the family.  Kate's husband, Scott had her declared dead but has kept her memory alive in their daughter Abbie.  Finally moved on he is now remarried so when he learns the news of Kate still being alive he is overcome.

This book focuses a lot on secretes we keep, even the little ones we think don't make a difference but also in how we remember things.  Scott has a very idolized view of Kate and can't shake that image to see what is in front of him now.  Meredith is struggling, as Scott's current wife she has mixed feelings about Kate's return but no one seems to care.  I really appreciated having Merediths point of view and seeing how all of this is effecting her and the family she has tried to mold into something new. 

Abbie is just overwrought, she was 5 when her mother disappeared and the only memories she has of her mother are the ones that her father has shared.  When Kate returns she doesn't know how to feel but does feel a connection to the mother who has been missing most of her life. 

This book hooked me from page 1 and kept me engaged.  I know some may have felt it was slow but I breezed through it with no issues.  I loved the story and the different perspectives of the characters.  The book reminds me of a documentary I just watched on the NXIVM cult on Starz.  Its amazing how easy it is to get pulled into these situations when looking to improved yourself.  Very well done. 

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