Written by Samantha King
What if you had to choose between your children?
Then:
Madeleine lived for her children. She’d always believed she’d die for them too. But on the morning of her twins’ tenth birthday her love was put to the test when a killer knocked on their door and forced her to make a devastating choice: which child should live, and which should die – her son, or her daughter?
Now:
Madeleine stands silent on the periphery of her fractured family, trying desperately to unravel why her world was so suddenly blown apart. But as memories of everything leading up to that tragic day return in agonising flashes, she begins to realise her family’s life still hangs terrifyingly in the balance…
An Easy Read, Rather Predictable! 
This is a good read but, for me, not a great one.
When we first meet Madeleine she is recovering from trauma, and the story is based on this. How can any mother choose between her children, especially when they are twins? That’s the dilemma Madeleine faced, and by following ‘then’ and ‘now’ chapters, we find out all about this family and what led up to the fatal moment when the decision was hers and hers alone.
It’s a nice story, but for me the clues were jumping off the page and smacking me between the eyes. There wasn’t any event which surprised me – in fact, I was just waiting for my thoughts and suspicions to be confirmed. Therefore, I didn’t feel any suspense, just an easy but predictable story. For me, the outcome was just too obvious – perhaps I’ve read too many books lately? This is one which has been languishing on my list, and now that I have the chance to clear my backlog, I’m glad I’ve read it but it wasn’t quite the exciting read I thought it was going to be.
My thanks to publisher Little, Brown Book Group for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: crime, suspense
- Format: ebook, paperback, hardback, audio
- Size: 400 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group UK
- Publication Date: 20 April 2017
- Purchase Links: GooglePlay
- Kobo
- Waterstones
- kindle
Meet the Author
Samantha King writes psychological suspense novels and lives in west London with her husband and two young children.
As an English graduate and lifelong bookworm, becoming an author was always Samantha’s dream. This passion for storytelling led her first to a career in publishing, managing a commercial fiction imprint for a global publisher. After fifteen years, she abandoned office life in favour of working from home as a freelance editor for various publishers and literary agents.
Samantha has always loved books that explore the hidden depths of the heart and mind, and she decided to satisfy her growing interest in human psychology by qualifying as a psychotherapist. This deepened her fascination with the hopes and fears that make people tick, which again reawakened her writing ambitions. Working around – and inspired by – a busy family life, she finally sat down and wrote her debut novel, THE CHOICE.
Samantha writes in a hut at the end of her garden with a very affectionate Cavachon dog for company, but she keeps in touch with the world through:
Twitter: @SamKingBooks
Facebook: @SamanthaKingBooks
Grace J Reviewerlady 