Only a Mother by Elisabeth Carpenter

Today I am pleased to be taking part in Orion's Blog Tour for the publication of 'Only a Mother' by Elisabeth Carpenter.

I have read Elisabeth Carpenter's previous two novels and have always enjoyed her writing style. Elisabeth has the perfect writing style  to write  a thriller, she engages with the reader from the very start and keeps them enthralled to the very end, building up the suspense as the story unfolds.

Only a Mother starts with Erica, the mother, awaiting Craig, her son's, release from prison following hte serving of a prison sentence for the sexual assault and killing a young girl. Craig has always protested his innocence, along with Erica, who still lives in teh area and has suffered at the hands of local residents.

Elisabeth Carpenter looks at the difficult subject of a mother's emotions after her child is accused, charged and sentenced for a serious crime. The evidence was stacked against Craig but Erica believes  that not the whole truth has been unearthed.

At the time of the incident a second girl was killed, similar but with marked differences, however Craig was not charged with this second murder.

Throughout the book, Erica goes through a range of emotions - her friends and neighbours ostracise her and she becomes the target as her home is attacked.

The book has two narratives, Erica and Luke, a local newspaper reporter who has grown up during the incident and he is also unsure that the real events have been discovered.

There is a third voice throughout the book - who it is is not revealed to the very end but it is evident that they know what really happened. 

'Only a Mother' really is a fantastic read. It is hard hitting, thought provoking and a book that really got me thinking about how crime and subsequent court cases affect the whole family, 

Elisabeth Carpenter writes a fantastic novel, one which keeps the reader hooked and manages to pack a punch at the end which is not seen coming. I can not wait for Elisabeth's next release to read more by this fantastic author.

Thank you to Orion Books for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.