I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book when I read the Author’s Note at the beginning, but I absolutely loved it from start to finish. You won’t find any spoilers in my review because personally, I think knowing how this ends would make it less enjoyable.
The Girl She Left Behind was sensitively written, with obvious research having gone into how police procedures deal with a missing person and the information which they can and can’t share with relatives.
I loved Phoebe, Jamie and Darcy. Darcy is an amazing little girl who seemingly deals with things the way only children know how to, and with the love and support of those closest to her.
Unfortunately, I could relate to the behaviour of Phoebe and Lucy’s Mum, in the fact that I had to work with someone who showed that sort of behaviour and it did bring up painful memories as I was reading but it did make me realise that I did the right thing by taking myself out of the situation.
The Girl She Left Behind is so much about the loving support of friends in times of need and how trying to at least provide some sense of normality can help with coping mechanisms. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a contemporary novel, but please check the trigger warnings beforehand.
Thank you to Boldwood Books, Rachel’s Random Resources and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Girl She Left Behind by Jo Bartlett.
About the Book
Phoebe Spencer left home a long time ago, desperate to get away from her mother's emotional manipulation. She knows her life is better away from her family, but she can’t help feeling she’s simply running away from her problems…
Then Phoebe hears that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared, leaving behind her four-year old daughter, Darcy. Phoebe's certain Lucy will be back soon - she'd never leave Darcy alone - and then Phoebe can get on with her life again.
But as the days pass there's still no sign of Lucy, and everyone begins to fear the worst. Phoebe has to consider the terrible truth that Lucy might never come home. And as their mother makes it clear she wants to take control of Darcy’s life, Phoebe must do all she can to protect the girl her sister left behind – no matter the cost to her.
Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast. Her first title for Boldwood is The Cornish Midwife – part of a twelve-book deal.
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