ISBN: 9781503938915
Publisher: Lake Union
Publication Date: 9/6/2016
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 4 Stars It’s the phone call every parent dreads: in the middle of the night, Sandy Cline learns that her twenty-year-old son, Jordan, has been in a car accident. Her nephew, Travis, was also in the car, along with Travis’s girlfriend. All three are alive—but barely. The car was smashed against a tree along a remote and winding road, beautiful but deadly, in their rural Texas Hill Country town. In the wake of the car crash, the close-knit family is tested like never before. Jenna, Travis’s mother, blames Jordan—as well as her sister, Sandy—after reports surface that Jordan had been driving. As the young adults struggle to survive, tension between their parents escalates. But when trust is broken and a shocking family secret is exposed, it creates a perfect storm of harrowing consequences. Rumors in the small town spread like wildfire. When details of the accident are questioned, Sandy and Jenna wonder if their family has been destroyed beyond repair.
As always, there’s much more to the story…if the family is to survive, they will have to come together to confront the terrible truth and overcome their pain. But are some betrayals unforgivable?
My Review
A special thank you to Lake Union and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover! Barbara Taylor Sissel delivers an emotional, gripping domestic suspense, FAULTLINES –how hidden fault lines and secrets threaten families. From teens to parents—betrayal, guilt, trust, blame, forgiveness.A story of how the secrets we hold closest, are the ones that can most tear us apart. Character driven, a heartfelt, moving and cautionary tale, of the lasting effects of grief and betrayal amidst family bonds—and the healing powers of love, honesty, and acceptance. Fault lines among relationships are potentially disruptive boundaries between what people perceive as incompatible or irreconcilable differences. What makes a previously harmonious relationship quake? Told from two POV, two women, Sandy and Libby. Two women which may not have anything in common. However, they may be similar in many ways. Sisters, Sandy and Jenna are close. However, one of their sons causes the death of another. A car accident. Drunk driving. There is a secret. How will they ever go back? Jenna swore to keep Sandy’s secret many years ago. A sister’s bond. However, something happens and she spills the secret. Broken trust. Desperation. Choices. A marriage in trouble. Pain. Consequences. Forgiveness. Teenagers in a drunk driving accident. Who is to blame? Families torn apart. A son, nephew, brother and friend. Lives and families are tested in many ways, from friendships, parenting, marriages, sisters, wives and husbands. A sympathetic exploration of family, where the characters each grapple with life's challenges. The author renders each of them with compassion and understanding! Heartfelt, heartbreaking, and ultimately an uplifting novel sure to start an important dialogue about the secrets we keep... and it could even save lives. The consequences of drinking and driving. How we can help others, before it is too late. An ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions (a great reading group guide included). Fault line: “A divisive issue or difference of opinion that is likely to have serious consequences.” A fault line is something that will divide you and lead to some serious issues in a marriage. Physical fault lines are located beneath the surface of the earth. So they are not easily noticed. The only way a fault line can be recognized is by going deep. By looking below the surface. Cracks. This involves communication-before it is too late. As in an earthquake, it often “causes great destruction or upheaval.” Destruction or survival. (Thought-provoking) Mixed with domestic suspense and crime—Fans of Amy Hatvany, Randy Susan Meyers, Barbara Claypole White and Diane Chamberlain will enjoy the powerful and complex highly charged topics of family. My first book by the author, and look forward to reading more! In addition to the digital reading copy, also purchased the audiobook narrated by Donna Postel, for an engaging performance. I always enjoy Postel –narrator of Donna Ball, Ellen Meister, J. Carson Black’s books, among others.
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Advance Praise
"...impressive writing and affecting subject matter." —Kirkus Reviews
“This is that rare sort of book that grabs you from the very first line and refuses to let go. Beautifully written, intricately plotted, and perfectly executed, Faultlines is an intimate look at the unraveling of a family after a tragic accident. Sissel weaves a clever web of emotional fallout as she alternates seamlessly between two storylines that converge in a devastating way. An atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful journey that will stay with you for a long time after you’ve finished the last page.” —Kristin Harmel, international bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting
“Fautlines is a gripping tale of secrets and obsessions in which nothing is quite as it seems. After tragedy and accusations of blame rip a family apart, Barbara Sissel masterfully unravels the shocking truth.” —Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son
“I was completely sucked into Faultines. Told with great skill and compassion, Faultlines had me feeling for so many of its flawed but very human characters, each of them struggling toward the grace that can only come of forgiveness. My favorite of Sissel’s many fine books, Faultlines kept me reading long past midnight...and the powerful, yet hopeful, resolution will stay with me for a long time.” —Colleen Thompson, author of The Off Season and Fatal Error
About the Author
I am never sure what to say when someone asks me where I'm from. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but that didn't last two years. I grew up mostly in the Midwest, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois. Once, in third grade, I attended three different schools. I finally landed in Texas, but my children were born in Kentucky. People wondered if I was an Army brat. The question made me uncomfortable because the moves came about as the result of family woes. I'm glad for them now, not the woes so much, but the moves. They taught me to adapt. They taught me that you carry your joy with you, and you can unpack that first, no matter the circumstances. Uncrate the joy, then the books. Read More
