The Woman In The Attic by Emily Hepditch

English grad student Hannah Fitzgerald had lived for 18 years with her reclusive mother Adelaide in a small saltbox house on the south coast of Newfoundland before deciding to attend university to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.  Hannah must now return to her cliffside childhood home to prepare her mother for transition to an assisted living facility. Struggling with early onset dementia, Adelaide's condition has rapidly deteriorated and the house that Hannah once called home has dilapidated beyond repair. Struggling to cope with her mother's violent and aggressive outbursts, a nosy personal care attendant, and a house in dire need of some TLC Hannah begins the process of sorting through her mother's personal possessions only to discover a never-before-seen trap door to a pristinely kept attic bedroom with beautiful furnishings and a trunk containing clues to a very sinister past. Hannah attempts to piece together her mother's secret life but, with each discovery, more questions abound, lies are revealed and suspicions arise that a murder has been committed.

Described as a "claustrophobic psychological thriller", The Woman in The Attic is a novel that I simply could not put down until I turned the final page. Emily Hepditch does a superb job at developing true to life characters through a storyline that mirrors the lives of real life people in rural Newfoundland. Readers can't help but feel compassion and empathy for Hannah as she is faced with the tragic realities that having a parent diagnosed with dementia brings but also feel the same torment, anguish and sadness that is revealed bit by bit as the plot develops. Through beautiful writing and wonderful use of figurative language, Hepditch creates vivid sensory images for readers, inviting them to become participants in the story. One such example is in Chapter 1 when Hannah takes a break from the long drive home and pulls over to have a look at the ocean. Hepditch writes,

"I can see from here the ocean, a magnificent sapphire blue in the clear morning sunshine. The waves this morning are tall and strong, crests rising, roaring, finally sweeping in a violent crescendo at the cliffs submerged in its belly. I watch the foaming whitewash and imagine the power, the strength of the ocean, the way it engulfs everything in its path in wide, tireless swallows. I watch a white gull disappear from where it bobs in the water, the poor creature a victim caught in the thralls of an angry ocean arm."

This novel will capture you and keep you wanting more. The Woman In The Attic is a Flanker Press Publication.