The Truth About You by Susan Lewis

[Michelle James]

Lainey Hollingsworth was living a life she loved, she was a mother, married to someone she was deeply in love with and trusted beyond all doubt, had a terrific job managing her husband’s writing career, and lived where she always wanted to be – in her childhood home.  Her life was not without trials, however. Lainey had a stepson Max, who after all these years still blamed her for the breakup between his parents. Her adoring father, who was actually her stepfather and the only father she had ever known, was living with them and was severely afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Lainey’s teenage daughter Tierney was searching for her grownup self, and that was causing friction where there had never been friction before. Her husband Tom was absent more and more and doubts started creeping in. When she received a text message, “Ask your husband about Julie” Lainey’s life, as she knew it, suddenly started unraveling.

Add to all of this was a planned trip to Italy to try to learn more about her family.  Her mother left Italy with Lainey when Lainey was very young and never returned. She refused even at her death to tell Lainey about her biological father and why she took Lainey to England without ever looking back.

I thought Lainey Hollingsworth was a complicated protagonist. At the beginning of the book she was a strong woman who, as the story unfolded, soon became filled with uncertainties and insecurities. She was angry and came to her own conclusions about her husband’s absences without giving him a chance to explain.  Words spoken, and left unspoken, lead to misconceptions. In the end and after suffering so much hurt, was Lainey's imagined “truth” reality?

This was storytelling at its finest. With memorable characters and intricate plot lines, the book kept calling me back. As I turned the last page, I was sad I’d come to the end of this amazing story. This was the first book by Susan Lewis that I have read, and it certainly won’t be the last. I look forward to delving into some of her other books. I recommend THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU to anyone who enjoys getting totally immersed in a story. It was fabulous.

You can find out more about Susan Lewis on her website at www.susanlewis.com

I received this book from Library Thing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.