The Forgotten Ones by Steena Holmes
Publisher: Brilliance AudioPublished: April 1, 2018Narrator: Angela Dawe & Arthur MoreyReceived: for honest review via Thomas Allen & SonsA spellbinding novel about an unspeakable secret that could destroy a family, from the New York Times bestselling author of Finding Emma.
Elle is a survivor. She’s managed to piece together a solid life from a childhood of broken memories and fairy tales her mom told her to explain away bad dreams. But weekly visits to her mother still fill Elle with a paralyzing fear she can’t explain. It’s just another of so many unanswered questions she grew up with in a family estranged by silence and secrets.
Elle’s world turns upside down when she receives a deathbed request from her grandfather, a man she was told had died years ago. Racked by grief, regrets, and a haunted conscience, he has a tale of his own to tell Elle: about her mother, an imaginary friend, and two strangers who came to the house one night and never left.
As Elle’s past unfolds, so does the truth—if she can believe it. She must face the reasons for her inexplicable dread. As dark as they are, Elle must listen…before her grandfather’s death buries the family’s secrets forever.
"Love isn't always pretty or clear cut. It can't be wrapped in a nice little box and presented with a bow. Sometimes it's ugly and hurtful and does more damage than good."
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and quite enjoyed the dual narration in it. It's told from two point of views, Elle and her dying grandfather. Elle is a nurse at a hospital who learns that her "long dead" grandfather is in fact alive and in the very hospital that she works at, but is sadly really dying.
Over the course of the story, we find out about David's life, Elle's mothers life that she always hid away and the secrets that caused them to stop speaking to one another many years ago. The deep dark secrets hold a lot more than you can imagine.
Elle has a hard time knowing if she should believe David's story because her mother has such a strong reaction to her having found him. Her mother warns her that not everything he says can be true or taken as gospel, but Elle starts to wonder as her mother's mental health deteriorates yet again.
The story triggers her mother to start her slow spiral again and the more that Elle pushes to find out the truth - speaking with people who knew her grandfather back then, searching out the old homestead, putting her trust in David. Learning about her past, about her grandmother's life with undiagnosed mental illness and the miscarriages that troubled her all add to the mystery surrounding her family's past.
The things we learn are quite intense and surprising to say the least and mental health plays a big part in the history and secrets as well, not just with Elle's mother, but also her grandmother. It makes you question how well you really know people, how well they remember their own pasts and it deals a lot with forgiveness and love. As the quote above states that love can do more hurt than good - it's about turning a blind eye when you love someone so much that you don't want to see the ugly truth. It's about thinking you are protecting them, when really you just might be loving them too much and not getting them the help they need. Love can make people do incredible things, both good and bad and this story shows both sides.
My review is not doing this book the justice it deserves, I'm afraid of spoilers, so I'm sure this seems vague in some ways.
I will definitely be looking for more books by Steena Holmes in the near future. I've added her to my must read Canadian author list.
Sidenote: Arthur Morey was the perfect David in this narrative. His voice, his inflection and his cadence added to the mystery surrounding David and his past. Well done.
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