Book Review - A Winter Memory by Lulu Taylor

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Title: A Winter Memory

Author: Lulu Taylor

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Pan 

Publication Date: 25th November 2021

Rating: 5 Stars

A house full of secrets lies at the heart A Winter Memory from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author Lulu Taylor, an absorbing family drama perfect for the winter months.

Now

When, years ago, Helen fell for the charming Hamish, she was also enchanted by romantic Ballintyre House, which sits elegantly on the edge of a loch in the west of Scotland and has been home to the Ballintyre family for decades. Now, seeking refuge from a scandal that has cost Hamish his job, they are living with his older brother Charlie at the house, while the boys’ troubled mother is never too far away. Struggling with her own problems, Helen is surprised to find that Charlie’s wife has vanished. No one else seems at all concerned. Where has she gone, and why?

Then

In 1968, sixteen-year-old Tigs is madly in love with James Ballintyre, her childhood friend and hero. When he marries Josephine, her heart is broken. She knows it’s hopeless but she can’t help how she feels. She tries to find her way to a new life and a new love, but somehow everyone is called back to Ballintyre in the end, and Tigs is no exception . . .

Forever

Ballintyre has always been the setting for revelations of love, obsession and betrayal. Now, as Helen seeks the answer to Charlie's wife's whereabouts, she is forced to confront her own difficult truths – and the events of the past reach forward to touch the lives of those who still call Ballintyre home, and reveal their secrets . . .

I have no idea where to start other than congratulating Lulu Taylor on another truly wonderful book. It was rather epic, and it took me a while to get to grips with the various timelines, but once I knew roughly what characters were where, I was hooked. 

I needed to keep reading to see where the prologue fitted in, and just how the timelines fully interconnected. I needed to know like Helen, just where Sylla is, and ultimately what the truth is about so many different things. 

We are also treated to Tig's story which is heart-breaking too about love that is seemingly impossible. 

I loved the setting in Scotland, and of Ballintyre and two other key properties nearby.  There is so much I would love to say but I fear I'd be spoiling things. 

Rest assured this is Lulu Taylor at her best, incredibly descriptive and gripping writing, characters that feel real, and plenty of secrets to be unwrapped.  There is a lot going on over the course of the book and given the time span it covers, which is clearly marked at the start of each chapter, along with which character we were hearing from, and it has great depth and so much going for it. 

Simply superb writing. 

Thank you to Pan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.