Tuesday 15 December 2015

Book review: In the waning light.



It's half one in the morning and I have just powered down my kindle app, after reading the final pages of In the waning light, by Loreth Anne white.

It's been an emotional roller coaster of a story that has had me hooked from the very first page and I have been frozen with fear, sobbing with tears and beaming with joy as I've journeyed through this pages with some of the most amazing characters.

Loreth has a skill with words that is breathtaking and utterly absorbing. The emotions that run through every character, from the good to the bad and everything in between is asstoundingly realistic and completely absorbed you into their world.

In the waning light you follow Meg Brogan, a true crime writer, as she struggles to tackle the toughest book of her career, the story of her own sisters murder. A murder to which she herself could have been a vital witness, if only she could remember what took place that dreadful night out on the spit. 

Now as always I don't like to give to much away, so let's cover a few basic areas to begin with. 

What were my first impression of the book?

To be honest I probably wouldn't have picked up this book based on the cover alone, but I was browsing through some books of a similar genre and decided to take a peak at the blurb which instantly intrigued me.

Take a look for yourself below...

Blurb for "In the waning light."

Two decades after her sister’s brutal attack and murder, Meg Brogan has finally found happiness…or so it appears. A bestselling true-crime writer, Meg has money, fame, and a wealthy fiancĂ©. But when a television-show host presses her to tackle the one story everyone claims she cannot write—the story of her own family’s destruction—her perfect life shatters.
Determined to finally face her past, Meg returns to her hometown of Shelter Bay. Shrouded in cold, brooding fog, the close-knit coastal town harbors dark secrets and suspicious residents. One of the few people to welcome Meg back is Blake Sutton, her high-school sweetheart and the marina’s new owner. Desperate for clues, Meg digs through her family’s files. As Pacific storms brew outside, her passion for Blake reignites.
But someone doesn’t want Meg digging up the past. And that person will go to deadly lengths to prevent the writer from revealing a terrible truth.
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As a result of the above blurb I downloaded it onto my kindle along with several other books and began to make my way through the lot. Leaving In the waning light till the very end.
In a way this was a blessing because had   I have known how amazing this book would be, I'd have jumped on in straight away and missed out on the pure joy that comes from discovering a new and wonderful gem of an author like Loreth. 
My favourite thing about this book was how easy it was to relate to Meg and her dogged determination to bring the truth to light. As well as the emotional damage that had been left in the wake of her sisters murder. 

I felt that her inability to truly commit to others stemmed from a fear of losing them and the pain that loss can bring. 

I have a firm belief that the truth will always win out eventually and that secrets can destroy lives and so books that deal with this issues always strike a cord with me. As I've long wanted the truth about my own life and the abuse I faced as a child to be acknowledged and having a champion of the truth, like Meg fighting my corner, certainly would have helped in that endeavour. 

I guess that is in part why I wrote my own book Insane Reno and placed Tizzy, another strong woman determined to reveal the truth behind her families secrets, as the lead character. 

My skill with a pen sadly does not live up to Loreth's and this is why books like hers are so important to writers. Seeing a master at work can often help us strengthen our own writing abilities. 

I have learned a lot from Loreth and as a result will definitely be picking up more of her books. So if you are looking for a suspense filled read, with a little bit of romance thrown in, then grab yourself a copy, sit back, relax and enjoy "in the waning light." Just be sure to set aside plenty of time, because once you get started with this one, there's a very good chance you won't want to put it down.

Love and hugs 
Joss xx

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