Publisher: Penguin; 01 edition (12th January 2017)

My review…..

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!

I finished this late last night as there was no way I could go to sleep until I had finished it. It took me quite a while to go to sleep after I had finished it!

I’m not really quite sure where to start with this review, but the word horrifying springs to mind.

15 year old Milly (AKA Annie) is living with a foster family having given evidence against her mother. She is preparing herself for the trial where her mother is facing a jury for murdering 9 children. 9 children! I can’t even begin to imagine. Not only that, but it is obvious very early on that Milly suffered physical abuse at the hands of her own mother. Thankfully there are no details as such, but the insinuations are enough to make your skin scrawl. Needless to say Milly isn’t your average teenage girl and she struggles to get on with Phoebe, her foster family’s daughter of the same age. As a result she endures bullying from Phoebe and her friends, on top of everything else.

I did really feel for Milly although she obviously has issues due to her upbringing. She seemed to crave a normal family, but didn’t really know how to fit in to one properly. It was hard to imagine how she would even begin move on from the horrendous things she had witnessed and been subjected to and I have no idea how I would deal with giving evidence in court against any family member, let alone my own mother, so her reaction to what she was facing is very plausible.

I knew the story wasn’t going to be as straight forward as Milly getting through the trial and moving on with her life, but nothing prepared me for the actual truths which are uncovered along the way! Absolutely shocking and quite disturbing, but totally gripping. I was completely captivated by Milly and her story. It’s a very tense read. I almost felt like there was a weight on my chest as I was reading and I think I held my breath through parts in anticipation of what might happen next. Amazing writing. I loved it! It’s one that I will think about and recommend for a long time to come.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for my Kindle copy via Netgalley.