Skip to main content

Cat Step by Alison Irvine

 

Synopsis: One mistake can unravel everything.

She only left her daughter in the car for a minute; just a quick minute whilst she ran into the shop. She barely thought twice about making the decision, but it soon began to consume her every thought. And not just her thoughts, but those of every neighbour, police officer and social security worker in a 15-mile radius. But this is her child. Surely she knows best?

After she'd made the move to a small town in Scotland, the rolling hills and blustery beaches seemed to be the perfect backdrop for her and her four-year old daughter, Emily, to start again. It wasn't always easy just the two of them, but Liz, was sure that she could manage this time. And now this?

Sometimes, one mistake is all it takes to unravel everything.

Cat Step is an intriguing piece as can what be only described as being a suspenseful dramatic rollercoaster, which you only begin to start breathing once you get off the ride. It is a book mainly focused on what happened before and the community hiding secrets. So who can you really trust? You can't even trust the main character, Liz.

It's hard to really describe how much of a rollercoaster this book really is. I mean it. I have never felt like I have changed perspective of who should be supported more than this book. At first, you decide that it is best to stick to Liz's story and her perspective of the events that begin to unravel. But there is always something nagging at the back of your head that something doesn't quite add up right. That somehow your rational thought is wrong all along. 

Throughout the book the most important themes are about how community perceives us and whether we are doing a good job as a mother. But who truly knows of the right way of being a mother? I think that this in some ways affects Liz more than it has to, to the point where it almost becomes scary to watch and you can't but help fall to the edge of your seat, in hope that what you are seeing would just resolve. In fact, it felt like it had the right amount of suspense to feel like a BBC drama, which is something that I would definitely sit down and watch. As it had the right amount of me gritting my teeth at some characters who I just want them to answer simple questions that have been asked by them.

The great part about this book is how tense and unsure you become of what might happen next. Liz is not the most reliable narrator and even she begins to keep secrets from those reading the book. But even as some secrets are then shared, we don't really know if this is an actual truth. It constantly keeps you guessing and sometimes not always finding the answer.

However, one aspect I wasn't too keen on was the ending. The ending, I don't know, just felt a little rushed. I became more frustrated than anything and felt like there was more of a story to tell. But I guess sometimes that is how life works out. We don't always have the ending that we thought that might happen. But I will leave that to the reader to decide whether the ending was a good one for them.

Ultimately, I want to rate this a four star. It was a good book. There is absolutely no doubt about it. This is a book definitely one for the bookshelf, as it is a gripping piece for those who love a book with anticipation and drama.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Tour: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

  SYNOPSIS John Carver has three rules: Don't drink in the daytime, don't gamble when the luck has gone, and don't talk to the dead people who come to visit. It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time. Desperation has pulled him back to Afganistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.

One Ordinary Day at a Time by Sarah J. Harris

SYNOPSIS  Behind every ordinary day, behind every ordinary story, there's an extraordinary one just waiting to happen... Two people. Simon Sparks hides in plain sight - his astonishing gifts locked deep inside himself, as he dreams of lost potential and extraordinary tomorrows. Jodie Brook hides behind what you think of her - a single mum who can barely make ends meet. But her dreams are filled with the education she wanted and discovering a better life for her and her son. One life. When Simon and Jodie's lonely worlds collide, it upends everything. But as it becomes clear they have so much to learn from each other - Jodie can show Simon how to rejoin the world, and Simon can help Jodie prepare for her greatest challenge yet - they begin to realise that life could be so much more. One ordinary day at a time...

A Patchwork Family by Cathy Bramley

Gina is a woman who has had a lot of darkness in her life for the past few months, however, all is once again looking up as she starts a new chapter. Recently divorced, she now has the ticket to go out into the world and do something independent and follow her dreams as a childminder. However, as she begins to strive out into the world and become something for herself disaster strikes. The Evergreens, the place which she calls home has now been put up for sale. This is now Gina's fight for what is right for both her and friends. Does she have the confidence and tenacity to keep what is most important to her? Gina has been living on The Evergreens estate for a while now, while renting Welcome Cottage and running her childminding business from there with great success. However, when the divorce comes through, she finally decides that it is time to branch out and expand. But this is left in tatters after her landlord unexpectedly dies and leaves the estate to both her great-niece and ...

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

For something new this year I have decided that it would be different to try out something new on the blog. Every week from now on I am going to find a word that I find to be interesting. So for this week the word is: denouement - the resolution of a mystery. Publisher: Corgi Books Pages: 593 Year it was Published: 2004 Places: Paris, London, England, Roslin Original Language: American English So do you remember when I showed you my TBR pile of Dan Brown books? I am sure that you are thinking where they have all got to! Well the reason because of this is I wanted a change for a little while and I have loads of other books to get through - as well as the obvious blog tour and interview! Unfortunately there won't be a relentless amount of Dan Brown reviews for the time being, after this one. I have only just started The Lost Symbol and there are plenty other reviews that are for other books. Plot Summary  For the Robert Langdon series second instalm...

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

'Romancing Mister Bridgerton' is part of a serial of books, which this particular one is the fourth instalment. However, in my opinion, it can be read as a singular entity, as I have come to find that I accidentally started this series on the third book, 'An Offer From a Gentleman'.  In the Bridgerton series, Quinn delves deep into high society of the ton and the peaks and troughs of being on the 'marriage mart'. The Bridgertons consist of eight siblings, each named after the next letter in the alphabet: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth. However, in the context of this book, the sibling which the story is based is on Colin.  However, the other main protagonist in the book is Penelope. Penelope is someone who is considered to be one day a spinster, rather than married off to anyone of interest to the ton. In fact, it is assumed by her mother that she will grow old and look after her when she is much older. But this is not ...