Motherless by Erin Healy | RE:View

If I had to pick three words to describe my feelings while reading Erin Healy's Motherless, they would be:

Introspective. Detailed. Mysterious.

Erin's descriptions come off the page and swirl into filmy existence like smoke from wet wood. They create a "presence" that is as eery as her plot.

I will leave discussion of most of the plot to the description below and instead focus on my thoughts on the book as a whole without many specifics. It's one of those books you need to experience in order to understand.

I will say her approach was very interesting, taking the viewpoint that she does and telling the story as she has. From the plot arise questions about life, death, truth, lies, and a sense of the intricacies of life seen from an unusual perspective.

I enjoyed this book, however it wasn't what I was expecting. Then again, I'm not sure I knew what to expect. Expectations aside, it's well written, beautiful descriptive, slightly haunting, very intriguing, and has a touch of light suspense. If you've enjoyed Erin's previous novels I'm sure you will enjoy this.

I will give it four stars and would recommend it to someone willing to be mentally involved with an issue and happy to be led on a slower paced, intriguing mission in pursuit of truth. You will be surprised, if not content with what you discover.

Purchase: Motherless

Book Description
(from Amazon)

A whispering voice at the back of my mind reminds me that I’ve been this way for some time. Dead, that is.

The dead have a very broad view of the living, of actions performed out of sight, of thoughts believed to be private. I would know. Losing both parents is a trial no child should endure, and Marina and Dylan have endured enough. They deserve the one thing I could never give them: a mother’s love.

A mother’s love, and the truth.

My children have believed a lie about me for years and years. After all this time I can still feel their hurt in my heart. But the tether holding me to them is frayed from years of neglect . . . and I have to find a way to make my confession before it snaps.

But when the truth comes out, what other beasts will I unleash?

“Why do we lie to the children?” someone asked me once.

“To protect them,” I answered.

How terrible it is that they need protection from me.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.