Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allan @ClaireAllan @AvonBooksUK @phoebe_A_Morgan @ElkeDesa @lovedreadinthis #HerNameWasRose #ClaireAllan #BookReview

Avon Books Published 28th June 2018

Book Description

HER DEATH HAS CREATED A VACANCY…

When Emily lets a stranger step out in front of her she never imagines that split second will change her life.  But after Emily watches a car plough into the young mother – killing her instantly – she finds herself unable to move on.

And then she makes a decision she can never take back.

Because Rose had everything Emily had ever dreamed of.  A beautiful, loving family, a great job and a stunning home.  And now Rose’s husband misses his wife, and their son needs a mother.

Why couldn’t Emily fill that space?

But as Emily is about to discover, no one’s life is perfect… and not everything is as it seems.

My Thoughts

Another great read from Avon Books – the home of awesome thrillers and crime fiction right?  Emily is a fragile character who becomes preoccupied with Rose after witnessing her death.  Consequently she loses her job and applies for Rose’s post and heigh-ho the vacancy is filled!  From here she meets Rose’s work colleagues – mourning the loss of their friend and co worker and she meets Cian, Rose’s husband.  The word infiltrate comes to mind to describe how Emily positions herself in Rose’s place, however that is only half of the story because as with all great fiction there is much more going on here than it initially seems!

The author paints a portrait of Emily which offers insight into her circumstances, the reasons why she is lonely, sad and somewhat vulnerable.  In doing this I think it enables the reader to sympathise with Emily and understand her motivations, it adds authenticity to the story.  That said there is a sinister, stalkerish vibe running through the story, Emily knows lots about the people she is making friends with and she cannot reveal any of it!  The contemporary tie in with social media and its role in facilitating spying types of behaviour is excellent as is the ‘otherside’, the use of social media to share only our best lives with others.

I found this to be a gripping and original read.  While some of the story struck me as a bit far fetched this was balanced by a comprehensive plot which allowed for any extreme behaviour and explained actions well.  The writing is in the first person narrative as told by Emily, interspersed with this are snippets from Rose’s Facebook page – snapshots of her life coupled with short chapters from Rose’s perspective of her life from meeting Cian to her early demise.  A combination of thriller and crime this book is an engaging and enjoyable read.  Personally I would have liked to have known more about Emily’s past, although I appreciate that was not for this story.  Maybe there will be more to come from Emily… 

Special thanks to Elke at Avon Books for sending me a copy of this book, which is a recommended read from me!