Ratings10
Average rating3.9
The New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Never Have I Ever returns with an even more addictive novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves—an unforgettable tale of power, privilege, lies, revenge, and the choices we make, ones that transform our lives in unforeseen ways.
Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected that fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of.
Until the day she awakens and sees someone peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price.
Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?
Reviews with the most likes.
I'm almost always up for a book centered on family drama. Banyan Moon brings this to the table with the extra layers of generational struggles and the differences brought on by being raised in different cultures. When Minh passes away, her daughter Huong and granddaughter Ann come together to mourn their losses. For Huong, her mourning feels doubled, envious of the good relationship Ann had with Minh that she could never achieve. For Ann, she's also mourning the seemingly perfect life she'd built that began to grumble simultaneously. Together, Ann and Huong strive to mend their own complicated relationship all while uncovering long-kept secrets that had been hiding in Minh's house all along. I found the book to be a slower pace than I like to read with my eyes. I think I would have gotten more out of it had I listened to the audiobook. Having already purchased the hardcover and long waits at the library I pushed through. Minh was definitely the most interesting part of the story for me. I also very much enjoyed the complicated relationships between the three women.