Bonded by their traumatic childhoods, Flora and Sophie are inseparable friends who married brothers.
What they could not have anticipated was their mother-in-law, Cecelia. Disappointed that her children have married beneath them, Cecelia takes every opportunity to belittle and taunt her daughter’s-in-law.
When Cecelia learns that Flora and her son are moving away, her wrath escalates, and Flora’s world begins to fall apart.
Meanwhile, Sophie’s life is also crumbling around her. Her marriage is not what it seems, and she is desperate to escape the clutches of the poisonous family she has married into.
Is Flora being tormented or is she losing her mind?
Will Sophie and Flora be forced to leave their husbands in order to survive?
With a mother-in-law like Cecelia, anything is possible…
Having taken part in the cover reveal for Save Her a little while ago, I jumped at the opportunity to read the book. Many thanks to Abigail Osborne and Kelly Lacey from Love Books Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.
A few years ago I enjoyed Abigail Osborne's debut novel, The Puppet Master and said at the end of that review that I was looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. Having devoured Save Her in a day, I can now confidently declare that I will go on to read anything else she writes - even if, as with Save Her, they're not necessarily the easiest books to review...
Having finished the novel with my jaw dropped to the floor, I set about trying to write this review, hoping I could do it justice without giving anything away. I'm mindful not to mention too much about the plot - it really is a thriller that needs to be read without too many hints as to what will occur. What I can say, however, is that this is a fabulous demonstration of how to drive the momentum in a book. Throughout the first two-thirds of the story, Abigail Osborne understands exactly how to steadily drip-feed the sense of foreboding, with Flora gradually being terrorised by an unseen hand.
The earliest indication that somebody is playing with her mind comes fairly soon after she announces at the weekly Friday Night Dinner at her in-laws that she and her husband, Sam will be moving away. After that she is subjected to an increasingly malevolent campaign which seems designed to terrify her into submission. From the perplexingly sinister to the chillingly violent, Flora's life is turned upside down, with one scene in particular almost too revolting to contemplate.
Although Sam is slow to comprehend what's happening to Flora, she always has the support of her best friend and sister-in-law, Sophie. If the pace-setting is exemplary, then so too is the characterisation, with Flora and Sophie, and the relationship between them being utterly compelling. Friends since childhood, the pair met and married brothers, Sam and Greg respectively and now live next door to one another. As the novel progresses, we slowly discover more about the unshakeable bond between them, forged through their difficult upbringings. Now both part of the wealthy Cavendish family, Sophie has embraced their money whereas Flora shuns it, preferring to work for herself in her art centre for autistic children. They are very different women; Flora is caring and dedicated to the children she supports, Sophie is ruthlessly ambitious but they remain united against the vitriol they encounter in the form of their monstrous mother-in-law, Cecelia.
If there's ever a character to love to hate then Cecelia is it. Right from the start, she made it clear that she believed her sons were marrying beneath them and is especially vile to the more passive Flora. Her bitter asides, whispered barbs and imperious control over the family is oppressive and intimidating. It's obvious that Sam is her favourite son and that he appears blind to her faults but the chapters that follow Sophie reveal she is becoming progressively panicky about the hold the Cavendishes have over them. While Flora is apparently being targeted by somebody who seems to know her every move, Sophie is desperate for them both to make their escape.
The latter third of the book ups the pace and after the gradual escalation of tension, the dramatic revelations and nail-biting scenes here are shocking and absolutely riveting. The twists keep coming until the very end with a conclusion that left me stunned. I loved Save Her, it's a suspenseful, addictive psychological thriller and I thoroughly recommend it.
Save Her is published by Bloodhound Books and can be purchased from Amazon UK where it is also available on Kindle Unlimited and Amazon US.
Today is the final day of the blog tour but check out the poster below to see what some of my fellow bloggers had to say about the book.
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