Review: The Diary

Title: The Diary

Author: Vikki Patis

Publisher: Bookouture, 26 November 2018

Pages: 294 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

‘I know all your secrets, Lauren.’

Lauren has spent years running away from her home town, her childhood and the memories of her best friend, Hannah.

Until the tenth anniversary of Hannah’s death forces her to return home and to the group of friends she abandoned there. It should be a quick visit, just so Lauren can pay her respects.

At home, Lauren finds Hannah’s old diary. A diary full of secrets. The terrible things Lauren did, the lies she’s told, the reason she ran away. And she receives a message:

‘I don’t know why you’re back, but I know why you left.’

But no-one else has seen the diary, and Hannah’s dead, isn’t she?

A suspenseful psychological thriller full of twists and turns – you won’t be able to stop turning the pages of The Diary. Perfect for fans of The Sister, The Girl on the Train and We Were Liars.

My Thoughts

I really love getting my teeth into a good psychological thriller and The Diary didn’t disappoint me. The story begins with Lauren, the protagonist going back to her hometown for the 10th anniversary of her sister, Hannah’s death. She is reluctant to return due to events in her past, but she does so, for her father.

‘Nothing could make me go back. I read the text from my dad again...it’s next week. You should come, Lauren. For me.’

When she returns to Hitchin, she reconnects with friends from her past. They had previously let her down which caused her to flee her hometown and start a new life in Cornwall, where she meets Kate, a police officer and begins a relationship with her.

‘Kate doesn’t know everything about my past. She knows about Hannah, and how she died. She knows I was bullied, but not all of it, not how bad it got. She doesn’t know about Seth.’

The book is written in two time periods, then and now. The then parts outline the events of the past and explain why Lauren is so reluctant to return to Hitchin. The now parts describe how she feels and reacts to the people who she meets after so long. It’s a clever way of writing and keeps the book interesting and the pages turning.

When they were children, Lauren and Hannah had a very close relationship because their mothers were very good friends and after Hannah started living with them, she became Lauren’s sister,  even though they were not blood related. She was a very strong influence on Lauren and Lauren relied heavily on her for everything.

‘She wasn’t technically my sister - we had different parents, different upbringings. When Hannah was sixteen, her mum left her dad and moved in with my dad, who had remained single since my mum died.’

While she is in Hitchin, Lauren starts receiving chilling text messages from unknown numbers:

‘I don’t know why you’re back, but I know why you left.’

She starts to investigate who could be sending these messages and why. She finds a diary written by Hannah and it begins to answer some of the questions she has about the past.

I really enjoyed the way this story progressed and the relationships developed along the way. It kept me guessing all the way through with the twists and turns. Vikki is a very clever storyteller and the twist at the end was certainly unexpected! All the unanswered questions were answered and the story had a neat ending. I recommend this book for fellow lovers of psychological thrillers.

‘I allow myself to imagine the future. I turn my gaze forwards instead of backwards. This year, we’ll create new experiences and new memories. This year, we’ll move on.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.