34 Days by Anita Waller

34 Days is a standalone thriller and is a story of revenge, lies and secrets.

Anna and Ray have been married for 35 years. It’s been a marriage filled with abuse and unhappiness, but this anniversary proves to be different as Anna finally gets up the courage to leave. What Anna hasn’t realised, is that her actions have sparked off a chain of events that will threaten to expose long-buried secrets and tear apart families forever.

When I read the blurb, I was intrigued to find out more as not much is given away with the specifics of the book. As you read it you realise why the spoiler alert cannot be let out of the bag and are eager to read more.

Once I finished the book I felt rather ambivalent about it. The story in its entirety has a good idea as its base, but it gets very drawn out until just before the end when all of a sudden you move at breakneck speed and then it’s over. In a way, you can see it coming, as well as the snippet that might lead into another book, but the pacing just seemed odd especially in light of the revelations. I felt the characters could have used a bit more fleshing out and Anna’s ability to just up and change her life seemed a bit easy considering her abuse. I also found it strange that in order to accomplish what drastic actions Anna’s daughter-in-law wanted, she was willing to use so many innocent people. Perhaps the author set it up this way to show something about a hidden side.

Overall I enjoyed the story as a concept, but can only mark it as average as things seemed to fall into place just too quickly and tie up too neatly.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.