The Last Piece
Imogen Clark
Literary Fiction
This book gets 5stars for the ending alone!
I've read all of Imogen's books and was waiting with bated breath for this one - how could she possibly top 'Where the Story Starts', which at the time I had thought - how could she possibly top 'The Thing about Clare' and even before that I'd thought - how could she possibly top 'Postcards from a Stranger' - BUT WITH THIS NEWEST RELEASE - SHE ABSOLUTELY HAS!
The story opens with three grown-up sisters panicking that their mother has hot-footed it off to Greece without explanation and leaving their dad at home alone. What could possibly make Cecily do something so out of character?
What unravels next is a life-time of secrets and some heart-breaking decisions that have the potential to rip the neat little family apart. Meanwhile, as the children are busy judging their mother for her erratic and unexplained behaviour, they themselves are all hiding secrets of their own and not everything is as it seems on the surface within their own lives.
As is Imogen's style, she tells the story from different character's point of views, and those eagle-eyed story nerds will notice that she expertly intertwines third person narration, with one character written in 1st person. A truly complex skill to pull off so seamlessly, and in a such a way that the reader doesn't even notice. Instead, they feel more connected to the characters.
Imogen's prose rolls off the page, and as I'm someone who can personally relate to the topic at the heart of this story, I have to commend Imogen on how she portrayed this very real, but highly controversial topic. I'm so pleased she ended the story as she did - it was the braver option - but the right choice for the characters involved. Well done.
I'm not sure how I can wait another six months for her next offering!
