Friday, October 13, 2023

10.13.2023 - One Puzzling Afternoon

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily   Critchley 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Emily Critchley in exchange for my honest review - 5 stars!

In 1951, Edie Green doesn't fit in well at school and is lonely.  Her mother has a side job that provokes criticism among the town and her mother's new boyfriend isn't always kind.  So when popular Lucy Theddle befriends Edie, she feels happy for the first time.  But Lucy has a secret that Edie doesn't feel good keeping.  Then Lucy goes missing.  In 2018, Edie is now 84 and still lives in her hometown.  She is convinced that she spots Lucy at the post office, looking just the same as she did when she disappeared.  Her family doesn't believe her because she is prone to mixing things up, but Edie is convinced that she must find out what happened to Lucy.

I absolutely loved this book!  Told in these two timelines, we get the backstory while in the present day Edie is trying to search for answers about her lost friend.  It's also a story about dementia and how Edie feels when she realizes that she is not as capable as she was, but still wanting to assert her independence with her family.  It's heartbreaking but also empowering to see Edie so desperate for answers.  Plus, it's a good mystery as to what happened to Lucy so long ago.  I couldn't put it down!

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