G513 Book Review of One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis
Author: Tina Seskis
ISBN: 978-0-06-236964-2
Publisher: William and Morris
Type of book: mystery, sisterhood, family, double life, cheating, marriage, grief, 2000s, England, getting away from it all, career, drugs
Year it was published: 2015
Summary:
The #1 international bestseller reminiscent of After I’m Gone, Sister, Before I Go to Sleep, and The Silent Wife—an intricately plotted, thoroughly addictive thriller that introduces a major new voice in suspense fiction—a mesmerizing and powerful novel that will keep you guessing to the very end.
No one has ever guessed Emily’s secret.
Will you?
A happy marriage. A beautiful family. A lovely home. So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life—to start again as someone new?
Now, Emily has become Cat, working at a hip advertising agency in London and living on the edge with her inseparable new friend, Angel. Cat’s buried any trace of her old self so well, no one knows how to find her. But she can't bury the past—or her own memories.
And soon, she’ll have to face the truth of what she's done—a shocking revelation that may push her one step too far. . . .
Characters:
The main characters include Emily/Cat, Caroline, Ben, the parents and Cat's friend Angel. As Emily, the woman is described as sweet, romantic, giving and loyal. She also is family oriented and wants to make people happy. As Cat, the woman becomes a drug addict, a wanna-be teen, assertive, and very daring and unafraid. Caroline, Emily/Cat's twin sister is a very conflicted individual who seems to suffer from low self esteem and other sorts of ailments such as alcoholism, anorexia, inferiority complex and so forth. Ben is loyal to Emily/Cat and seems to be a good husband. The parents, both mother and father are very conflicted individuals, with Mrs. Brown not wanting twin daughters, and the father not wanting any children whatsoever and not being able to find acceptance. Angel is Cat's friend who is younger and encourages for Cat to become looser and is also accepting and worrying.
Theme:
I'm not sure what the message should have been without giving away the spoiler
Plot:
The story is both in third and first person narrative; first from Emily/Cat's and the third can be anyone; Emily, her twin sister Caroline, her husband, her parents, and her friend. The story and the twists are pretty gripping and you're really pulled into the roller coaster trying to figure out how this puzzle fits in with Emily's decision to leave it all behind, which I've had fun doing, and after I was finished, I definitely felt exhausted as if I was the one that went through it all. I personally would have wished to see more Caroline in the story and to know and understand her point of view instead of just being told in third person about her and her actions.
Author Information:
(From TLC)
About Tina Seskis
© Laila Hegarty
Tina Seskis grew up in Hampshire, England, and after graduating from the University of Bath spent more than twenty years working in marketing and advertising. One Step Too Far is her debut novel, and was first published independently in the UK, where it shot to the #1 spot on the bestseller list. Her second novel is forthcoming. She lives in North London with her husband and son.
Opinion:
I'm not really sure how to articulate my opinion of One Step Too Far. While reading it, I was drawn into the mystery and the story, I did enjoy the dialogue, trying to figure out what happened and then being shocked by the twist as well as being delightfully kept at the edge of my seat. Being used to some British slang, I was familiar with some of it such as Tube (subway) and so forth, so it didn't deter me from enjoying it. But I'm thinking of what I might have learned from it and what lessons one could get from it? I had hoped that the story would be with a message or a moral in it and that didn't happen for me. If you're looking for something that one can kick back and relax then I would recommend the book, but if you're looking for something that will make you think and ponder, then this isn't the book to do that, sorry to say.
This is for TLC Book Tours
Tina’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, January 27th: Bibliotica
Wednesday, January 28th: Kahakai Kitchen
Thursday, January 29th: Fuelled by Fiction
Monday, February 2nd: BoundbyWords
Tuesday, February 3rd: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, February 4th: A Bookish Way of Life
Thursday, February 5th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Friday, February 6th: Books in the Burbs
Monday, February 9th: The Well-Read Redhead
Tuesday, February 10th: Vox Libris
3 out of 5(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
I'm glad that you enjoyed this book even if you didn't learn anything from it. Thanks for being a part of the tour.
ReplyDeleteThis book didn't grab me. In fact, it was confusing for me.
ReplyDeleteI never did guess her secret until they revealed it, and I don't know what the One Step Too Far was. :) Can you tell me without being a spoiler?
Giveaway going on at my blog if you want to stop.
THANKS for your post.
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Blog