‘Picture of Innocence’ spoiler-free review!

Hello fellow bookworms 🙂 I recently read Picture of Innocence, which was gifted to me by Avon Books. And I have no hesitation in saying that it is one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read! Let’s see why, shall we?

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My name is Lydia. I’m 12 years old. I’m not an evil person, but I did something bad.

My name is Maddie. I’d never hurt my son. But can I be sure if I don’t remember?

With three children under ten, Maddie is struggling. On the outside, she’s a happy young mother, running a charity as well as a household. But inside, she’s exhausted. She knows she’s lucky to have to have a support network around her. Not just her loving husband, but her family and friends too.

But is Maddie putting her trust in the right people? Because when tragedy strikes, she is certain someone has hurt her child – and everyone is a suspect, including Maddie herself…

The women in this book are about to discover that looks can be deceiving… because anyone is capable of terrible things. Even the most innocent, even you.

This is the story of every mother’s worst fear. But it’s not a story you know… and nothing is what it seems.

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If you enjoy thrillers, then you absolutely need to read this one. I am seriously going to be recommending this one to so many people.

Unlike some thrillers, the protagonist, Maddie, felt really well fleshed-out. I felt like she was a real person, with a strong backstory and understandable emotions. And I just felt so invested in her life and what was happening to her.

I don’t want to talk about anything too specific to the plot because this is one that you really need to experience for yourself. All I will say is that the author did a fantastic job. There are so many twists and turns to this story and I was living for it. And there were so many red herrings! I was desperate to figure out how things were connected and when all was revealed, I was not disappointed!

For a thriller, this was a surprisingly emotional read. The chapters written from the child’s perspective were harrowing. This all added to the impact of the later reveals. The whole book opens up a really interesting exploration of certain themes – though again, I can’t say what these themes were because of spoilers!

Overall, I just really want more people to read this because it was so breath-taking! I know this book is going to stay with me for a long time.

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic weekend! Let me know in the comments what you’ve been reading! x