Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsTwists you don’t see coming - Like a roller coaster ride in the dark
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 February 2024
I literally devoured this book. For someone who says they ‘don’t have time to read’ I struggled to put The Wrong Daughter down.
A bit like seeing the Post Office v Mr Bates visually, brought that scandal & it’s heartbreaking impact to life, in the way the news never did, the stunning penmanship of Dandy Smith (or I guess more typing nowadays, than flourishing ink, but that doesn’t have the same ring!) not only really brings the characters to life, but evokes a real understander in the reader of the feelings of someone who had lost a sibling. We are often so focussed on the pain of a parent losing a child it was interesting to really get an insight into the lifetime ramifications of such a tragedy from a sibling’s stance.
I don’t have the words to describe the art it takes to make you feel you are there and feeling the long lasting disruption.
Smith has such a wonderful way with words, a witty, modern depiction of characters and friendships. She has such a clever use of language & description- it’s a beautiful artistic eloquence- but while maintaining the ease of reading the story, without the language being an arty description for the sake of showing skills, it just all flows, but in the style you can appreciate the beauty of the unusual sometimes quirky metaphors and enjoy the beauty of the language which just evokes the scene in such a natural and interesting way. You see it. You can place yourself there.
Aside from the truly wonderfully depicted relationships, I appreciated the plot, which as I found in her last book just twisted & turned like rollercoaster in the dark. Once started I didn’t want to get off that roller coaster until it ended. I find it’s awkward better to start her books on a quiet weekend so you don’t get torn away! I spent the novel trying to pre-empt the twists and how the 2 seemingly separate stories would come together- but I failed miserably. There is nothing predictable in the storytelling of Dandy Smith. I was enthralled to the end! My only frustration about her works, is that as a newer author I have to exert patience and wait for the next twisty gripping read! May it come soon!