Louise Jensen

What a dark and gripping premise The Family has. That tagline "Once you're in, they'll never let you leave" really grabbed my attention.

Laura has just lost her husband, Gavan, in tragic circumstances, leaving her alone with their 17 year old daughter, Tilly. Uncertainty about the nature of his death means that any money that may be due to them is delayed and may not be forthcoming at all. They always say you are only three wage packets away from losing everything and Laura is facing this show more herself so when a local woman comes up with a solution it seems like the answer to her prayers.

That solution is a local community (some may say cult) led by Alex, a charming and attractive man to whom both Laura and Tilly are drawn. But it isn't long before Laura begins to question her decision to put her faith in Alex and his community.

This is a book that is chock full of secrets. I think every single character had at least one thing they were trying to keep hidden. It's brilliantly plotted though so that each secret is revealed at just the right moment for maximum impact. It really made me think about how easy it is to fall into bad situations and find yourself unable to climb out again. I felt for Laura, responsible for her daughter, dealing with their grief and loss, but it also demonstrated the lengths we will go to to protect our children.

This is a fantastic psychological thriller. I wanted to know how it would all turn out and whether Laura and Tilly would recover anything of their old lives or not. Towards the end, as revelation after revelation was thrown at me I was whipping through the pages as fast as I could.

I thought it was really clever how the story was told mostly from the points of view of Laura and Tilly and how the teenage mind saw things so differently to the mother's mind. For instance, several times Laura thought she was behaving in a calm and understanding way only for Tilly to see it as her mother being annoyed or angry. Seeing it from both sides provided a real sense of the mother/daughter dynamic.

The whole 'community' storyline is a fascinating one. What makes a person drop out of mainstream life, giving up many of the modern luxuries we are used to? In Laura's case it was desperation and I suspect that's the case for many people who join such communities. I thought the author did a great job at portraying the claustrophobic feel of the one in this novel.

All in all I found The Family to be a thrilling and at times creepy read. I definitely don't want to be part of this Family! show less

“I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.”‘
Charlie’s last words to best friend Grace have haunted her since Charlie died four months ago. What can Charlie possibly have done? It can’t be worse than what Grace did…can it?

--- What’s it about? ---

After her best friend dies, Grace feels set adrift. In an attempt to reorient herself, she digs into their shared past, trying to understand who wanted to do her harm when she was a teenager – and whether or not show more someone wishes her harm now.

Best mate Charlie always wanted to find her dad but her mum refused to discuss the topic. Now, in her revitalised search for Charlie’s dad, Grace discovers a woman claiming to be Charlie’s sister. But is Anna really who she says she is? Why does Grace’s boyfriend, Dan, seem to dislike her so much? Is someone really stalking Grace? And what, exactly, happened to Charlie? It’s all a mystery that Grace is determined to solve…

--- What’s it like? ---

Dramatic. Intriguing. A little frustrating in places. From the opening pages – set in a muddy, dark forest which Grace visits on ‘heart-heavy legs’ and where she digs despite the ‘rockets of pain’ in her wrists – the atmosphere is intense. Nothing is easy, normal or commonplace, which Jensen emphasises early on when Grace passes a piano in her lounge: ‘I’ll never play again. It’s still too painful to be reminded of the time I had a normal life. A normal family.’ Then we learn that, ‘There’s nothing quite as corrosive as guilt; it eats away at you from the inside out.’ Throw in a mysterious silent phone call and the revelation that Dan hasn’t come home all night, and the stage is set for some serious drama.

Then we move back in time to when Grace first met Charlie and Dan. When this chapter opens, we find Grace in the middle of a panic attack and insistent that she won’t accepted at her new school when they know what she did. The solution? Don’t tell them, say her grandparents. Simple. Except, of course, it isn’t, and one particular girl seems happy to use Grace’s past against her in a malicious campaign that mars Grace’s teenage years.

Jensen specialises in creating uncertainty. What did Grace do? What did Charlie do? Who wrote those poisonous notes? Is Grace really being followed? What on earth is Dan up to? Throughout we are on edge, waiting to discover the truth about various characters, but one thing that becomes clear very quickly is Anna’s malicious intent. Why Anna wants to hurt Grace is unclear; that she wishes her harm sparkles through almost everything she does, whether that’s criticising Grace’s appearance or attempting to poison her. And yet, somehow, Grace is oblivious. This led to some very frustrating moments where I just wanted to shout “Look! Open your eyes and LOOK at what Anna is doing.”

