Author: Sara Foster
ISBN: 9781925184785
RRP: $29.99
Sara Foster is the critically acclaimed author of 3 bestselling psychological suspense novels, none of which I have read; her fourth novel is All That Is Lost Beneath Us and I loved it.
The book is set in the atomospheric Lake District of England, where the landscape is lovingly drawn. The Turner family has been in the area for generations and their love of the land is ingrained.
Georgia Turner is a seventeen year old with a secret that she has been carrying for way too long. School holidays are coming to a close and Georgia is desperate to share her news with her best friend, and cousin, Sophia. Unfortunately Sophia is ignoring her for an unknown reason and before she can get to the bottom of it they are involved in a hit and run which leaves Sophia hospitalised.
All That Is Lost Between Us is the story of a family adrift in a complacency that sees them moving further and further apart. Georgia has hit a stage where she just wants to be left alone, she has isolated herself completely from her family and it is really concerning them. Anya is a school counsellor, at Georgia’s school, and struggling with her inability to reach her own daughter when this is what she does for a living.
The novel is written from alternating perspectives to get us inside the heads of the whole family. Georgia, her father Callum and younger brother Zac are written in third person with Anya in first person. I think the four perspectives are all essential because we need to see how things got to where they are and how each of the characters are feeling about the situation.
Knowing Anya is feeling an immense chasm between her husband and herself it would be easy to be sympathetic to her and cast Callum in the role of responsibility, but as we read we learn that Callum is feeling that same distance and wondering about the likelihood of them finding their way back to each other.
It is easy to make assumptions and theorise about situations when you only have one side of the story, learning about all sides can have a major impact on final conclusions.
Suspense and mystery shrouds this story start to finish, there are lots of things going on that we uncover slowly. I wouldn’t say it is a gripping psychological suspense novel but there was certainly a serving of suspenseful family drama as we pieced together all of the secrets and betrayals.
I was engrossed in the story of Georgia’s secret and trying to piece together the clues to see where that would lead. The family dynamic was the element of the story that I most loved. Two people who were so deeply and passionately in love then settle into the routine of married life and parenthood, slowly losing sight of the spontaneity and togetherness they once shared. This is such an everyday issue that many couples will be able to relate to. An issue that could be turned around with some in-depth conversation but the words are hard to find after so long, how do you take that first step?
Much of this story will be easily relatable to those who are married and have teen children, it certainly made me think about what I have to look forward to in the upcoming years.
A novel of family, friendship and the isolation that secrets can bring. Most definitely worth the read and I will look forward to hearing other opinions.
I must say I really felt for Anya, trained to assist teens through their troubles and finding it almost impossible to reach her own daughter when she can recognise an issue; something I’m sure many mothers can empathise with. The love this family felt for one another was palpable even though they had lost a lot of their connection. I couldn’t help but hope that things would start to work out for them.
All That is Lost Between Us is available February 1 through Simon & Schuster and where all good books are sold.
Sara Foster can be reached on Facebook and her Website.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading All That Is Lost Between Us so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I find you always know when you have an interesting book in your hands when you begin a chapter and cannot put the book down.
Sara’s book actually reminds me of many families I have known in the past but the one particular thing that I found alike with Georgia’s mum is that whatever instincts you have regarding any of your kids, is to follow that path and find the answers.
The main characters of the book are Georgia’s family consisting of Mum, Dad and brother. Both kids are in their teens with their mum working at the same school as a psychologist. It’s not hard to warm to Georgia, her mum Anya and even dad Callum and brother Zac.
I liked how the chapters would concentrate on one character but I found no confusion of reading each character. It all flowed beautifully as you read on.
From chapter 1, I was on the edge with all the secrets with a few major characters so was desperate to read and know more. In my mind I was thinking of what the outcome would be and was totally off course. Definitely and absolutely riveting towards the end. I think my heart was in my stomach.
This book tackles the issues of social networking and how there can be downsides to it all but also bullying is visible.
This truly was a thrilling read and I would like to thank Beauty & Lace and the wonderful Simon & Schuster for introducing me to another author whom I see now lives in Australia.
