Beneath the Skin by Caroline England (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"No-one remembers your past. But you do.

‘Antonia, Antonia. My name is Antonia.’
It’s been her name for many years. But sometimes, like tonight, she forgets.
Antonia has a secret. A secret so dark and so deep that she can barely admit it to herself. Instead, she treats herself to Friday night sessions of self-harm while her husband David is at the pub, and her best friend Sophie is drinking too much wine a few doors down.
Nobody close to her knows the truth about what the teenage Antonia saw all those years ago. No-one, that is, except her mother. But Candy is in a care home now, her mind too addled to remember the truth. Antonia is safe. Isn’t she?
The lies start small. They always do. But when the tightly woven story you’ve told yourself begins to unravel, the truth threatens to come to the surface. And then what’s going to happen?"

My Thoughts:

Beneath the Skin is one of those books that I won't be forgetting about any time soon.  It was both haunting and page turning while being completely unexpected.  I requested this book based off of the above description and that gorgeous cover.  This book is being billed as a psychological thriller and I kinda of disagree with that description.  I found that this book was more of an interconnected drama - not sure if that is the best description really but I didn't really find that this book was a thriller.  It was instead this compelling read that I couldn't put down.  It's funny because it is almost hard to describe this book.  The story is about Antonia but it is also about these other couples and how their lives all intersect with one another in different ways.  The way the book is written we as the readers don't always understand the motivations behind each character's actions.  There are questions here and there that leave you wondering.  And there are certain events that turn everything on its head in regards to where you think the story is heading.  I found myself unable to stop reading or thinking about this book.  It was just so good and so readable!

One thing that I found surprising about this book was how connected I found myself to it.  I don't always enjoy books where I don't particularly like any of the characters.  There was just something about them all though that drew me in and made me want to read their story.  I wanted everything to work out for them even when I knew that it might not.  Antonia was especially hard to read or understand but yet I really liked her character.  I'm telling you that compelling describes this book the best.  The ending of this book was definitely one that I won't be forgetting about any time soon.  It's books like this that leave you thinking about them long after you've finished.  Even now I'm still mulling over things that happened and questions that the author left unanswered.  I'm really looking forward to reading other reader's thoughts on this book!  I need to discuss this one! 

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this book and found myself unable to put it down.  I'm really looking forward to reading more by this author.  It was really good even though it wasn't what I originally expected it to be.  I think I enjoyed it more because it wasn't a thriller but instead was something a bit more.  It was different and sometimes that is even more enjoyable because I need that change of pace when the majority of the books I read are mysteries or thrillers.  I can't say enough good things so I will just leave you with this: highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  A compelling read that I couldn't get enough of!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

Beneath the Skin releases today, October 5th if you want to check it out for yourself!