Member Reviews

This book has so many fabulously unsettling twists and turns that really leave you in suspense throughout! A true, all-encapsulating novel !

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Love Heidis books she rarely disappoints and here we have another brilliant read. Fast paced and keeps you guessing throughout. What mire could you want??? Can’t wait for the next one.

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This book was an excellent read. It sucked me right in from the first page and kept my complete interest until the final page. This is a book I highly recommend.

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Come Back for Me by Heidi Perks is a family tale based on unearthing secrets, lies and deception. The author effectively alternates the narrative between past and present through the investigation undertaken by Stella, the youngest of three children, who spent most of their childhood on a sparsely populated island off the coast of Southern England.

While at no time was I tempted to abandon the story, I felt it unraveled slowly, perhaps too slowly for some readers. I recommend it with reservations.

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Stella has lived in Evergreen her whole life until one day her parents suddenly make the whole family leave in the middle of a raging storm. Stella never understood why they left and yearned to return to life on Evergreen. Years later a body is found in the outskirts of the house Stella grew up in and she decide to return to find out the secrets that have haunted her for so long.

A god book that kept me turning the pages, lots of good twists and turns but I did not enjoy the ending.

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I huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works

as Stella returns to her family home secrets are uncovered and mystery and intrigue follow

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Stella had loved her childhood spent on the island of Evergreen, just off the Dorset coast. Stella was 11 years old in 1993 when she, her parents and her siblings, Danny aged 15 and Bonnie aged 17, suddenly left the island in the middle of a storm after being told that they were leaving because her father had got a new job. Her mother has since died and her father has remarried but is suffering from dementia. Her brother Danny left home 18 years previously and hasn’t been in touch since. Stella concentrates on helping her sister Bonnie, who is a recovering alcoholic, and her family. Now 25 years later a body is dug up in the garden of their old home on Evergreen and this gives Stella a reason to return to investigate this. Bonnie tries to dissuade her from going but Stella goes and finds that when she gets there she is far from welcome from the local community she knew. Slowly all the family secrets from 25 years ago are revealed and the real reason they left the island. I thought it was a very good plot, with interesting characters and I was kept guessing right until the end. A highly recommended read
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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A good storyline although it moved a little slowly at times so I feel the book could have been shorter. Set in two time periods - then and now - the story starts with the family suddenly leaving their home on an island overnight. Told through the eyes of Stella the next we read is the news of a body discovered buried near to the garden of the house they left all those years ago. Stella returns to the island to try to uncover what happened. When her brother is arrested after confessing to murder, she is certain be didn't do it but how can she prove it? A few twists towards the end but not too much of a shock when the full tale emerges.. Worth a read

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I really enjoyed Park's previous novel 'Now You See Her' so I was really intrigued by her latest book. Stella is shocked when she sees her childhood home on the news - a body has been found buried near her garden. The story opens with the family escaping the island she was brought up on in a strange circumstances, in the middle of the night in a bad storm. What did the family need to leave so quickly?

The story follows Stella as she returns to the island to try to figure out what happened and how her family is involved. I really enjoyed how the book moved back and forth from the past to the present day. The characters were really well developed and each had their own distinct personalities and problems. The descriptions of the island were great and I really felt like I was there.

Although I really enjoyed the story, the reason for my rating is I felt there wasn't much of a twist, which I was expecting. There was a twist in there but I predicted it before it happened - which I don't usually manage! However I found it an interesting and fairly unique story which I would recommend if you enjoy domestic thrillers.

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DNF. Thank you for the review copy but this book wasn't for me. Couldn't connect with the writing or the characters and it just wasn't for me.

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This was a really enjoyable read - and kept me hooked to the end.
Stella and her family live on a remote island and her childhood is idyllic. One evening however in the middle of a terrible storm, her parents make them all leave with no explanation. Years later, her father has left her mother and her brother Danny walked out one day never to return, but Stella still yearns to return to the island.
A body is recovered buried in the woodland at the bottom of their old garden and this spurs Stella to go back and find out what happened.
The story flits from present to past and bit by bit we discover exactly who the body is and what happened that fateful summer.
A really unusual theme, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.

