Keep You Safe. Melissa Hill

Published: Harlequin (Australia)
Date: 1st September 2017
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 384
Genre: General Fiction
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
           

For single mum Kate O'Hara, there was no decision to make. Her daughter Rosie is one of a small percentage of Irish children with a disorder that prevents her from being vaccinated against measles. All Kate can do is hope that herd immunity keeps the disease at bay, and her little girl safe.

For Madeleine Harrington, it was a leap of faith she wasn't prepared to take. Which is why she and her husband decline controversial measles jabs for their daughter Clara. All she can do is pray that it's the right decision and if her little girl becomes sick, she gets through it unscathed.

The two girls have just started primary school in the same class. And when one day, tell-tale red spots appear on Clara Harrington's chest, and Rosie's a few days after, both mums fear the worst...how can this be happening when all they wanted was to keep their children safe?

Keep You Safe by Melissa Hill is most certainly an issue driven book. You may never have considered vaccination as an issue. My generation took it for granted as something you just did. I still highly value the blessing vaccinations bring in countering many illnesses. Yet there are those who differing thoughts about it. I have a niece who does not believe in vaccinations for her children, and it worries me, so when I read Trish at Between my Lines review, for Keep You Safe I knew it was a book I wanted to read.

It is a highly engaging story, tracing the story of two children who contract measles, one recovers and one suffers some serious side-effects.  The book explores the two sides, that of mother Madeleine and that of Kate. Both women are so plausible and as a reader my sympathies were with both of them. The heart ache that both experience tugged at my heart. What are their reasons for not vaccinating, what are the consequences and risks of that? I hadn't thought of one of the consequences explored so that was thought provoking.

The way the story moves along, with a local community plus an online presence is interesting. Madeleine is a blogger and when things turn pear-shaped the amount of judgement and vitriol was saddening.  There is a court case that follows that further reveals personalities, and there is a surprise ending. I knew there would be one but wasn't sure what it would be.

This is most definitely a book I'd recommend, both for the issue it explores, but also the plot and characters make for a highly readable book, with just a small taste of romance to add in that was a small but beautiful addition.

Missing Pieces. Heather Gudenkauf

Missing Pieces
Heather Gudenkauf
Published: Harlequin Australia MIRA
Date: 1st February 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 288
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
                           

Sarah Quinlan's husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. For years Jack has avoided returning home, but when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded.

Upon arriving, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago. But as facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack’s past, but the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for.

Right from the beginning Missing Pieces sucked me in. From an idyllic country setting to a sinister murder in the first few pages. And when we cut to Jack and his wife Sarah, it doesn't add up. Jack is not telling anywhere near the truth of that day, and Sarah has long been kept in the dark. A long time, because they have two college age daughters. 

When they return to Iowa because Jack's Aunt Julia is lying in hospital after a fall down the stairs, Sarah begins to find little cracks appearing. She realises Jack has kept her very much in the dark. He's told Sarah his parents died in a car crash. And as the reader you know that's untrue and have to ask - why? Just as Sarah does. Then there is his sister Amy, who is having problems, seems highly anxious and unhinged.  As well there is Jack's cousin Dean and his wife Celia, and aren't those two just another little item that Jack has been keeping quiet about. It's all very creepy and suspicious.

So who has done it? Who has murdered Jack's mother? And what of Aunt Julia. Accident or Murder? We definitely know "that something is rotten in the state of Denmark Penny Gate, Iowa".

Sarah seeks the truth, all the time becoming more unsure of Jack and their marriage. As a journalist she takes risks and sifts through material that might give her clues. Can she do all that before the murderer strikes again? 

A few small clues are dropped but I have to say when the final revelation came I had not put that person at the top of my suspect list. 

This one had me reading on for sure, a creepy 'who dun it' that I raced through.