Book Review: Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald

Format: eBook (Kindle)
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 18th April 2016
Pages: 272 Pages

The Blurb
Kate and Mannix O’Brian live in a lovely Limerick house they can barely afford. Their autistic son is being bullied and their daughter Izzy is desperately trying to protect him. When Kate spots a gorgeous New York flat on a home-exchange website, she is convinced her luck is about to change…

Hazel and Oscar Harvey and their two children live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Though they seem successful on the surface, Hazel’s mysterious bruises and Oscar’s secrets tell another story. With Hazel keen to revisit her native Limerick, the house swap seems almost too perfect.

When Oscar discovers the body of a woman in the boot of his hosts’ car, he realises this will be anything but a perfect break. And the body is just the beginning.

Clare’s Rating: 4/5

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The Review
Thank you to Hayley and Canelo for the copy of Twisted River to read and review – I was very excited to read the novel.

You may have already read my blog tour entry last week which included a great extract from the novel. Did it leave you wanting more? I hope so! If you didn’t get chance to read the post, you can find it here.

Two families, the O’Briens and the Harvey’s, swap homes for their holidays and embark on family adventures. Don’t be fooled by the happy exterior, both seem to be experiencing sadness in their lives. Will a holiday in a different country bring them happiness? I don’t think so!

Twisted River is told by the parents of each family – Kate & Mannix and Hazel and Oscar – that’s 4 characters with secrets that will most definitely have an impact on the story. I wondered if one particular character would receive more ‘air-time’ than the others, but that wasn’t the case. Each had equal prominence and I felt that if a character was removed, or not included, I think it would have made the story enjoyable! I know I shouldn’t have a favourite, but I did find myself warming to Hazel, she really didn’t have it easy. She worked within a rundown school and more than anything just wanted to help her students, but that wasn’t always reciprocated.

Question: Who is the murderer?
Answer:  You will have no idea! (Until the end of course)

As the above states, you definitely won’t expect the murderer to be who you think. You’re lead on a journey that sees  you heading in one direction and then it suddenly pulls you into another.

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