Lacey's House

Lacey Carmichael leads a solitary life. To her neighbours she is the mad old woman who lives at the end of the lane, crazy but harmless.

Until she is arrested on suspicion of murder.

When Rachel Moore arrives in the village, escaping her own demons, the two women form an unlikely bond. Unraveling in each other tales of loss and heartache, they become friends.

Rachel sees beyond the rumours, believing in her innocence, but as the details of Lacey’s life are revealed, Rachel is left questioning where the truth really lies.

I was browsing books on Netgalley one day and came across this one and was delighted when Legend Press allowed me to review.

I think this book will stay with me for a very very long time. I was incredibly moved by the story that Joanne Graham had so beautifully put together.

This was an incredibly sad and poignant tale about how two different women came together and the pain and sadness that each of them had suffered throughout their lives.  We see how their lives change from the friendship that they develop with each other and how they are able to come to terms with their pasts, through sharing their stories with one another.

Joanne Graham gets right to the very soul of the main characters, Lacey and Rachel. It was the way the book was written that this was so achievable by the author. The books’ chapters alternate between Lacey and Rachel and this is how the reader gets right into the minds of both women.  

Rachel’s chapters are written in the first person and she comes across as very much in the present, whereas Lacey’s chapters are written in the third person, which I thought was so clever of the author to do as Lacey, as the story unfolds, is never really in the present, her past being very much what has dominated her whole life and we can see why see finds it so hard to completely live in the present.

The character that I felt the most pain for was Lacey, this poor woman had been put through hell all because of an extremely abusive Father and he shaped her whole life even after he was dead. It reminded me of how much women went through and how powerless they were.

I was completely lost in this story; it was intensely absorbing and sucks you in right from the start. When I finished I could not quite believe I had been reading a story and it had not actually been happening around me; I had been that emotionally involved with the characters. It amazed me that these two women had to endure so much in their young lives and yet even Lacey was some how still standing.

The anger, sorrow and pain I felt, particularly for Lacey went right to the core of me. I wanted to reach in and take her away from all that was happening to her. I couldn’t believe that her Father could be so cruel and that one person could go through so much suffering.

Through each other Rachel and Lacey give each other the little bit of happiness that they had so deserved. Particularly for Lacey because what she went through was so horrifying; no one deserves to go through that. 

This story was difficult and painful to read at times, but it was so compelling I just had to read on. For a debut novel this was incredible. Joanne Graham is an extremely talented author and I thoroughly recommend this and cannot wait for her next novel.

Lacey’s House is out now.

9.5/10