About The Book
Some say life begins at forty.
Cyn Mckinley hopes so since her former life is over. Home foreclosure, a cross-country move, and hidden drinking problem pretty much killed it. Being crushed by crippling anxiety doesn’t help.
When she discovers that her husband’s new boss is the monster who raped her in high school, she spirals further down. Struggling to process this revelation, she conceals it from her husband because they need his job. Instead, she numbs her pain with too much wine, drives drunk, and her husband threatens to divorce her. She reluctantly quits drinking, hoping that will save her marriage.
But clarity from sobriety brings something unexpected to Cyn – the need for justice or revenge. If only she can find a way to make the demon pay for the trauma he inflicted, and the ripples it sent through her life, then maybe she’ll find peace.
My Review
With thanks to the author for the copy received. I have to admit that this novel wasn’t usually something I would read, I struggle reading something that is raw and full of pain. Something that you know happens from seeing the news and knowing that very little is done to help the victim. The #MeToo news was typical of that.
But I’m glad that I did, Cyn was a character I liked, and I had equal amounts of sympathy and respect for her. She knew that her reliance on alcohol was causing damage to her marriage and possible risk to her son but too much was happening around her for her to quit. Af first, when she outed her abuser, and many other victims came forward it seemed to help her but it soon started to overpower her and she relapsed again. Combined with her awful landlord, health problems within her family and ongoing marital problems it seemed like there would be no way out. But despite her issues Cyn was a strong woman with plenty of determination, in many ways much stronger than her husband Nick.
My opinions of Nick changed throughout the novel. I didn’t always feel that he gave enough support, even though I could appreciate that he was concerned about their son’s welfare. But I felt that he wasn’t as honest as Cyn, he also had issues but wasn’t able to address and acknowledge them the same way she did. The way he did try and cope was totally different to hers. Once he started to accept what had happened to him, throughout his childhood, he seemed to be more of a support.
This is an incredibly important novel, some of the storyline has only been discussed publicly because of recent events. I dread to think of what may still come to light with correct support.
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