12 June 2020

The Accident


By C.L. Taylor
Psychological Thriller

My Review


15-year-old Charlotte Jackson is in a coma in hospital. Her mother Sue, needing to know why she deliberately stepped in front of a bus, begins to delve into her daughter's past. She reads a shocking entry in Charlotte's diary which leads her to mistrust everyone around her.

The story is told through dual timelines — the present day and the 1990s. Could the reason for Charlotte's 'accident' lie hidden in her mother's murky past? I thought the alternating timelines worked incredibly well and slotted seamlessly together. I really enjoyed being given snippets of a much younger Sue and discovering how she came to be living her current life.

The book contains scenes of domestic violence and sexual abuse but these are handled with integrity and empathy by the author. They seemed realistic and well-written. Less interesting (for me anyway!) were the events leading to Charlotte's coma; I was far more engrossed with Sue's tragic past. 

Although over 400 pages long, I flew through the book and thought it was a great psychological thriller.

Please Note: The USA edition of this book is entitled 'Before I Wake'          

Book Source: Purchased copy
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins UK (10th April 2014)

The Blurb


The person you trust most may only be telling you half the story …

Sue Jackson has the perfect family but when her teenage daughter Charlotte deliberately steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma she is forced to face a very dark reality.

Retracing her daughter’s steps she finds a horrifying entry in Charlotte’s diary and is forced to head deep into Charlotte’s private world. In her hunt for evidence, Sue begins to mistrust everyone close to her daughter and she’s forced to look further, into the depths of her own past.

There is a lot that Sue doesn’t know about Charlotte’s life. But then there’s a lot that Charlotte doesn’t know about Sue’s …

The Author



Taylor was born in Worcester and obtained her degree in Psychology from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

After graduating, she moved to London for two years and then spent 13 years in Brighton, where she began to write. 

She worked as a graphic designer, web developer, and instructional designer. She now lives in Bristol, with her partner and their son, and writes full-time.

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