This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
When she was thirteen, Lacey witnessed the murder of her mother. Twelve years later, the murderer is up for parole, a fact that horrifies Lacey. She and her family decide to fight the decision and are advised to write victim statements to express their feelings on the matter. As a witness to the crime, Lacey’s statement is the most important for their case but she is finding it difficult to put pen to paper.
Lacey is stressed about the statement, but her attention is needed elsewhere when her old friend dies suddenly, leaving her eleven-year-old daughter, McKenzie, in Lacey’s care. Lacey doesn’t feel ready to be a parent but her friend has put her trust in her, wanting Lacey to take care of the most precious thing in her life.
With two lives resting on her shoulders, Lacey must somehow sort her life out and do the right thing.
I was looking forward to reading Her Mother’s Shadow as I was intrigued by the blurb but, while a lot of the story held my interest, I failed to connect with the main character, Lacey, and started to dislike her more and more as the story unfolded, especially when McKenzie came to stay with her. Lacey had gone through a similar trauma as McKenzie, having lost her own mother at a young age, but she displayed very little sympathy for the girl and wanted to wash her hands of McKenzie after a very short time.
On the whole, I thought the book was well written but some of the twists in the plot were too obvious so it was simply a matter of waiting until they were revealed, which didn’t create the most interesting of stories. While reading the book, I sometimes got the impression I was missing something as backstories were hinted at and I have since discovered that Her Mother’s Shadow is the third book in a trilogy, which now makes sense.
7/10
Diane Chamberlain's Website