Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak
Published by Mira Books on December 4, 2018
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
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Something happened to her mother that night. Something no one wants to talk about. But she’s determined to uncover her family’s dark secrets, even if they bury her.
Five-year-old Sloane McBride couldn’t sleep that night. Her parents were arguing again, their harsh words heating the cool autumn air. And then there was that other sound–the ominous thump before all went quiet.
In the morning, her mother was gone. The official story was that she left. Her loving, devoted mother! That hadn’t sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen, anxious to leave her small Texas hometown in search of anywhere else. But not even a fresh start working as a model in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn’t just difficult–he was deadly.
Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend and a father and brother who’d rather see her silenced. But as Sloane starts digging into the past, the question isn’t whether she can uncover what really happened that night…it’s what will remain of her family if she does?
When I saw the cover of this book, Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak, I knew I wanted to read it, so I headed over to NetGalley and thanks to my book blogging relationship with them, I was able to obtain an advanced digital copy to read and review!
Before We Were Strangers begins with a five year old daughter’s recollections of an awful fight between her parents. Then she hears the inauspicious “thump”, and then everything is quiet. Little Sloane McBride wakes up the next morning and her mother is gone. Forever. The official story is that her mother left that night. Sloane move out of the house right after her graduation in search of anywhere other than her small Texas hometown and doesn’t plan to look back.
Sloane develops into a beautiful woman and becomes a successful model thanks to the help of her very best friend and mentor., Clyde. When Clyde dies, Sloane, in her grief, decides to take some time off and go back to her hometown to try and find answers to what really happened to her mother over twenty years ago.
The story is written with dual points of view, which is always good because you get to see a situation from different angles instead of just the perception of one person. Before We Were Strangers kept me engaged cover to cover, and in fact, I stayed up way too late at night just to read “a little more” until I closed the last page. The story provided readers with a very good mystery and the story gets more suspenseful toward the ending. I thought the characters were well written and I loved the way they interacted with each other.
I know that the next time I have a minute to find a new book to read, I’ll be looking up the rest of Ms. Novak’s books based on how much I enjoyed this one!
If this book sounded interesting to you, you can buy it at Amazon using the link near the top, or you can try to win a copy on Goodreads for the next couple of weeks using this link: CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY.
It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career. “I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business. Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….” Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or placed in contests such as the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published Authors.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. When she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking — she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
I was provided with a complimentary electronic advanced reader copy through Net Galley in exchange for my post. I was not required to post a positive review, but have chosen to do so because this book was great! Thank you!
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