Review: The Hush

Title: The Hush

Author: Sara Foster

Publisher: 27th October 2021 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: thriller, mystery, science fiction, dystopia

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

A multigenerational, female-led thriller, and a terrifying conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the British Government.

Six months ago, in an English hospital, a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since then there have been more tragedies, and now the country is in turmoil. The government is clamping down on people’s freedoms. The prime minister has passed new laws granting authorities sweeping powers to monitor all citizens. And young pregnant women have started going missing.

As a midwife, Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when her seventeen-year-old daughter Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real, and both women face impossible choices. The one person who might help is Emma’s estranged mother Geraldine, but reaching out to her will put them all in jeopardy …

The Hush is a new breed of near-future thriller, an unflinching look at a society close to tipping point and a story for our times, highlighting the power of female friendship through a dynamic group of women determined to triumph against the odds.

My Thoughts

‘Now, it’s more like I want the world to change. I feel sadness and frustration rather than fiery outrage when I consider what’s happening, watching humanity repeating the same flawed patterns over and over.’

Sara Foster does it again with The Hush!  This is a fabulous futuristic dystopian thriller, set in a time not long after the pandemic of COVID-19. She has produced such a clever plot with credible twists and turns that can easily be considered as a result of our current world predicament - something we would not have contemplated two years ago. 

‘It’s been clear for a while that the government would like to have more control on the rate of reproduction - and that’s not just here, it’s happening the world over, now there’s so much more stress on supplies and resources, and the planet is in such a precarious and unpredictable state.’

Sara has cleverly included realistic threads that make her story quite believable. There is a cast of solid characters and as they range from adolescent to grandparents, this book is sure to appeal to a wide ranging audience. As outlined in the synopsis, this is a multigenerational, female-led story with women who are strong, resilient and courageous. It is wonderful to have such strong female leads all prepared to take on a society that has lost its way. 

There are a range of themes from adolescent and family issues, right up to senior government conspiracies and crucial environmental world issues. What Sara presents in this post-pandemic world, is a society with a government that has slowly mandated new laws in ‘community safety and well-being’ but is very much ‘big brother’ watching and monitoring you. Sara offers both a thoughtful and thought provoking scenario. 

‘Listen, you might have been able to march like that a year ago, but it's not a good idea anymore. There are too many crises hitting us all at once. The government is determined to crack down on demonstrations. It’s a different world now than it was five or ten years ago.’

The Hush is certain to be the book people will be talking about in the last few months of this year and for quite some time. Women working together in a fast paced dystopian thriller that, scarily, would appear to be not that too far removed from our current reality. Highly recommend this book to readers who are partial to quality writing on creditable themes. 

‘The system that supports you can also be used to control you, Emma. Don’t ever forget that, will you.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: You Don't Know Me

Title: You Don't Know Me

Author: Sara Foster

Publisher: 1st November  2019 by Simon & Schuster (Australia)

Pages: 384 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: mystery, crime

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

He’s guarding a dark secret, but so is she.

Lizzie Burdett was eighteen when she vanished, and Noah Carruso has never forgotten her. She was his first crush, his unrequited love. She was also his brother’s girlfriend.

Tom Carruso hasn’t been home in over a decade. He left soon after Lizzie disappeared, under a darkening cloud of suspicion, and now he’s back for the inquest into Lizzie’s death – intent on telling his side of the story.

As the inquest looms, Noah meets Alice Pryce on holiday. They fall for each other fast and hard, but Noah can’t bear to tell Alice his deepest fears. And Alice is equally stricken – she carries a terrible secret of her own.

Is the truth worth telling if it will destroy everything?

My Thoughts

‘As he reaches the threshold, the next words pierce him like bullets in the darkness. “I know what happened to Lizzie.”

‘You Don't Know Me’  is another great read from Aussie author Sara Foster. With good pacing and plenty of twists with well timed revelations that will keep you turning the pages. Told from the perspectives of the two leading characters - Noah and Alice - this is an absorbing family drama with a lot of mystery and a little romance thrown in for good measure. 

