Book review : One Good Reason - Susan Stairs

One Good Reason is a book (another one !) that I picked up at The Works in their 3-for-£5 deal. I usually go for crime fiction but this book is a tense family drama. Reading the blurb on the back of the book, it appealed to me though, and I wasn't disappointed.

It tells the story of the Pierce family, who are going through the wars. After a violent house break-in, which ended up with them being tied up and brutalised by the intruders, they manage to get one of the offenders into court. When he walks free, however, with insufficient evidence to condemn him, the father ends up having a fatal heart attack.

The rest of the family - the widowed wife, two grown-up daughters and one grown-up son - are left to put the pieces back together and get their life back on track. Eldest daughter Laura is determined to get revenge and tracks down the father of the liberated offender. He is an artist, living the high life in France, and she heads off to meet him, determined to make him pay. She ends up biting off more than she can chew, however, as more and more secrets and lies come out of the woodwork.

It's a gripping read and you can really sympathise with and understand the motivations of the hard-done-by family. However, the main emotions seem to be anger and a desire for revenge rather than sadness, which I thought actually made it less hard-hitting. As the events start to spiral out of control, I lost the ability to imagine myself in their position and couldn't really condone their actions.

It's an enjoyable read though, that has several surprise twists popping up at the end and I raced through it, eager to find out how things would end up.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £7.99

• Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland (5 July 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1473618134
ISBN-13: 978-1473618138
Product Dimensions: 18.1 x 2 x 20.2 cm