A remarkable book. It always amazes me how far the ripples do spread when you drop a rock into a pond. When you do something to a person it affects everyone in their circle, family, friends, people they've only met once even; and in fact children who weren't even alive at the time. This is a book about the ripples. At times it is painful to read, but always interesting and just when you think that everything has been explained - logically - there's that little breeze of doubt blows across the story.

Oh my word this book was just outstanding. Everything about this book I just loved and couldn’t turn the pages quick enough . A tense and thrilling read.

Jessica always looked up to Izzy her older sister. Izzy was glamorous, married to a rich handsome husband & ran a successful business. She was devastated when Izzy fell to her death from the balcony of her house. Years on she is still struggling to come to terms with her loss. When Olivia, her young daughter starts getting into trouble at school & talking about Izzy- her 'friend' Jessica is concerned. Her mother is a great believer in the supernatural & is convinced Izzy is trying to tell them something from beyond the grave. This book creates a really spooky atmosphere. Is it really Izzy trying to tell her family something? How did she know even before they happened? How can Olivia know things about Izzy that happened long before she was born? Is Izzy really getting in touch through her neice or is someone using her for their own ends. I loved this book & couldn't put it down.

When Mark Edwards publishes a book, I read it. It’s that simple really. He’s an author whose writing I am happy to return to again and again. To prove my point, here are my reviews of Mark’s previous books; Follow You Home, The Devil’s Work, The Lucky Ones and The Retreat. I’ve also read ‘The Magpies’ which started it all for me a few years back. All wonderful, immersive pieces of fiction and highly recommended. Making a start on Mark Edwards’s latest book is a strangely nerve-wracking experience for me. I have loved everything I have read by this author so far. Will this be the first book to disappoint? Will I love it as much as the others? Well, the answer to those two questions is that it did NOT disappoint but I maybe didn’t love it as much as his previous releases. Let me explain. Once again, Edwards has penned a highly readable, family focussed psychological thriller. What he does best in my opinion. However, this book has an overarching paranormal element to it, and the inclusion of any kind of paranormal ‘activity’ in a novel tends to leave this reader feeling cold. But that’s me. Your feelings on the matter may be completely different to mine and that, I find, is one of the joys of reading, and books in general. Saying that, the paranormal elements to the story were extremely well done and at points I felt shivers run down my spine – particularly in the first half of the book. Little Olivia really did freak me out. Edwards really knows how to write a fully formed, living, breathing character. I was drawn to Jessica and her deceased sister, Isabel. In fact, I would go as far as saying Isabel was my favourite character in the book. There are wonderful flashback sections throughout so what I’m saying isn’t completely crazy (read the blurb if you’re not sure what I’m talking about). I loved her feistiness, her boundless self-confidence and her ambition. Also her strong sense of right and wrong. Jessica very much pales in her sister’s shadow. Olivia was also a firm favourite, despite the fact she did send shivers down my spine at points. I couldn’t get over how authentic Edwards made her voice. Would I recommend this book? I would but why recommend one when you can recommend them all! I felt there was a stronger lean towards the ‘women’s fiction’ genre in In Her Shadow which I have nothing against but it’s really NOT my thing. It’s also a little sexy which again, I could have done without. However, Mark Edwards is a supremely talented writer and if you haven’t read any of his books yet then we need to have serious words. A strong family driven thriller which I enjoyed. Recommended. Four out of five stars. I chose to read and review an eARC of In Her Shadow. The above review is my own honest unbiased opinion.

At the heart of Mark Edwards' books are stories of loss, loss and family secrets; that’s what makes them so universally popular. In In Her Shadow, we meet Jess, Will and their 4 year old daughter, Olivia. Jess starts to get a bit worried when Olivia begins acting up in school. Usually a cheerful child, Olivia’s imaginary friend seems to be the cause of her change in behaviour. But when Jess discovers that this imaginary friend is Izzy, her older and more glamorous sister who died in an accident just before Olivia was born, she begins to think she may be losing her mind. Jess’s concerns are not helped by her slightly dotty mother, who is a believer in the paranormal and who has always been convinced that her eldest daughter’s death was no accident. She has never really liked Isobel’s grieving husband, Darpak since that day, though he remains true to Isobel’s memory and still grieves her loss. When Olivia whispers to Jess that Izzy’s death was not an accident, Jess starts to search for answers to her daughter’s behaviour and in the process to find out the truth about her sister’s death. In her quest to discover the truth, she will question everything she knows about her close family and more than one member will fall under suspicion as she delves into Isobel’s secrets and lifestyle. What she finds reveals a picture of her sister she didn’t really know as well as she thought, and she puts her own life under threat as she retraces her sister’s last days. Told predominantly from Jessica’s perspective, with flashbacks to Izzy’s past, Mark Edwards skillfully weaves paranormal elements into a well told story that involves love, obsession, sex and drugs. His twists are frequent and surprising and though there are a number of false leads, the conclusion is both logical and surprising. Mark Edwards will always be a writer I turn to when I want an addictive, easy read. This book, whilst enjoyable and engrossing didn’t quite hit the 5 star mark for me, partly I think because there was so much going on that the chilling elements got a bit lukewarm, but it was still a solid, engrossing and enjoyable read. Can’t ask for more than that! Verdict: An enjoyable, engrossing read