Sara investigates the many complicated family and community dynamics after the mysterious disappearance of Lizzie both in the past and throughout the current day inquest. With little love lost between some family members, many an accusatory finger is pointed at a range of suspects as underlying regrets and old rivalries surface. The guilt and anger increase to a rather climactic ending. 

The inclusion of Alice and her story is an aside and may be just a stimulus to resurface the many emotions all involved parties are feeling. It provides a good outlet for the exploration of the emotional toll such incidents can have on individuals.

“Are you listening to me? You can’t change the past, and it sounds like you didn’t have much say about it in the first place. So why are you clinging so hard ...why can’t you let it go?”

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.

Review: All That Is Lost Between Us

Title: All That Is Lost Between Us

Author: Sara Foster

Publisher: 1 February 2016 by Simon & Schuster (Australia)

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: general fiction (adult), contemporary, suspense, family, drama

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

A mother’s worst fears. A daughter in distress. A family falling apart.

Seventeen-year-old Georgia has a secret – one that is isolating her from everyone she loves. She is desperate to tell her best friend, but Sophia is ignoring her, and she doesn’t know why. Before she can find out, Sophia is left fighting for her life after a hit and run, with Georgia a traumatised witness.

As a school psychologist, Georgia’s mother, Anya, should be used to dealing with scared adolescents. However, it’s very different when the girl who needs help is your own child. Meanwhile, Georgia’s father, Callum, is wracked with a guilt he can’t share – and when her younger brother, Zac, stumbles on an unlikely truth, the family relationships begin to implode.

Georgia’s secret is about to go viral, leaving her in terrible danger. Can the family rise above the lies they have told and fight for what matters most of all?

The lies we tell for love are the most dangerous of all.

Set against the stark, rugged beauty of England’s Lake District,All That is Lost Between Us is a timeless thriller with a modern twist.

My Thoughts

What a great read and totally unexpected. I was involved from the start and Foster kept my attention all the way through. I really did not want to be interrupted with this read and got through it in a few days. It is probably a good thing to mix up the genres you read, and this drama/suspense is not my usual go to. However, there is no denying, when you are onto something good - and this was good.

This book I would classify into a few genres in fact - fiction, drama, even young adult at times. And this was just the beginning of the many aspects of this read that I found to be appealing. This was a mystery at heart I guess, yet I would challenge it being termed a psychological thriller - suspenseful undoubtedly. What Foster does, is present a riveting family drama that conveys how easily one can lose track of things in the craziness of this life and drift away from what is really important. 

"Then life took over, constricting us into one narrow pathway that was slowly overlaid with a movie reel of memories, the film eroding in places, our choices blurred with our forgotten dreams, our triumphs and our regrets."

Each chapter switches point of view - quite often a challenge in itself for many authors - but it was done really well. Foster gave you the opportunity to spend time with each family member and gain an understanding from their viewpoint. This leads to another plus, the complete realism of the issues covered - I challenge anyone reading this not to at some point, identify with a particular aspect. Yes, we are a family, yet at times, all living such separate lives. 

"To all intents and purposes we experience life alone, so what right do we have to assume that genetics, a communal living space and an array of shared memories give us unfettered access to one another?"

The writing is at times, perfection. I literally paused, reflected, then read again before moving on. The setting of the novel in England's Lake District is vivid and beautifully descriptive. I loved learning all about the 'fells' - a perfect backdrop for this family drama to play against.

"I would walk the fells on rainy afternoons and feel as though I was lost inside a Turner painting - stumbling through history, being offered a small glimpse of eternity within this enduring piece of earth."

Finally one last appealing aspect is how well Foster captured the mindset of a tween, teen, mother/wife, father/husband after years of marriage, so well. You remembered well the life of being a teenager and then here I am now as a mother, identifying with her angst as her children grow up. 

"I didn't realise how regularly your heart was wrenched by giving them their freedom ... each time this has happened I have said goodbye to some part of my children and to my ability to control their world and keep them safe."

All That is Lost Between Us is a MUST read family drama.

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.