Thursday 24 September 2015

Lullaby Girl by Aly Sidgwick

Lullaby Girl
By Aly Sidgwick
Published by Black & White Publishing (16 April 2015)
ISBN: 978-1845029500



Publisher's description
Who is the Lullaby Girl?

Found washed up on the banks of a remote loch, a mysterious girl is taken into the care of a psychiatric home in the Highlands of Scotland. Mute and covered in bruises, she has no memory of who she is or how she got there. The only clue to her identity is the Danish lullaby she sings...

Inside the care home, she should be safe. But, harassed by the media and treated as a nuisance by under-pressure staff, she finds the home is far from a haven. And as her memories slowly surface, the Lullaby Girl does her best to submerge them again. Some things are too terrible to remember... but unless she confronts her fear, how can she find out who she really is?


My verdict
Lullaby Girl is a haunting tale but won't be for all psychological thriller fans. It intrigued me enough to read from beginning to end. But it's dark and bleak, so not ideal if you want an uplifting read.

A girl is found on the banks of a remote lock in Scotland. She's injured, mute and suffering from amnesia. She's moved to a care home, where she should be safe from the media. Yet she remains treated with suspicion while she recovers, and not everyone at the home is welcoming.

The girl, Kathy, is fragile in body, spirit and mind. As the narrative switches between past and present, she gradually begins to remember snippets from her past. And then realises that her life could be in danger.

Lullaby Girl had an interesting plot. But it did leave me with a few unanswered questions. Difficult to mention most of them without giving away spoilers. But I was surprised that the police didn't take more of an active role in the case and check on her welfare.

The book is fairly well-written, but some of the dialogue irritated me a little. Kathy speaks with a slow, drawl and lisp at the start, which then vanishes by the end of the book. This may have been due to her post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, which then disappeared as she discovered who she was and took back control over her life.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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