Ruth Dugdall

...and the creepiest Opening Chapter award goes to Ruth Dugdall for The Woman Before Me! This opening chapter made my skin crawl as one of my fears and one of my foibles were brought together. I don't like to think people are watching me without me knowing and I have a fear of a stranger entering my bedroom (and killing me) when I am asleep. So when Rose stands over Emma watching her sleep, I really did gasp out loud and that was only the tip of the iceberg!

Rose is arrested for starting a show more fire that night in Emma's house where Emma's baby son died and Emma claims to have been alone in the house, but Rose knows that she wasn't. Rose keeps this information to herself and accepts her fate, which I think has a lot to do with the post traumatic stress from which she is suffering after the death of her premature baby, Joel. Rose lost her mother at a young age and doesn't know how to be a mother herself, but she doesn't even get the chance so it was no surprise to see her latch on to Emma and her baby, Luke. Emma is only too glad of the help as she leaves Luke with Rose so she can have some time to herself. It would be easy to blame Emma, and in a way I did, as she used Rose for free babysitting services but she probably thought that Rose was her friend, despite knowing nothing about her and not caring enough to find out.

Now Rose is up for parole and Probation Officer, Cate Austin must decide whether Rose should be released or not. As Cate digs into Rose's disturbing past she, like all of us readers, wants to know whether Rose was indeed guilty of starting the fire that night. I was constantly questioning this but then came up with another conundrum: if Rose didn't start the fire, who did? And if she didn't do it, why did she accept her prison sentence so easily?

I am not surprised that Ruth Dugdall won the CWA Debut Dagger Award in 2005 for The Woman Before Me. It is a gripping, skin-crawling, dark, psychological thriller that I didn't want to put down. It is so intriguing that I felt as if I read it too quickly, as I needed to find out the whole story as fast as I could, so it's a good excuse to read it again to savour every detail of this dark and delicious domestic noir book. Disturbing, gripping and highly recommended.

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

When I first started reading this I wasn't sure to what to make of it and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It opens up with a young girl who is battling anorexia and seems to have been admitted to a mental health hospital for treatment of the condition. My problem though was the author, at first, seemed to have her characters so in love with the disorder it was being described in these 'beautiful', ethereal phrases. I almost stopped reading because it was so difficult to read about these show more girls starving themselves and having it described like it was the most elegant act one can do.

Thankfully I kept with it and I was glad because I began to understand the reason Dugdall wrote the way she did regarding anorexia is because she was showing the mindset people who have this disorder actually have regarding their mental illness. The psychological aspects she brought up, the reasons the girls have for what they do, the type of treatment they undergo, all of it was described with so much accurate detail it was obvious the author spent a great deal of time trying to get this correct.

In the midst of learning about this disorder and why her main character is suffering you are also treated to a mystery of what happened to her sister and why. Eventually I was able to predict most of what was going to be the answers for the various mysteries that tie together but that didn't take away from the overall story. The conclusion was very poignant and was the best possible way to end this story.

The only part I'm still on the fence about is because Dugdall described how people with anorexia view their disorder I'd be concerned that a teenager who may be leaning towards this idea or in the throes will find encouragement within these characters. I would hope that the disorder's traumatizing side effects might change their mind and thankfully the author doesn't hold back on the debilitating things that can happen to a person's body when they choose to starve themselves.

It was definitely an eye opening experience to read this book and by the end I just wanted to hug Sam to tell her everything was going to be okay. show less

ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sam has been in the hospital for eighteen months, her body is shutting down, a welcome escape from the past and the memories that haunt her. Sam and the other patients are starving themselves, attempting to control their lives at any cost. Sam's past may be the cause, but also the cure. Through flashbacks we learn about Jena, Sam's elder sister, confined to a life in hospitals after an attack leaves her brain irreparably damaged. show more Desperate for the answer, Sam begins her own hunt for the criminal that stole her sister from her, but what she finds is only a dark room full of deceit.

"Once I tell Clive the next part of the story, he'll agree. It's not just that I'm mad, I'm bad too.
Sick to the core."

Ruth Dugdall's My Sister and Other Liars is haunting and realistic; two sisters forever changed by an event that comes to life in the flashbacks Sam shares in therapy. Told entirely from Sam's perspective, her anger at herself, at everyone around her, bleeds from the words as she revisits the awful events that lead to her starvation. Sam is a difficult character, her hostility makes her unlikable, but her true lack of control makes you desperate for her health. She's naive, too youthful for her hardened outlook and her story breaks down those around her. Sam's perspective is narrow, her will to live is slim, but Dugdall's writing shows that those around her care and have compassion. Dugdall breaks down the disease, highlighting the many roads that lead to eating disorders for not just Sam, but the secondary characters she lives in treatment with. She showcases the highs, the lows, and the progress made as Sam faces her disease, her sister's accident, her locked up memory, and the heartbreaking reality of other's sicknesses. The events leading up to her treatment begin as hazy memories, but soon Sam is desperate to reveal her discoveries she made as amateur detective. What starts as a slow read soon takes readers on a fast-paced twisted adventure, as twists and red herrings reveal some, but not all secrets. The ending is a surprise, a chilling unveiling of the real truth that readers will be unable to guess.

"I feel unlocked, like my heart is open and warm, and fluttering out are feelings and thoughts that had been frozen."

My Sister and Other Liars is a horrifying tale, it's achingly painful to read, but it is every bit deserving of the praise it has received. Ruth Dugdall tells a twisted tale of secrets and lies, enticing the reader with a plot that doesn't reveal the truth until the very end. Dark and mysterious, this psychological thriller is hard to put down. It's honest take on eating disorders and the events that psychologically break down Sam makes My Sister and Other Liars a novel I highly recommend. show less

This is a compelling story that explores the complexities and entanglements of crime and justice when the 'bad guys' are children. The chapters alternate between the day of the incident on the bridge and the current time, eight years later. It's important to pay attention to the chapter headings, so you'll know where you are in the story's timeline.

The book is written from multiple viewpoints, mostly third person, with Humber Boy B's part told in first person. As the story unfolds, we show more question whether this boy is truly guilty of murder. And, if so, why did he kill his friend that fateful day on the bridge? We also explore the parents' roles, and how a sort of butterfly effect brought these children together with a perfect storm of circumstances.

The issue of dealing with child killers from a legal standpoint is more of an undercurrent than the focus here. I don't know much about the UK legal system, and I was interested to learn about the process of reintegration after prison release. Since I'm not familiar with the system, I can't comment on whether or not the author got the details right.

I was intrigued by all of the characters. Much like real people, they have their secrets and hidden motivations. The author does an excellent job of showing us what shaped each of them into the people they became.

The plot kept me slightly off balance, in a good way, so that I was never sure how the events would play out. I wanted to hate the ending, which caught me off guard and made me uncomfortable. But it also made perfect sense. I was left wondering who to blame for my discomfort. Not the author, who only dared to show me the outcome on this collision course I'd followed.

My one complaint is small but worth noting. After being convicted of murder, Humber Boy B is given a new name for his protection. In the current timeline, his name is Ben. Yet, in the flashbacks he is also called Ben, rather than his real given name. This jarred me each time. Reading those past scenes with his new name felt wrong. His mother wouldn't have called him Ben. Nor would his brother or his friends at that time. This is a minor point but, because of the alternating timeline, it has a major effect.

Overall, this is a well written, unique story that will stick with me for quite some time.

*I was given a free ebook from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* show less