About the Book
Helen Cooper has a charmed life. She’s beautiful, accomplished, organised – the star parent at the school. Until she disappears.
But Helen wasn’t abducted or murdered. She’s chosen to walk away, abandoning her family, husband Sam, and her home.
Where has Helen gone, and why? What has driven her from her seemingly perfect life? What is she looking for? Sam is tormented by these questions, and gradually begins to lose his grip on work and his family life.
He sees Helen everywhere in the faces of strangers. He’s losing control.
But then one day, it really is Helen’s face he sees…
My Review
What She Left is the first book that I have read by Rosie Fiore even though I had been aware of her books before.
When Helen disappears, Sam is left trying to rebuild his life and that of his daughters. He struggled to come to terms with why Helen left the way that she did. The more I got to know him the more I understood why she left. Sam isn’t a very nice person. But even though I disliked Sam’s actions he was aware of all his faults and at times I did have a little sympathy for him.
There are four narrators, Helen, Sam, his eldest daughter Miranda and a friend Lara. Helen doesn’t really have a voice until the second half of the novel and it was only when she started talking that you saw what led to her disappearance and what had happened to her when she was younger.
All four of the narrators were believable, even Miranda’s. It must be hard to write how a child sees a situation but the author does it very well.
I loved the ending, I don’t want to say too much about it but it made me smile through the tears. Just lovely.
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
About the author
Author Bio – Rosie Fiore was born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She studied drama at the University of the Witwatersrand and has worked as a writer for theatre, television, magazines, advertising, comedy and the corporate market.
Her first two novels, This Year’s Black and Lame Angel were published by Struik in South Africa. This Year’s Black was longlisted for the South African Sunday Times Literary Award and has subsequently been re-released as an e-book. Babies in Waiting, Wonder Women and Holly at Christmas were published by Quercus. She is the author of After Isabella, also published by Allen & Unwin.
Rosie’s next book, The After Wife (written as Cass Hunter), will be published by Trapeze in 2018, and in translation is seven countries around the world.
Rosie lives in London with her husband and two sons.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rosiefiorewriter/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rosiefiore
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