#NewRelease #FamilySaga #WomensFiction My #Bookreview of Connectedness by @SandraDanby

4 stars

Connectedness can be placed within the wide-ranging genre known as ‘women’s fiction’ and features the effect that adoption has on all those involved. This book contains characters from Danby’s previous book Ignoring Gravity and although this can be read as a standalone, some readers might enjoy reading the books in sequence.

The story introduces us to Justine; she’s an artist. Her mother has recently died and Justine looks back at her life, questioning many of her decisions. Through a series of flashbacks, we are taken to 1982. Justine was studying art in Spain for a year. Knowing how hard her parents had worked to finance her trip, she refused to ask them for help when she ran out of money. Instead she struggled to survive as best she could.

Years later Justine has made a success of her life in the art world. At an exhibition she meets journalist Rose Haldane, who has been commissioned to write a piece about her. They find they have a common bond and Justine asks Rose to help her find something precious she fears is lost.

I would describe this as a slow-burner read. It is full of beautifully rich descriptions which involve all the senses. I could see, hear and even taste many of the items that surrounded Justine. There were lots of intriguing layers too, as we were drip-fed details which lead to the denouement.

The research carried out by the author shone through with well-rounded characters and lovely touches of detail, rather like accessories which make an outfit or room feel polished. Recommended to those who appreciate a well-written story.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ARTIST JUSTINE TREE HAS IT ALL… BUT SHE ALWAYS HAS A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING
Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.
Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her?
This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Málaga, Spain.
A family mystery for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Lucinda Riley, Tracy Rees and Rachel Hore.

Sandra Danby is a proud Yorkshire woman, tennis nut and tea drinker. She believes a walk on the beach will cure most ills. Unlike Rose Haldane, the identity detective in her two novels, IGNORING GRAVITY and CONNECTEDNESS, Sandra is not adopted.
In the ‘Identity Detective’ series, Rose Haldane, journalist and identity detective, reunites the people lost through adoption. They are the stories you don’t see on television shows. The difficult cases. The people who cannot be found, who are thought lost forever.

Sandra Danby