DESCRIPTION:
As mothers we never dare to delve into our worst-nightmare scenarios. What if… we might murmur to each other, and then shake our heads, telling ourselves it’ll never happen to us if we’re just good enough mothers. Yet here we are. And the steady beep of the heart monitor is the only evidence the child in front of us is alive…
It’s Labor Day weekend, so of course we went to the beach. Like we do every year. For a barbecue picnic with my best friend Rose. It’s the perfect tradition—drinks, games, burgers, music, laughter. Together with our husbands, my two teenage sons and her two daughters, we all arrived as the sun was still shimmering over the water, the whole evening ahead of us.
But nothing goes to plan. Old secrets emerge, tempers flare. And so we parents decide to leave the beach, telling the teenagers to enjoy themselves, reassuring them someone will be back to collect them in an hour or two.
But when I return a little while later, I know something is really wrong. Our teens are slurring their words, stumbling to the car. It’s clear they have been drinking and I’m shocked. I never expected our kids to behave this way. I’m bracing myself to have firm words with them in the morning, but the next day my concerns fade to nothing, when seventeen-year-old Bella
Finn insists he would never do that. And I so want to believe him. Because I brought my son up right. Because a mother would know, wouldn’t she?
What I don’t know is that the answer to what happened that night on the beach may be a matter of life and death for one of our beloved children…
An absolutely heartbreaking story about friendship, parenting and betrayal. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Susan Lewis.
It’s Labor Day weekend, so of course we went to the beach. Like we do every year. For a barbecue picnic with my best friend Rose. It’s the perfect tradition—drinks, games, burgers, music, laughter. Together with our husbands, my two teenage sons and her two daughters, we all arrived as the sun was still shimmering over the water, the whole evening ahead of us.
But nothing goes to plan. Old secrets emerge, tempers flare. And so we parents decide to leave the beach, telling the teenagers to enjoy themselves, reassuring them someone will be back to collect them in an hour or two.
But when I return a little while later, I know something is really wrong. Our teens are slurring their words, stumbling to the car. It’s clear they have been drinking and I’m shocked. I never expected our kids to behave this way. I’m bracing myself to have firm words with them in the morning, but the next day my concerns fade to nothing, when seventeen-year-old Bella
Finn insists he would never do that. And I so want to believe him. Because I brought my son up right. Because a mother would know, wouldn’t she?
What I don’t know is that the answer to what happened that night on the beach may be a matter of life and death for one of our beloved children…
An absolutely heartbreaking story about friendship, parenting and betrayal. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Susan Lewis.
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BLZLZ964social
Audio:
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Audio:
UK: https://zpr.io/AyAwqnkv99j7
US: https://zpr.io/YWMq5TM6nmbF
Listen to a sample here: https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/that-night-at-the-beach-by-kate-hewitt-narrated-by-tara-ward-and-amelia-sciandra
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Title: That Night at the Beach
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Kate Hewitt is the author of many romance and women’s fiction novels. A former New Yorker and now an American ex-pat, she lives in a small town on the Welsh border with her husband, five children, and their overly affectionate Golden Retriever. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling stories that tackle real issues and touch people’s lives.
https://www.kate-hewitt.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KateHewittAuthor/
https://twitter.com/author_kate
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Kate Hewitt here: https://www.bookouture.com/kate-hewitt
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
MY THOUGHTS:
Author: Kate Hewitt
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 398
Date of Publication: January 19, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
Cara and Rose could not be any different as mothers. However, this latest book by Kate Hewitt is not about either of them. In fact, it is about their children, and an accusation that Rose’s daughter Bella claims about Cara’s son Finn. Bella’s claim is one that is very serious and very devastating. What happened and what were the circumstances that led to this claim?
It is the end of summer and a yearly cookout at the beach is one that neither family will ever forget. Cara and Rose have been close friends for years. Best friends, in fact. Cara has two sons and Rose has two daughters, and all of the children have grown up together and had been close for the most part. Any distance that the children had developed over the years went mostly unnoticed by their mothers, but the last thing either set of parents would ever expect was the possibility of what Bella says happened at the night of the cookout.
After a blowup between their husbands, both sets of parents headed home with Cara promising Rose that she would go back in about an hour and pick up all four of the children. They were not concerned that the four teens being unsupervised would be problematic in any way. Once Cara returned to pick up the children, none of them were with each other, but she did manage to find all four and dropped Rose’s two daughters off at their home before returning to her home with her sons. The next morning, Rose comes banging on Cara’s door quite upset that Bella told her that the previous night Finn had attacked her. Rose is determined that Finn will pay for the crime of attacking Bella, and that they would definitely be pressing charges on him for sexual assault.
Quite naturally, Cara goes to speak to her son, and he denies that anything like that happened between him and Bella. With both teenagers claiming that they are being 100% honest, both Cara and Rose immediately strive to get to the bottom of whatever happened that night. Any mother would do the same. Of course, Cara wants Finn to take responsibility for the assault, but first she must determine whether or not she is able to believe him when he says that he did not harm Bella in any way. The problem is that it was determined that both of the teenagers were drinking that night and that alcohol has made at least one of them unsure as to what happened at the beach after the cookout.
What a serious read this book was! The subjects were powerful. Teenagers drinking, sexual assault, the impact of social media, lies as well as secrets, and how friendships could easily be destroyed. This dramatic read went past the serious subjects being discussed when it came to the surprises that took place in this story. This led to quite a a shocking ending thus making That Night at the Beach a truly compelling read.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy my YouTube video review -
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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Kate Hewitt is the author of many romance and women’s fiction novels. A former New Yorker and now an American ex-pat, she lives in a small town on the Welsh border with her husband, five children, and their overly affectionate Golden Retriever. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling stories that tackle real issues and touch people’s lives.
https://www.kate-hewitt.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KateHewittAuthor/
https://twitter.com/author_kate
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Kate Hewitt here: https://www.bookouture.com/kate-hewitt
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