Tara Richards was just a girl when she lost her mother. Years later when Tara receives a letter from a London solicitor its contents shake her to the core. Someone has left her a key to a safe deposit box. In the box lies an object that will change everything Tara thought she knew and lead her on a journey to deepest Spain in search of the answers that have haunted her for forty years.
Violet Skye regrets her decision to travel abroad leaving her young daughter behind. As the sun dips below the mountains, she reminds herself she is doing this for their future. Tonight, 4th June 1978, will be the start of a new life for them. This night will indeed change Violet's destiny, in the most unexpected of ways...
Many thanks to Headline Review via NetGalley for my copy of Her Last Promise to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
In 2018 Tara receives a letter that will change the course of her life forever. Deep down, she had been expecting a letter given her situation but when she opens it, the contents are not what she had presumed them to be. Instead she is told to go to a solicitors in London and when she does so she is handed a key to a safety deposit box. Contained in said box, is something she had never expected to see, the item she last laid eyes on over forty years ago. So many questions rush through her mind as she has desperately hoped for definitive answers for so long. All hope had faded but now with this surprising turn of events will hope reignite and will this discovery lead her on a journey she never expected to take. Her Last Promise by Kathryn Hughes follows Tara as we journey back and forth between the past and present, between England and Spain as she seeks confirmation, closure, explanations and resolution. The question is will she be happy with what she discovers?
I presumed having read the blurb that the majority of the book would be set in Spain but this was not the case. This setting only predominantly materialises in the last quarter or so of the book so don't be like me and keep wondering as you read when will this happen, instead sit back and watch the story unfold. There are many strands to the story and a lot of setting up and back story to take place before I felt we got to the real crux of the book. Definitely the later half is far stronger than the first and this is a book worth persisting with to see how the strands of the story mesh together. At first one wonders how can three seemingly very much separate storylines come together but they eventually do so in a very pleasing way even if the final ending is a bit ambiguous, a little more of a definitive ending would have been welcome.
In the present day as Tara sets about uncovering the mystery of what she has found in the safety deposit box we get an insight into her own personal situation. She is separated from Ralph and trying to move on with her life. But yet time and time again, he seems to make a reappearance trying to get back into her life again and create one big happy family with herself and son Dylan. But Tara believes this is not possible given how their marriage ended. I felt Tara had no time for Ralph and rightly so given she had far more pressing matters on her hands. She needed to resolve the past before she could move on into the future. As more and more memories from her childhood begin to surface she knows she has to come to terms with what has happened and until she can seek those precise answers this can not occur. I loved how someone who had meant so much to Tara came back in the present and became the catalyst which spurred her on to seek clarification surrounding the deposit box. It felt like the story was coming full circle and without the presence of this person she would not have had the courage and tenacity to move forward and just go for it.
The story moves back and forth between Tara in the present day and Tara as a 14 year old living with her mother Violet. They are struggling and thanks to the kindness of Alf are taken in and given a room above his hardware shop. Alf was just such a lovely character who was despite his old age very much like the father figure Tara never had. I loved the contrast between older Tara and her teenage self. It really provided a deep insight into her character and how she was moulded into the person she was in the present by events that befell her in the past. Even though she was only 14, at that time she was so worldly wise because I felt Violet was very flighty with no solid plans put in place for either of their long term futures. Violet's dreams of making it big in the singing business seem very far from becoming a reality as she struggles to earn any money and it is only for the generosity of Alf that herself and Tara are not living on the streets. But it is when Violet meets Larry Valentine, one night after her set, as he saves her from someone’s unwanted advances that things take what she hopes will be a turn for the better for both herself and Tara.
I didn't like Larry at all, we had been introduced earlier on in the book in a chapter solely dedicated to him and I just felt uneasy reading about him. To all intents and purposes he is a decent guy who establishes a relationship with Violet. He provides her with what she hasn't had before but like myself Tara didn't feel comfortable around him. It was as if he was trying to take Violet away from Tara and she was in such a cloud of lust that was developing into love that she would have gone along with any plans he suggested. Maybe this would be to her detriment as she comes to regret her hasty decision to travel abroad on holiday with Larry. She believes everything she is doing is to secure herself and Tara's future but to be honest I thought she just saw a good opportunity and ran with it without thinking all the consequences through. These consequences will have far reaching and devastating effects as maybe people are not always what they seem and the road she is about to travel may very well lead her into uncharted, unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances that impact and later everyone's lives. Will everyone involved be able to come back from all these unfolding events and have the unity they very much deserve?
There was one other strand of the story outlined at the beginning which I really couldn't see how it would tie in with the overall plot. It seemed very much left of centre and bore no relation to the lives of Tara and Violet. I was hoping as the book progressed that everything would begin to work itself out and seemingly detached and at times disjointed strands would merge together satisfyingly. Thankfully they very much did and in a very surprising way but when everything was revealed all those little clues really made sense and the mystery that pervaded throughout the book came fully circle. I had always felt there was tension, mystery, angst, riddles and secrecy scattered throughout the book but wondered would the resolution prove satisfactory or be a let down? Instead I thought it was very cleverly done and I loved how it tied back to parts of the story which I had presumed to be very much inconsequential. Overall Her Last Promise was a slow burner to begin with but the pay off was worth it for the twists, turns and surprises that arise. The plot proves to be well developed and it made for an interesting and intriguing read.
Thanks so much Sharon and Emma x
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