Books Read & Giveaway: Linda Newbery - Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon

It was the day when everything stopped.

At quarter past two on a hot afternoon in August, Anna's beautiful, headstrong elder sister Rose disappears.

Twenty years later, Anna still doesn't know whether Rose is alive or dead. In her early thirties now, she sees her future unfolding - with sensible, serious Martin and a grown-up, steady job - and finds herself wondering if this is what she really wants.

Unable to take control of her life while the mystery of her sister's disappearance remains unsolved, Anna begins to search for the truth: what did happen to Rose that summer's day?

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Anna's life as she knew it stopped on a Wednesday afternoon when her older sister Rose disappeared without a trace and twenty years on the family are still none the wiser as to what had happened to her.  They have had to try and move on with their lives but it's easier said than done especially for Anna who seems unable to settle into a job or commit to her partner.  Finally wanting closure Anna decides it's time to try and find Rose but where does she begin?

Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon is told from the viewpoints of Anna and her mother Sandra.  Through recollections we are taken back in time, to Sandra's own teenage years, and to dates prior to and after Rose's disappearance, to try and piece together events but it soon becomes clear that there are a lot of deeply hidden family secrets.  At first the various snippets that are revealed don't make any sense and has you guessing but as the separate strands of the story come together all is revealed and I can honestly say I never saw that coming...

This was quite a slow-paced, but at the same time a compelling, read that takes you into the heart of the emotions of the family in particular Sandra as you get a real sense of the helplessness and desperation that she was feeling as her world started to unravel.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would like to thank Naomi at Transworld for sending me a copy of this book to review.  And thanks to Naomi one lucky follower (UK residents only) can win a copy of Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon to read as well, enter via the Rafflecopter form below.      
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