Title: In the Blink of an Eye by Jesse Blackadder
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
In the Blink of an Eye is award-winning author Jesse Blackadder’s deeply emotional drama that explores a family’s path to forgiveness and redemption in the aftermath of a tragedy.
The Brennans—parents, Finn and Bridget, and their sons, Jarrah and Toby—have made a sea change, from chilly Hobart, Tasmania, to subtropical Murwillumbah, New South Wales. Feeling like foreigners in this land of sun and surf, they’re still adjusting to work, school, and life in a sprawling purple clapboard house, when one morning, tragedy strikes.
In the devastating aftermath, the questions fly. What really happened? And who’s to blame? Determined to protect his family, Finn finds himself under the police and media spotlight. Guilty and enraged, Bridget spends nights hunting answers in the last place imaginable. Jarrah—his innocence lost—faces a sudden and frightening adulthood where nothing is certain.
In the Blink of an Eye is a haunting, redemptive story about forgiveness and hope.
Review:
In the Blink of an Eye by Jesse Blackadder is an emotionally compelling novel about a family in crisis following an unspeakable tragedy.
The Brennan family is still adjusting to their recent move from Tasmania to Murwillumbah when their lives take a heartbreaking turn. Husband Finn is an artist whose career is about to take off but in the aftermath of loss, he is unable to concentrate on his projects. Wife Bridget is the family’s primary source of income and she is unable to face any of her colleagues except Chen, a young man whose caring and compassion spark an unexpected reaction in her. Fifteen year old Jarrah finds himself finally earning acceptance in school when fellow student Laura Fieldman takes him under her wing. The family is already fracturing under the strain of their unbearable grief when a shocking arrest further upends their lives. Will this shattered family find their way back one another or is it too late for them to recover from the stunning loss they have endured?
At a time when the Brennan family should turn to each other for comfort, they begin to fall apart. Bridget cannot bear to be around Finn as her grief turns to rage. Finn has lost focus and his efforts to help the family widen the gap between them. Jarrah is lost and confused and the situation between his parents just adds to his unending sadness. Will the latest shocking turn of events bring them together or will this once happy family be completely ripped apart?
In the Blink of an Eye is an engrossing novel that is a realistic depiction of a family deeply mourning a shocking loss. Each of the characters reaction to their pain is realistic and utterly heartbreaking. Jesse Blackadder has drawn on her personal history in this deeply affecting and poignant novel which provides another layer of authenticity to her characters’ myriad emotions and grief. This riveting read will linger in readers’ hearts and minds long after the last page is turned.
