Book Review – The Moment She Left

What happened to Jessica Leonard? That’s the question that everybody in the book wants answered.

The story is set in Kesterly-on-Sea, a small town where people think they know each other only to discover they have skeletons in their closets. It’s a sad story of a family who refuse to lose hope that their daughter will one day return home safely.

Two years after Jessica’s disappearance, Andee, an ex-detective going through a divorce and trying to mend her relationship with her children, reopens the case and tries to find answers that will bring closure to the family.

In the meantime, Rowzee, an older woman who is loved by all discovers she has terminal cancer and goes through the difficult decision of whether to tell her eccentric sister, Pamela and the rest of the town, or keep it to herself. I fell in love with the characters as their stories were revealed through their interlinked lives. The small town bonds as news of Jessica’s whereabouts come to light and as they wait together in hospital waiting room.

As the secrets and lies are revealed, the story comes together, bringing along with it a totally unexpected ending.

Alicia Sibanda
4/5