Review: What a tangled web we weave...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2013
Eight years ago, teenage Lachlan Hunt was injured in a rock-climbing accident that left him unconscious for almost a year. Now aged twenty-five and financially independent, he decides to leave New York and return to his childhood home of Sydney in the hope of reconnecting with Stephanie, his former girlfriend, who had been pregnant when he had his accident.This announcement shocks his parents, Ellen and David, as they realise they will now have confess the lies they told all those years before, like telling Stephanie that Lachlan was dead, and not telling Lachlan that his son was not miscarried, but in fact was born and is now being raised by his sister, Tania, after Stephanie's Aunt Sophia forced Stephanie to give Ryan up. And that's not the end of the secrets...Lachlan is single-minded in his desire to reunite with Stephanie and claim their son to raise, almost to the point of becoming hard-headed. He knows what he wants, and barely stops to think about the impact of his plans on others, in particular, Ryan and Tania. And Stephanie suffered severe depression after giving up Ryan, and isn't convinced she would be the best mother for him. Tania is naturally distraught at the thought that her own brother might destroy her small family, while David and Ellen have their own lies to face.This is a quick read, partly because it is so engaging. On the face of it, the tangled web of lies sounds as though it could have come straight out of a daytime soap opera, yet the author manages to tell the story without descending into melodrama. The characters were likeable and their reactions felt true-to-life (although I sincerely hope that situations like this aren't as common in real life as they are in fiction).Although this is published by a Christian publisher, the faith element is very understated. Ellen and David are Christians, but the faith of the other characters is less clear-cut, and this a novel that can be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. An excellent Australian read.Thanks to Even Before Publishing for providing a free ebook for review.