Author: Kate Hewitt
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery
Source: Bookouture ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: As mothers we never dare to delve into our worst-nightmare scenarios. What if… we might murmur to each other, and then shake our heads, telling ourselves it’ll never happen to us if we’re just good enough mothers. Yet here we are. And the steady beep of the heart monitor is the only evidence the child in front of us is alive…

It’s Labor Day weekend, so of course we went to the beach. Like we do every year. For a barbecue picnic with my best friend Rose. It’s the perfect tradition—drinks, games, burgers, music, laughter. Together with our husbands, my two teenage sons and her two daughters, we all arrived as the sun was still shimmering over the water, the whole evening ahead of us.

But nothing goes to plan. Old secrets emerge, tempers flare. And so we parents decide to leave the beach, telling the teenagers to enjoy themselves, reassuring them someone will be back to collect them in an hour or two.

But when I return a little while later, I know something is really wrong. Our teens are slurring their words, stumbling to the car. It’s clear they have been drinking and I’m shocked. I never expected our kids to behave this way. I’m bracing myself to have firm words with them in the morning, but the next day my concerns fade to nothing, when seventeen-year-old Bella claims my son Finn assaulted her.

Finn insists he would never do that. And I so want to believe him. Because I brought my son up right. Because a mother would know, wouldn’t she?

What I don’t know is that the answer to what happened that night on the beach may be a matter of life and death for one of our beloved children…

Ope’s Opinion: Oh, My! Kate Hewitt has done it again! She wrote a story that makes you hold your breath to see what will happen next. Then she surprises you where she takes it. Just when you think you know what you believe, she makes you question your perspective.

Switching between Rose’s and Cara’s point of view often left me at a pivotal point I couldn’t wait to get back to. It made me wish I could read faster. These two strong women show you two perspectives that will have you wanting to support both of them.

This is one of the best of Kate Hewitt’s books.