Nicki reviews:  “Mad Honey” By Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

“Mad Honey”

By Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

It starts with a teenage love story.  Asher falls for the new girl at school, and desperate for a new start and finally a chance for happiness, Lily falls for him too.  Yet at times, she wonders if she can completely trust him…

Then tragedy strikes and Lily is found dead.  Asher is charged with murder, family secrets are revealed and inherited behaviours are questioned.  Told from the perspectives of Lily and Asher’s mother Olivia, we see the explosive events of the novel unfold through flashbacks and a riveting courtroom drama.

What starts as a murder mystery (or so we think) switches to something else entirely – something much deeper and complex.  I was totally blind sighted by this twist which left me totally gripped and guessing until the end.

Not the most light hearted of novels, but a fascinating insight into some tricky subjects. You might need to read : “The Liver Cleansing Diet” afterwards, but it’s a novel well worth the amount of gin you will need to drink to get through it.