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A fascinating story, moving between the troubled present and the seemingly idyllic past, about families and secrets.

I loved the idea of a remote island where people move to find peace or to run away. I loved the contrast between how the protagonist felt as a child (part of the tight community) and now (an intruder).

Despite the thrill-like elements, I found the pace slower than I would have expected.

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Fascinating story that keeps you involved even though it leads you to and fro and backward and forward. Definitely recommended.

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This is a brilliant story, very descriptive writing and easy to read. Not read a story like this one before. A good storyline. Lots of suspense and intrigue.

The story starts in 1993, the Harvey family flee Evergreen Island amidst a storm in a boat to start a new life. But why? Why not wait till the storm has gone? The sea is quiet and it is safer to use the boat to cross the water?

We then cut to present day, Stella has grown up and is a family counsellor, working in a shared building with other professions. She is in contact with her sister Bonnie, although it’s a strange relationship and totally lost all contact with her brother Danny. When she gets home one Friday from work, about 10ish and puts the TV on. When the news comes on she glances up to a reporter standing outside a house. It’s their old house, some of it is different but it’s their old house. There has been a body found on Evergreen Island! Near to where she used to live or even in their old garden! She rings Bonnie straight away. She asks if I will tell Dad but I don’t really speak to him about the island anymore. He is losing his memory now and I can’t stand his new wife, things aren’t the same.

On the Sunday, Stella receives a visit from the Police. They wanted to talk to her about the incident on Evergreen Island. Apparently speaking to everyone who had lived on the island. They wanted to know where she lived exactly and with whom. Who their closest neighbours were. One of the policeman is interested in the pictures of her family on the island, especially of her sister. He is interested in a bracelet she is wearing, ones I made and sold the summer we left. He wanted to know who I sold them too.

On Tuesday, Stella is off to the island to start looking into the past and see if she can work out who the body belongs too. Who had the bracelet?

A very intriguing story which keeps you turning the pages to find out who did it. A sister who is interested and one who is not, bit like chalk and cheese. 5 stars from me.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book. It contained a sprinkled mix of all the ingredients needed to make a good psychological thriller. From the first page I was drawn in, and then captivated by the intrigue and mystery, and then the intensity as the plot unveiled.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

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Stella, along with her brother & sister, grew up on the idland of Evergreen. Situated off the south coast of England it had only a hundred residents & everyone knew everyone else. When her family decided to leave the island suddenly one stormy night she is devastated. She never forgot the place or her friend Jill. Now many years later, she sees that Evergreen is in the newa. A body has been found, buied just outside the grounds of where the used to live. Her brother (who was always a little odd) is estranged from the family. Her sister hated the place & wanted nothing to do with it, but Stella had always wanted to go back. When she returns she finds that the islanders have closely guarded secrets & they do not want her there.

The story switches from present day to when the family ere living on the island. The twists & turns kept me glued to the page & just when I thought I had things figured out, another curve ball came out of nowhere.

This was a good five star read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

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An enjoyable read, although I did get a bit confused about who was who on the island at times and it was a bit slow in places. That said, the ending was very good and overall I would recommend it.

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A tale of a community closing ranks to protect their own. At one point Stella Harvey had been one of their own, until her parents had rushed 11 year old Stella and her siblings, Danny and Bonnie off the tiny island of Evergreen off the Dorset coast. Stella has spent the next 25 years wanting to go back. Now her mum is dead, her dad had dementia, and when she sees Evergreen on the news as they have found a body outside of her old house, Stella feels a pull to go back. What unfolds is a sorry tale that shakes Stella to the core and could take the foundations away from their family. Stella needs to look into the body and how it got there, but will she implicate one of her family? Who can she trust? A story of secrets and how you never really know who to trust. What are the villages hiding? #netgalley #evergreen #comebackforme

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An unusual story that twisted many ways. Kept in suspense and not an expected ending. I enjoyed reading it

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This was an excellent read. Not something I would usually pick up but It had me hooked from the outset and throughout. Will be keeping an eye out for more in the future.

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