Thursday 5 April 2012

My Review of The Other Place



Find The Other Place on Amazon




Review

The Other Place is described as a paranormal mystery focusing on Chrissie, who has led a troubled life. She can't explain why she keeps seeing another world in another time, and she can't come to terms with her past and the part her step-father, Alf, has played in it. Her only friend is Amy, who isn't all she seems. In desperation Chrissie seeks guidance from a hypnotherapist, Kitty, who helps her to understand why she is so troubled by her dreams and what they mean.

However, The Other Place is much more than just Chrissie's story. It is also the story of her mum Lily and her sister Babs, both of whom are suffering in their own way. Babs has met and married Alan, who leaves her because she gets pregnant and he doesn't want children. Later Babs experiences a strange sensation that she's being watched...

Meanwhile, Lily has had a hard life. Her husband left her when the girls were very young, and when he sends his girlfriend to the house to offer to take the girls off her hands, that forces her to come to a decision; they must move away so he can't find them. This turns out to be a mixed blessing. Lily marries Alf to give her daughters security, but he has no time for Chrissie and Babs. He thinks Chrissie is mad, and although Lily is fiercely protective of her daughters, she doesn't understand why Chrissie has such bad nightmares, nor does she share her enthusiasm for hypnotists and card reading. Chrissie can't forgive her for not protecting her from the awful Alf. Babs doesn't like Alf, either, and both girls can't understand why Lily goes back to him after he left her.

After tragedy strikes, Chrissie is able to make sense of her past at last. The future is one of hope, but there is a twist at the end.

Although the paranormal is something I don't understand - like Lily I'm probably a bit too down to earth to believe in past lives! - I enjoyed this story very much. It has an element of a ghost story to it. It is simply written, and for 77 p the Kindle edition is a good buy.

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