The Truth About Her by Annie Taylor

 

The Truth About Her by Annie Taylor.

Published 20th July 2023 by Penguin Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

When Callie rents a beach cottage in Whitstable, she doesn't expect for its owner to be glamorous influencer Vanessa Lowe.

Vanessa has it all. A beautiful home, a loyal husband, three perfect children, and a growing number of adoring online fans.

Callie has long admired her world from afar. But when Vanessa invites her in, the closer Callie looks, the more she suspects that there's more to Vanessa than meets the eye.

So when Vanessa's son disappears, Callie must question everything she knows.

Is Vanessa a mother in despair?

Or is she a woman who'll do whatever it takes to cover up the cracks . . .

***********

Callie is overwhelmed with grief and needs to spend some time alone in the run up to Christmas. An isolated cottage in Whitstable seems the perfect place to get away from it all, especially off season, but when she gets there she discovers it is owned by someone she knows by reputation - the glamorous influencer Vanessa Lowe.

When Vanessa invites Callie to get to know her and her picture perfect family, she feels she cannot turn down a chance to see the reality behind the Instagram posts. As she spends time with them she feels an unsettling vibe in the Lowe household, but it is not until their three-year-old son goes missing that she finds herself caught up in a family drama that begins to reveal cracks in the carefully curated image that Vanessa shows to the outside world... 

In an absolute masterclass of storytelling, Annie Taylor spins the threads of this disturbing tale to suspenseful perfection. The action begins with the arrival of grief-stricken Callie in a quiet Whistable, and her introduction to the aspirational Lowe family. Callie is star-struck at first, but Vanessa's manipulative ways give her pause for thought... with good reason. The plot thickens as Taylor then weaves in the history of Vanessa's former friendship with young mother Rachel, who also fell under the Lowe family spell with disastrous consequences, when she arrived in Whitstable with her family sixteen months ago. 

I do not want to say too much about the events in this story, as it would inevitably result in spoilers, so you are going to have to trust me that this is a must read. As Taylor moves between past and present she immerses you in themes of obsession, dysfunctional families, unresolved trauma, and intensely discomfiting aspects of the world of social media, threading them through an absolutely cracking thriller that keeps you heart firmly in your mouth. This is one of the creepiest books I have read all year, and the way Taylor keeps you guessing about what is really going on in this sleepy corner of Kent, is superb. I promise you will be distracted by the slick red herrings, gripped by the constant atmosphere of menace, and floored by the deliciously twisty finale!

If you love a beautifully crafted psychological chiller, that casts an eye of how the desperate need for validation by strangers can go seriously awry, then this book needs to be on your reading pile this autumn. It will certainly make you think.

The Truth About Her is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a proof if this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Annie Taylor is a freelance copywriter and writer. She has a BA in American Studies from the University of Birmingham and a Masters in English and American studies from Oxford. Her previous published works include Forget Me Not and Innocent or Guilty, under the name A.M. Taylor.

She currently lives in south London, where she divides her time between studying for her PhD in Creative Writing, and making stuff up in her head for books.