Eve
I enjoyed this book very much. It was an easy to read book with a believable story. The characters were pleasant and well meaning and it was easy to imagine the scenario. Annie had
Lived a hard life without much in the way of love. A similar story for henrietta who had been unfairly blamed for the death of her baby brother. I imagine it was the autism or whatever it was that gave henrietta the tenacity to continue and find the answer in the end it was a good ending, although I felt all along that kath was not dead. Everything turned out well in the end,which i know is not necessarily the case in real life- but made this a pleasant book to read. I also liked the outcome for Dave as he happily qualified as a therapy dog which he enjoyed I would give this book 10

Arleen
I found this book an easy book to read. I wasn't too sure I was going to read it as I had lost a loved one to Cancer only recently. I did find the book was very well written and quite matter of fact, not dwelling too much on suffering and death.
The character's were very likeable and Henrietta and Annie were the main characters in the story. I liked the way Henrietta went out of her way to find Annie's lost sister. Altogether an interesting story of friendship and caring.
I will give this book 9/10

Carolyn
I didn't think I was going to like this book and it took a while to get into it but I did quite enjoy it. It was easy enough to read and there weren't too many characters. I liked Annie and after her husband died she became more the person she would have been if she hadn't been controlled and abused by him. There was a lot a guilt in the story even by Henrietta who shouldn't have been guilty. Her parents had blamed her for the death of her brother when it was their responsibility. She had carried that guilt all her life and it had changed her. It was Annie who told her it wasn't her fault.
I give it 6

Cat
I loved this book. I thought the mystery/detective element was great, nicely suspenseful and unexpected. I loved the characters, especially Henrietta. I thought her character development throughout was really well done too. It was entertaining, moving and really well written. 9/10

Mabe
I loved this book and give it 8 out of 10.

Helen
I enjoyed this book. It isn't a genre that I normally read, but I found it easy to get into the story. I thought Henrietta and Annie were characters who were described well. I quite liked them, and wanted to find out more about their developing friendship. I think that other characters were a bit too stereotypical, but I thought Dave was a good dog.
The book covered elements of loss and grief that did at times feel well thought through, and quite touching. Although the storyline was a definite work of fiction, I still wanted to find out what happened to them all. The ending was a bit too neat, but I didn't really mind that. 8/10

Rachel
I wouldn’t say I loved this book, but it was an easy and enjoyable read. While some characters felt like caricatures at times (Henrietta could be a bit too obviously robotic and Terry was cartoonishly villainous), the story was also very moving. I felt genuinely sad for Annie and how she felt she had wasted her life. I can see how several characters in awful situations felt trapped with no way out and the writing at time was heart-wrenching and poignant. 7/10

Kirsty
I was absolutely mind blown when I had finished this epic page turner and I went to add the rest of her books to my Amazon wish list only to discover that THIS is her DEBUT novel!! I mean just WOW fair play!!! I absolutely loved this addictive, compelling, mysterious and fascinating page turner!!! I honestly loved absolutely everything about it from the characters to the settings. It was just one heck of an amazing read!!! This book begins to telling Henrietta's story. Henrietta is a strange character with many quirks and very stilted conversation skills. However, I absolutely loved how she is so matter of fact about things and does not understand pointless conversation. I had the impression that she may have autism with how she took everything so literally. Henrietta gets a job working in The Rosendale drop-In Centre as an interviewer and transcriber for The Life Stories Project. The Life Stories Project is an absolutely wonderful idea and it did make me wonder if there is something like that in place at the moment and if not then Jo should definitely start it. the Life Stories Project is a way to tell your life story to your family so they can have something that tells your story after you pass away. The Rosendale drop in centre is for those with cancer and Henrietta's first Life Story customer is Annie. Annie starts telling her life story but when she gets to the part where her sister Kath drowned Henrietta is determined to find out what happened to her. Throughout the book Henrietta and Annie form an absolutely amazing multi generational friendship which is completely unexpected by them both. The reader gets to go back in to Annie's past to 1974 where what truly happened to Kath is slowly revealed and it was nothing like what I expected!! I loved the multi generational friendship that is formed, the fact that we get to see what is going on from multiple perspectives and that we travel into both Kath and Henrietta's pasts. They both have heart-breaking histories for similar reasons. Their parents were all awful people, they were both made to feel guilty for something that they were innocent of and they both lead isolated lives. It is a rollercoaster ride of emotions from happiness to anger, joy to heartbreak and so, so much more. Jo deals with several difficult topics which include domestic abuse, blackmail, rape, childhood trauma, drowning, cancer and the horrendous treatment of children by their parents. Jo does an absolutely amazing job of weaving these subjects into an absolutely amazing storyline and the fact that she has experience and researched these areas absolutely shine through the pages. Filled with suspense, mystery, family, friendship, heartbreak and so much more this book is an absolutely addictive and epic read!! I absolutely love, love, LOVED the unique storyline!! I have read so many books that it is getting harder and harder for me to find a truly unique plot but Jo absolutely smashes it out of the park with this one!! The storyline is absolutely action packed. I completely devoured it in a few hours and loved absolutely every second of it!! There was no way I could put this book down until I had finished it. I picked it up and even though I kept telling myself just one more chapter I just could not put it down as every time I went to something happened which meant I had to read just one more again until I ended up reading it in one sitting having been glued to my book for a few hours!! Jo's evocative writing skills and descriptions really brought the storyline to life and I just cannot wait to get hooked into his next book!!! This book will suck you in and keep you gripped in the pages until your thrown out at the end with a racing heart!! A truly unforgettable one in a million page turner!!!! I absolutely loved meeting and getting to know Henrietta, Annie and of course Dave as individuals as well as together as friends along with the many other fascinating characters throughout the book including Audrey, 'Upstairs Woman' lol, Mia, Cath, Cerys and many others, some not so much! I enjoyed watching Henrietta and Annie meet and bond while getting closer while trying to complete Annie's life book and also solve the mystery of Kath before it's too late for them all. I was completely invested in them all throughout and Jo's fantastic evocative writing skills and descriptions ensured they all came to life in front of my eyes. The fact that this is Jo's debut novel yet she has managed to create these amazing, unique and strong characters is just absolutely amazing!!! They were all absolutely fascinating, intriguing and unforgettable!!!I really enjoyed getting to meet most of them and learning all about their histories and discovering their stories. I would absolutely LOVE to see this book turned into a series with more Life Stories being written!! Hint hint Jo ???? !!! I genuinely loved getting to know most of the characters and was completely invested throughout!! It just goes to show how fantastic Jo's writing skills are as she completely brought them all to life for me. An absolutely fantastic selection of unique characters that all worked together perfectly to create an absolutely chilling and addictive page turner!!!
Definitely a 10/10 from me!!

Sonia
I really enjoyed this book although I would not have picked it up off the shelf! It was very well written and the characters well drawn and developed. From a slow and uncertain start, Henrietta and Annie developed a real, caring friendship which supported them both. It was interesting to see how a death by drowning and how that was originally - wrongly - perceived affected each of them and how the unravelling of the truth eventually enabled each of them to find some peace - Henrietta was able to begin a more productive life and Annie was able to have a peaceful death. It was too neatly tied up at the end but that did not jar too much. However, I did find it a little unbelievable that Dave was able to transform himself enough from an extremely aggressive and difficult to control dog to become a therapy dog! I give this book a 7 out of 10.

Average score 8 out of 10