Reviewer: Allie
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sally and Olivia were best friends when they were in college (or university, as the story is set in England), but it was a complicated relationship – full of drama, competitiveness and emotional outbursts. After a terrible fight, the two women became estranged for years. Then one day Olivia gets the news that Sally has been killed in a car accident. Olivia is full of regrets, questions, guilt and grief. Sally’s widowed husband, William, reaches out to Olivia, to gather information about the past. Talking to William brings back painful memories and she also discovers that Sally has left behind many secrets.
Olivia’s present day life is as complicated as her past. She’s living with her best friend James, whom she’s secretly been in love with for years. Her life at the office is not easy, with a professional rival who shatters her confidence at every turn – and the rival also has eyes for James. Olivia’s also conflicted by her growing feelings for William – a man she knows she can’t have. Or can she?
This intimate analysis of the relationship between two women who meet at the transition of childhood to womanhood is told from Olivia’s point of view. “Flashback chapters” from the years that the women were at university are sprinkled throughout the book, so the reader can get the story leading up to the estrangement. The problem is, we only get Olivia’s side of the story. On the one hand, this is realistic because Sally has died and once you’ve passed away your story is no long yours to tell. But on the other hand, I couldn’t shake the nagging regret that I was only getting one version.
Sally, as portrayed by Olivia’s memories, was a horrible person. I truly don’t understand how Olivia could have ever been friends with her and harbored such love, even while no longer maintaining a relationship with her. I could relate to the regret she felt after Sally died, but her grief was a bit too much for me. I was not happy with some of Olivia’s actions, which in my opinion made her almost as unredeemable as Sally. Also, the big reveal of a medical condition for one of the characters failed to produce the empathy I’m certain the author was going for.
This was a well written and thoughtful book. The mystery of Sally’s “secrets” was an intriguing part of the story – that woman weaved a tangled web. Still, I would have run from her – but that’s just me, with a few decades of friendships under my belt. One thing is for certain, after you’ve read the book you’ll appreciate the friends you have!
