A bittersweet book that will haunt you well beyond the last page.

Anna’s daughter Catlin was killed by her boyfriend who in a heated argument that became physical ended up resulting in her death and his incarceration for manslaughter. He received a sentence of 10 years. Now, neither women can move on, Anna in this life and Catlin in the afterlife, both trapped by the events of that night.

The story is told by both Anna and her daughter which gives gives the plot depth as well as twice the emotions!

For Anna life stopped on that day and grief threatens to pull her under, a grief that knows no bounds. How can life carry on without Catlin in it? How can the world keep turning? How can time keep ticking by when all she wants is for it to stop. She is angry at the world, at all those people that are carrying on with life as if nothing has happened. Her daughter was murdered, why does no one else seem to care? How can her death be ruled as an accident, not murder but manslaughter? The only coping strategy Anna finds is in writing about other peoples deaths, people from the news, strangers, people she has never met, giving them names and faces, giving them a voice to tell their tales, ones that she imagines for them.

Catlin’s tale is one of young love, of forgiving things that she never should have, of being blinded by that love as she tells her story, the story of how she came to be telling her tale from belong the grave. And maybe, just maybe, by telling her tale will finally let her move on. But fate has not finished with them yet as Anna comes face to face with Ryan, her daughters killer after he is released from prison.

The whole book is written very lyrical, using the English language at its full potential. It is probably one of the most emotionally charged books that I have ever read. Heartbreaking at times, others you could feel some of the anger burning the pages, but somewhat comforting as well at times. You can’t help but put yourself in Anna’s shoes and it just doesn’t bear thinking about, I even ended up going into my daughters bedroom to make sure she was ok!

Twice the Speed of Dark was published back on 24 Nov 2017 and you can grab a copy now to find out for yourself just how good and heartwarming this book is for yourself.

Thank you to the author Lulu Allison, publishers Unbound and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

A beautifully tragic tale of loss and grief - the prose was lyrical and highly moving. Definitely an indulgent read as the language felt like the focus of the novel, rather than being plot driven (in my opinion)

The prose in this book is absolutely beautiful. I loved the writing in this book. It is a tale of grief and loss. Told from multiple perspectives it is a book that will haunt you long after it's last page.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

'Caitlin’s death caused a split, a warp that skewed Anna so she no longer fit the smooth planes of her life. She was changed by her loss. But so was everything. Grief shone a different spectrum of light; it revealed the well-formed, polished facets of normality as flawed, deceitful. The world did not respond in a way that made sense. Her daughter had been killed and no one beyond a small circle of family and close friends seemed to care.'

Mother Anna and deceased beloved daughter Caitlin are both trapped, by grief in this life, and shock in the afterlife. Cailtin’s brutal end by the hands of her ex-boyfriend is a story that must be told, even if no one can hear it. Anna finds comfort in remembering the people who die daily in war-torn countries, inventing stories for them, a keeper of their lives so they won’t be forgotten. That the sun still rises, the world forges on when others, like her, suffer ill fate of death and loss has turned her entire life upside down. That a killer can walk, that her murder can be labeled ‘accidental’ twists her insides, sours her heart as she longs for her daughter who will never see another day.

The distance of years mean nothing to Anna, the wounds of her loss, her despair are as fresh today as the were the day she lost Caitlin. She cannot let go, move on, so her life moved on without her, husband included. In another realm, Caitlin divulges the sorry end of her life, what led to the fatal blow. Just a bright, hopeful girl like any other, in love with someone she should have cut and release from her life, but a nature that clung to the best in others, listening to her tale is like witnessing someone walk a plank. Both mother and daughter abandon themselves, for different reasons. By unraveling the tale, maybe she can find release, maybe she can’t stop haunting her mother with memory and pain.

Grief becomes a torturous madness for Anna, and leads her to an unexpected confrontation that changes everything. Here, I feel, is where my heart sank hardest. It’s easier to rage when you sit only with one person’s wounds, but two mothers aching, howling with all the horror of what came to pass really moved me.

With that said, the ‘ghosts’ Anna writes about is moving and it’s the anchor that keeps her sane, present, but there were also moments it slowed too much for me. Other than that, this is a beautiful story on grief and shame, shame that in our own demise we may have had a hand. As a mother, it crushed me and as a woman, when we are young we are quick to forgive those things we shouldn’t and take on the blame for behaviors we should truly run from.

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I did not finish this book after making it about 25% of the way through. The prose is absolutely beautiful and I would strongly recommend this to any reader who prioritizes language over everything else. What I did read was a lyrical portrait of grief with some very evocative imagery...but it moved incredibly slow. This just wasn't the right match for me, unfortunately. I don't want to penalize an author just because our tastes don't align, however, so I'm taking the middle ground between no review (for not finishing) and 5 stars (for truly beautiful prose).

Twice the Speed of Dark is a very interesting story. Told in the first person of a mother and her 19 year old murdered daughter, Twice the Speed of Dark takes place in a small town outside of Oxford, England. Caitlin is killed when her live-in boyfriend Ryan loses his temper one time too many and swats her good again, but in her fall she hits her head on a piece of furniture and dies. The jury saw this sweet faced blonde fella and decided it was manslaughter, giving him jail time of just a little under ten years. Her parents, Anna and Michael, cannot help each other through the pain, and separate shortly after the trail, Michael moving on and Anna remaining in the family home. But she cannot get out the the loop of mourning and anger. Eventually she retires, which only makes matters worse as she is constantly in the place where memories haunt her every moment.

And then Ryan is released from jail, and returns to the home of his mother. Shopping for a birthday gift for her dear friend, Anna sees him, walking down the street free as a bird and laughing as he talks on his cell phone. But Caitlin is still dead. And Anna comes unglued. How can she live, with him around, constantly reminding her of the injustice of her loss?