In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings #audiobookreview #InHerWake @MandaJJennings @OrendaBooks #Orentober

A perfect life … until she discovered it wasn’t her own.
A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life.
Chilling, complex and profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family – and reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home.

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Hi and welcome to my review of In Her Wake!

Quite enigmatic, isn’t it, that blurb? I’ve considered letting you go in blind but in the end I decided to give you a little more to go on, so be warned: the next few paragraphs contain a spoiler, but it’s something the reader finds out right away anyway, and it’s also fairly easy to see coming…

In Her Wake tells the story of Bella. Bella is an only child, in her late twenties, married to a professor who’s quite a bit older than she is. When In Her Wake begins, Bella’s mother dies and, not able to face the world without her, Bella’s father commits suicide. He leaves Bella a note, saying she is not who she has always believed she is: she is not their biological child, nor was she adopted, Henry and Elaine took her from her birth parents when she was just a toddler. The note leaves her with a name and an address in Cornwall.

In the wake of that note, Bella is at a total loss. She is so devastated, she can’t even bring herself to talk to her husband about it. She just ups and leaves, heading straight for Cornwall, en route to find herself, to reinvent herself, to do whatever is necessary to feel normal again. But one cannot just leap from one life to another and trying to find her place in her birth family turns out to be difficult, not just for her, but for her family too.

More drama than thriller, In Her Wake is so incredibly gripping and moving and heart-breaking. The main theme is parental love and what a parent does in the wake of the loss of their child. I had all the feels, so many feels, and a few tears too. The story itself broke my heart but Kate Rawson stomped on it some more with the most excellent narration, from exuberance to anguish, she gets all the emotions down to a T.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t just sit and listen to an audiobook any more than I can sit and listen to music. Listening while staring into space makes me antsy! Instead, I listen while driving, or walking, or doing chores around the house, or in the garden. This was definitely one of those audiobooks that kept me going. I was just so desperate to know more, that I always found just more thing to do so I could keep listening for a few more minutes. Usually, I love nothing more than to sit and read a physical book or an eBook after a busy day at work, but I wanted to continue In Her Wake more than I wanted to sit and read.

Gripping, suspenseful and full of “ohmigod, just imagine…” moments, In Her Wake captivated me start to finish and I can’t recommend it enough!

Available from the Orenda eBookstore, or from Amazon in all other formats.