Lynne Lee

False Hope by Lynne Lee is a family drama about two sisters, Hope and Grace. Grace is a married surgeon with two young boys. Hope was the younger sister who passed away after battling a brain tumour. Before her death, she made sure that Grace would be the caregiver of her young son, after his father abandoned Hope and the child after learning about her illness. Into the mix are also the mother of Hope and Grace and Hope’s mother-in-law. When Hope’s ex turns up on Grace’s operating table, the story begins to unravel and many secrets come to the surface. This is a tense drama with interesting and troubled characters and the storyline is original and keeps the reader engaged. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy family drama with a difference. Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

In the gloomy six months since Julia suddenly lost her husband her main worry has been her daughter, Tash. She was devastated to lose her father but to Julia it finally seems that a little bit of her daughter's gloomy clouds may be dissipating. Their worlds are turned upside down after Julia valiantly saves the life of a young man who was loitering outside her beach cottage. When she returns home she begins to attempt to work her mind around why he was there, who is he - he remains unidentified recovering at the hospital, and why did he have her late husband's watch in his backpack? Julia is wildly hoping it's a random theft from their cottage but with a mysterious package delivered in the mail along with some incidents Tash previously dismissed while at university it seems not only unlikely but also appears someone has been keeping tabs on them. Julia and Tash attempt to puzzle out who this young man is - they just don't realize what they're looking for is looking back at them.

Whooooo boy, I really didn't see the end of this one coming to be completely honest. This book was a solid read; interesting, suspenseful and a little bit creepy. The moth chapters are a very unique way of learning not only about the moths themselves but about our antagonist. This book was a study in just how convoluted and terrifying real life can be, especially when you're wading through attempting to find answers (this is true for both sides of this story). I also have a fondness for reading British writers - their word use is sometimes entirely different from what I normally see and I love it.

It's kind of funny that moths play a part in this novel because I actually don't like moths. Oh they're fine from a distance but I severely dislike their erratic light seeking fluttering. I live in an area where we are usually swarmed with moths (specifically the Army Cutworm aka to locals as just miller moths or millers) during the summer months and sometimes later in the fall. Some years are infinitely worse than others as well as different areas, my parents house which is further East than mine is usually worse. That isn't to say that they moths aren't interesting just insects in force are not my forte. I actually saw several White-lined Sphinx this year and they are so COOL - you'd think they're a hummingbird until you get close to them.

Can You See Me? was an overall somewhat fast paced novel to read for me. I never really struggled to read it other than just being busy this time of year. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, suspense and psychological novels. A very big thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me with a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)