Dan’s attitude to Anna is puzzling, but is also something Grace should care more about. She’s obsessed by the idea of finding out the “truth” about Charlie, but initially determined to close her eyes to everything else. I did like that as the story progresses she becomes a stronger character, able to make important decisions and move forward in a positive direction. By the end, I no longer wanted to shake her!

--- Final thoughts ---

The difficulty with proclaiming that any novel has ‘a brilliant twist you won’t see coming’ is that people will then be looking out for it – and so they are very likely to see it coming! The twist itself is guessable but this isn’t a problem (it’s not overly obvious) and it’s suitably dramatic, though some of the details strain credulity. The dramatic closing scenes seem designed to atone for the relative innocence of a couple of the much-laboured over secrets the novel ultimately reveals.

Finally, this is a powerful presentation of the effects guilt, loss and grief can have on people. It can be enough to drive you mad… show less

Wow! I thought I'd enjoyed The Sister but The Gift is even better, and I didn't think that would even be possible! Louise Jensen has exceeded all of my expectations after The Sister and has written a cracker of a book, one that stays with you long after you have turned the last page.

Jenna is grateful to receive a heart transplant and wants to thank the family of the donor in person. This isn't recommended by the hospital, but Jenna feels so strongly about it that she hires a private show more investigator to find Callie's family. Callie's family aren't exactly what she imagined them to be but Jenna feels like she knows them, although she can't explain the depth of her feelings. When Jenna finds out that Callie had a sister, Sophie, she is determined to find her. Jenna follows her instinct and takes her lead from strange flashbacks that seem to show Callie's life. What is Callie trying to tell her? All Jenna knows is that she must find Sophie. As she gets closer to the truth, she puts herself in more danger and she ends up in a race against time as it feels like her body is starting to reject Callie's heart.

I'm not sure if Jenna's heart was beating as wildly as mine was throughout this book; I could barely keep hold of my kindle as my palms started to sweat near the end. I loved the exploration of cellular memory and it's something that I do believe in, especially with a heart transplant. Is the heart just an organ that keeps us alive or is it so much more than that? I'd love to think that the heart is more than a vessel, that it contains all our feelings, hopes and fears. It's so comforting to think that an organ transplanted in another person means that the donor hasn't completely died. It's quite magical to think that a little piece of the donor lives on and the recipient absorbs a little of their very essence.

The Gift is so much more than a psychological thriller, although it is certainly a fantastic one, but for me it's a thought provoking look at the magic of the human body. It is also a stark reminder of how fragile we are and how by simply registering on the organ donor register we can save so many lives in the event of our death.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest an unbiased opinion. show less

After a traumatic event sends Grace, then 9, to live with her grandparents in a small village in England, she finds a fast friend in the larger than life Charlie. Years later, reeling from Charlies death, and obsessing over the note she left before her disappearance, Grace is desperate to piece together clues as to what happened to her best friend.

"I did something terrible Grace. I hope you can forgive me."

On a mission to resolve loose ends in Charlies life, Grace connects with Anna who show more claims to be Charlies half sister. They too become fast friends, Anna filling a hole in Graces life that has been left empty for too long. But things get weird (umm hello this is a thriller people). Things go missing, Graces live in boyfriend is acting strangely, and her career slowly crumbles in front of her. Grace uncovering more questions than answers but can she figure out Charlies secret before it's too late?
Now if that doesn't peak your interest I don't know what will! This book has all the intensity and intrigue you would expect with such a genre; weaving a tale that takes you down various paths of mounting questions, dead ends, and surprise revelations. I enjoyed that it alternated time periods between "then" and "now" which was the perfect mechanism to dole out bits and pieces of information over the span of the novel. Grace was a well written main character and her grief induced drinking/pill popping added that touch of uncertainty to her reliability which always keeps things interesting. You know you are reading a good thriller when you have approximately 678765 theories running at any given time (which, by the way, they all turned out to be wrong). Working in the mental health field I think I had a unique mindset when coming to terms with the ending. Without giving anything away, I did feel sympathetic to our "villain" to a large extent. Overall, everything from the quaint English town setting, to the intriguing and well paced plot, to the nerve wracking events leading up to the conclusion combined to make one heck of a read! I will most definitely be reading anything Louise Jensen comes up with next! show less