This book really has me in a stump. I loved hating the characters and the message, but there were just a few things which didn’t sit right with me. Without further ado, the review of A Version of the Truth by B. P. Walter…
The plot:
There are three sides to every story…
2019: Julianne is preparing a family dinner when her son tells her he’s found something on his iPad. Something so terrible, it will turn Julianne’s wold into a nightmare and make her question everything about her marriage and what type of man her husband really is.
1990: Holly is a fresher at university when she falls into an uneasy friendship with a group of older students. Soon, she begins to realise that she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game…
The two women have more in common than they think. A devastating secret has simmered under the surface for over 25 years. Now it’s time to discover the truth.
But what if you’re afraid of what you might find?
I took away so many different emotions
This review is a tough one to write as I don’t provide spoilers, so I’m just going to provide my general thoughts. I would like to say that this book does contain some upsetting themes. If you’d like some more information and trigger warnings, just contact me via the Home Page.
This is a very important book and raises key issues, both in naivety, society and our perceptions. If there wasn’t an epilogue, I can tell you that my feelings would’ve been entirely different.
The last 50 pages really had me on edge. Whilst this book is definitely a slow-burner, and not one with plot twists left, right and centre, it is very fast-paced with a build-up until the unexpected climax. I did guess one aspect and was pretty annoyed at the protagonist for being so naïve, but other than this part, I really couldn’t see what was going to happen, nor the way it escalated.
There was one part which really annoyed me – it was one simple sentence said by a character, and it just made me sooo mad. It’s nothing to do with the book or Walter, it’s more just like “this is 2019, come onnnn”, directed at the characters themselves. This sort of emotion warrants credit to the author, because this sentence, and many other comments, made me really detest the characters. Often, I can brush it off, but I seriously wanted to jump into the book and give them a piece of my mind.
Huge props to Walter; his talent for writing starts with you getting annoyed at some characters for silly things and being rather stereotypical, and then it just escalates and escalates. I’ve never had a book which has *enter your chosen expletive here* me off so much, purely based on the characters.
Now, this is 110% not a negative thing. I loved how, upon finishing the book, I took away so many different emotions. I LOVED that I was angry about what they were saying and loved the turn of events and seeing the protagonists develop. The meaning behind the book title really comes across and it’s an unsettling book to read.
For me, it was just a bit too intense. I’m glad I read it for the message and the take-away feelings, I just don’t think it needed to be as extreme as it was. If I had a few warnings about the themes, I’d feel better as I’d known it was coming, but several comments really didn’t sit right with me and were they 100% necessary?
A Version of the Truth, B. P. Walter, RRP £7.99 (paperback); Book Depository
Pages: 354
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Thriller