I was rapt to receive a copy of “All That is Lost Between Us” to read and review for Beauty and Lace. A gripping tale with a myriad twists and turns, mixed with a good dose of suspense and mystery which had me intrigued and enthralled from the first chapter. Multiple narrators in both first and third person gives a multifaceted window into their world and I found myself at times frustrated with different characters, but also a little scared of my own kids upcoming teenage years. One of my favourite aspects of this novel was the central theme of fell running and mountain rescue, which for me made the book so much richer and more appealing. And of course inextricably linked to these the spectacular natural setting of the Lakes district which I believe gives this story fantastic film adaptation potential. I found this a ripping read and will actively seek out Sara Foster’s other novels now as I enjoyed it so much. Thanks so much to Beauty & Lace and Simon & Schuster for this wonderful opportunity!
I love this book- it has taken me a while to find a novel that intrigued me.
Really enjoyed the exploring each characters perspective and the novel flowed brilliantly. love the mystery that is created by the author about all the secrets.
Loved how the book covered aspects relevant such as the dangers of photographs/social media and also how something that can be considered as useful can be turned into something harmful by people
great book and will reread as well as look out for her other novels
“All That Is Lost Between Us” is a remarkably good novel – powerful and absorbing, with characters and situations that feel very real.
The Turner family is falling apart. Anya and her husband Callum have grown distant and fractious with each other. Daughter Georgia is trying to establish her independence, and harbouring a dark secret. Son Zac pretty much just wants to avoid fighting with any of his family, but when he finds a secret photograph, finds he can’t avoid being drawn into the family problems.
The novel is told from all of their viewpoints, in different chapters. This works remarkably well, leaving us with sympathy for all the characters and helping us to feel we understand them well. Each is drawn with sympathy and clarity; it’s an aspect of the novel that lends it a lot of its’ power. Readers will care about what happens to each member of the Turner family. Can they solve their problems in a way that won’t shatter the family unit?
There is a point where it seems the novel is veering towards thriller territory. It didn’t really go there, but there was a welcome element of added tension that helped this to stand out from other, similar novels. Ultimately, the situations and secrets are ones that a great many people will recognise, or find realistic.
The majority of characters are pretty decent people – even if they’re not all acting like it all the time – and it’s rather nice to read something that is pretty close to the way I experience the world. I found it a really interesting exploration of relationships in crisis – how they got there, how the tensions come to a point of crisis, and what people do about it.
I found it hard to put the novel down. When I reached the end I felt it had come to a satisfactory place – I was happy to leave each character there. Even if things weren’t fully resolved, I could clearly see a positive way forward for them – a hopeful path. I recommend this highly. Lots of people will enjoy it.
Oh Sara Foster you easily captivated me in this book as I found it hard to put down, when I did and continued on it was easy to immerse myself back into the Turner family world and their environment. I will surely be looking into your other books for some great reading as I liked your style of writing and how easy it was to relate to the characters in this book. I think a lot of families have secrets and instincts which are such a powerful thing so I could relate a lot of my own feelings the characters were feeling even the kids. Thankyou Beauty & Lace, Sara Foster and the publishers of this book as it took me away to another world other than my own for a while and may I also say that the book cover is very appealing in itself :)……… till I read and review again 🙂
Although I enjoyed reading, All That is Lost Between Us, by Sara Foster, I felt that some of the co-incidences were a little contrived. The characters were very well drawn and their relationships with each other well written. The beautiful scenery of The Lake District in England was treated well too and I was interested to learn about fell running, of which I knew nothing.
Having grown up before mobile phones and social media existed, I often struggle with the meaningless and mindless issues that can arise. I find it difficult to understand how any person can intrude on another without thought of any consequence, but I know it happens. The hurtful nature of publishing a photo, obviously knowing it would bring hurt and difficulties is inexcusable. This area was also well written.
I found the book to be very easy to read and the relationships satisfyingly explored so that the ending was satisfying. It was interesting that Anya’s story was written in the first person while the chapters for other characters were written in the third person. I have no idea why, although I enjoyed reading All That is Lost Between Us, I found it to be a good book but not a great one. Even so, I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review the book and I thank Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster very much for the privilege.
