Before We Say Goodbye by Louise Candlish

The latest novel from UK writer Louise Candlish quickly establishes an unhappy relationship between the central character, the dependable and reliable Olivia, and her flighty and selfish mother Maggie. Olivia and her mother have never been on good terms after Maggie abandoned the family when Olivia was a teenager, returning a year later with a new man in tow. Maggie also returned with a step-brother for Olivia, the tanned and likeable Richie, a teenager who eventually becomes Olivia’s first love – and Olivia is convinced that her mother deliberately split them up. So the day her mother dies after a long illness, Olivia is disturbed to receive a letter from her mother that contains nothing except the current address for Richie. Just what is her mother playing at beyond the grave? But it doesn’t take long for Olivia to decide to journey to the country to find this man that she hasn’t seen for twenty years.

I must confess that despite being quickly drawn into Olivia’s world I was very uneasy when Olivia set off to see Richie – especially when she continued to stay in his idyllic corner of the world, abandoning her husband and two children, seemingly in a similar way to her mother when she was younger. But just when the novel could have become tacky and melodramatic, instead in Louise Candlish’s capable hands it becomes a satisfying read of a woman in crisis examining her life and re-examining the past. There is certainly a second chance at happiness for Olivia, but her eventual gain is not without loss (and to say more would be to give the plot away). This novel will definitely keep you turning the pages to find out the outcome. It’s a great saga of love and conflict, misunderstanding and forgiveness.

Reviewed by Karen McMillan

http://www.karenm.co.nz/

(Karen is a writer and bookworm who also works for a publishing company. She is doing regular reviews on my website. Jay-Jay)

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Before We Say Goodbye by Louise Candlish 

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