DEATH WISH by Linda Huber @LindaHuber19

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I've been mutually retweeting with Linda Huber on Twitter for some time and had seen that her books looked popular, so thought I'd try one!

Genre: dark family drama.

A great start to this book: a man is burying a body in a garden.  But who is it?

Death Wish concentrates on two families.  Leo Mackie has just set up home with his unstable girlfriend, Ashley, while her wicked witch mother, Eleanor, looms in the background.  Leo will do anything to keep Ashley's love, and doesn't realise a) quite how unhinged she really is, b) why, and c) what a bad move it is to accept her mother's offer of buying into his business ~ and into their lives....  

The other family consists of sweet eight-year-old Joya, her father, Stu, and her it's-all-about-me, neurotic mother, Martine, who feeds her child an almost constant diet of chips, ice cream and Coke, and leaves her to her own devices much of the time; I was with Stu all the way and wanted to tell her to get a grip, too!  Also in the house is Martine's invalid mother, Vee.

Linda Huber writes in such a readable way, and I read the first 40% of the book in one sitting; it was only later that I realised that almost all of it takes place in the two houses.  That the families lead rather dreary, insular lives did not matter; the writing itself was of a quality that kept me turning the pages.  I liked Ms Huber's decision to show much of the story from Joya's point of view; it gave a refreshing variation to the narrative, and made me remember how I used to think when I was eight years old!  This story is a fine example of what goes on behind respectable closed doors. Leo was by far my favourite character, despite the decisions he makes later; he seemed the most 'real' to me.

There are no great surprises but the end comes together neatly, with a nice little twist or two in the tale that becomes almost darkly comic in places, which I liked.  Within the plot are the deeper issues of Huntington's Disease, assisted suicide, teen pregnancy and adoption, and these are dealt with realistically and with sensitivity.  It's a moderately-paced story, very well put together, and I think it would appeal to anyone who likes intricate family dramas ... with a dark side.