Author: Sandie Jones
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery/Thrillers
Format: Audio ALC and Kindle ARC
Length: 8 hrs 59 min
Narrator: Imogen Wilde
No. of Pages: 320
Date of Publication: March 25, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
*First published March 24, 2024
DESCRIPTION:
California, 2011: Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in the small seaside town of Coronado with her husband and daughter. She is not expecting a writer to knock on her door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s—unveiling the threads of a life she left behind years ago. The same day, her daughter goes missing and the school claims her aunt picked her up . . . but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear.
London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention among the throngs of groupies at the band’s scandalous backstage parties. But when Ben discovers her older sister Nicole singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.
Infused with the sounds of the 80s, this thrilling novel from the inimitable Sandie Jones explores the chaos that the frenzy of fandom can provoke.
A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.
MY THOUGHTS:
Nicole Forbes gets an intriguing offer to discover what happened to a once very popular British band from the ‘80s. Imagining how writing an article like that could skyrocket her career immediately creates mixed feelings. Within hours, she makes a disturbing discovery. Her daughter Hannah was not on the school bus after school. Panicked, when Nicole contacts the school, they assuredly tell her that Hannah was picked up by her aunt. Her aunt? Hannah doesn’t have an aunt. This can’t be coincidence especially when Nicole is immediately haunted by a connection to the long-ago band and to her daughter being missing.
Back in 1986, Secret Oktober was the hottest young band around. Girls were swooning over the band. One of those girls was 16-year-old Cassie. She had an undeniable crush on the band’s lead, Ben Edwards, and was willing to go to any extreme to get noticed by him. However, Ben’s sites were on her older sister Nicole, and Nicole was as drawn to him as he was to her. This breaks Cassie’s heart. In fact, this sets up a domino effect that makes it clear that clear that Nicole’s past and present will eventually meet, and her daughter Hannah could be caught in the crossfire.
So, if Nicole had a younger sister named Cassie in 1986, could that be the same sister that picked up her daughter from school? With Nicole stating plainly that she doesn’t have a sister, it soon becomes evident that something once buried has come to light.
Nicole has lived a decent life. Married to Brad. Mother of Hannah. Back in the ‘80s, Nicole’s life wasn’t so quiet. She was only too happy to become part of the wild scene involving young rock bands, all while trying to keep 16-year-old Cassie out of trouble. With Nicole having been crazy about Ben as a teenager, it was interesting to watch the dynamic between her and Brad today. This dynamic mixed with an unfolding mystery was a compelling read enhanced by one of my favorite narrators, Imogen Wilde.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review This is my honest opinion.
So for the next two decades I worked as a journalist, (articles below), interviewing celebrities from George Clooney to Justin Timberlake and Ozzy Osbourne to Dame Maggie Smith.
But it wasn’t until 2017, that I decided to try my hand at writing fiction – not with the intention of writing a book that would get published, but just to prove to myself that I had the dedication and willpower needed. Yet once I started, I couldn’t stop!
The result was my debut The Other Woman, which was a 2018 New York Times Bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Pick. It also sold in fourteen other languages, and to say I’m still reeling from the shock of it all, is something of an understatement!
My second novel The First Mistake was published in 2019, and The Half Sister, which is available to pre-order now, is out in June.
I’m currently writing my fourth, as yet untitled novel, in London, where I live with my husband and three children.
No comments:
Post a Comment