What a fantastic summer book to read! Set in the Lakes District in England it is a thrilling story about an ‘accident’ that perhaps isnt actually an accident. This is a gripping story and I was really pleased to find out that it wasnt actually a thriller as it stated it was. The interplay between the characters was a roller coaster and often had me screaming at the characters to just ‘say it’!
This is an easy book to read and explores many concepts and issues in a considered and well developed way. This and the character development made it a very challenging book to put down!
Thank you for allowing me to review this book, I am now on the search for others by Sara Foster!
All That Is Lost Between Us will have you transfixed and wanting to rush to the very end in order to figure it all out. The novel is the fourth one from England-born, Perth-based writer, Sara Foster. It’s an intense, psychological drama that is brimming with secrets, lies and deception.
The story has four alternating narrators. The main one is 17-year-old Georgia Turner, a girl that is harbouring a dark secret. She’s also one of the victims in a hit and run incident that sees her cousin, Sophia placed in an induced coma. Questions are swiftly asked about whether the driver deliberately sort out these two teenagers or whether they were subject to a horrific accident.
Another key narrator is Georgia’s mother, Anya, a school psychologist who is juggling distant children and a marriage that is crumbling around her. Anya’s chapters are unique in that they’re told in the first person, which lends the prose a more intimate feel to the other storytellers; because Georgia, her computer game-playing brother, Zac and their selfish father Callum’s stories are all told in the third person.
All That Is Lost Between Us covers just 48 hours in the lives of the Turner family but it also packs a lot of things in. This is a weighty and nuanced tale that poses some important questions while also hooking the reader in as it slowly drip-feeds different clues and lobs a few curveballs into the mix. Foster has done a good job of constructing this world out of so many different parts and vignettes because in the end, this novel still feels like one cohesive whole.
Sara Foster’s latest novel is a beautifully-written family drama and thriller that is set in England’s atmospheric, Lake District. It’s a modern-day domestic drama that shows how relationships that were once close can become frayed and distant. In short, this is an immediate and emotional tale filled with sensitivity, pathos and depth.
I really enjoyed reading All That Is Lost Between Us by Sara Foster, and managed to read it in about 1 week which is very quick for me. It isn’t a particularly short book but not particularly long either.
The book was told well from the point of view of the four family members, and it was interesting that the story was told in first person when it was Anya the mother, but third person from the other members – Georgia, her brother Zac and their father Callum. I liked that it delved into the past to slowly feed us the background story and build up the secrets behind the present. The amount of present that we read about is actually quite short in terms of length of time that passes, but you hardly notice as the story captivates you.
The hit and run accident is a major theme of the book along with Georgia’s secret. Her secret was a prevalent theme throughout her chapters and her brother Zac once he discovered it, and once we knew a little about it I still could not think what it could possibly be that could be so shocking. Eventually right towards the end things were revealed and the dots started to join and it all made sense.
The book touched on some almost confronting topics, and it was hard not to think about what I would do or say in similar situations, though being young without a family of my own many of the concepts were a little foreign to me and perhaps my view of the situations were unrealistic. There were times when it was hard not to judge the characters for their actions or wish they didn’t act in such a way, and due to this I didn’t like Callum very much, and I can’t say I liked Georgia a lot of the time either.
I would have liked to see an epilogue on the book that told a snippet of the story from say 6 months later to see how everyone ended up, as it seemed by the end of the story that things were looking up for most of the characters, and they were mending their relationships. It was almost like an implied happily ever that hadn’t actually happened quite yet.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and it was a very captivating read. I did stay up a little late on more than one occasion as I couldn’t put it down!
All that is lost Between Us is about a family and singular issues of each member. Mainly focuses on Georgia nearing the end of her senior school who focuses on fell – running and her friends, mum Anya who is protective, Dad Callum who is never home and brother Zac who is a typical teenager. All have their worries and written so the story is told through their individual scenarios when Georgia being attacked along with her cousin who is run down, Zac who finds a secret which gets into the hands of unwelcome girls, Anya who is being distanced from her husband and children and Callum who nearly entered into an affair. Trauma unfolds when throughout the story along with mystery when while reading I was unsure what was going to happen. An intriguing story which once I started to read found it hand to put down. Loved each character and would love a part two of this novel. Thank you again Sara Foster!