March 2020. Annie is alone in her house as the world shuts down, only the ghosts of her memories for company. But then she receives a phone call which plunges her deeper into the past.

1959. Annie and Rita are student nurses at Fairlie Hall mental hospital. Working long, gruelling hours, they soon learn that the only way to appease their terrifying matron is to follow the rules unthinkingly. But what is happening in the hospital’s hidden side wards? And at what point does following the rules turn into complicity – and betrayal?

1983. Annie is reeling from the loss of her husband and struggling to face raising her daughter alone. Following a chance encounter, she offers a sick young man a bed for the night, a good deed that soon leads to another. Before long, she finds herself entering a new life of service – her home a haven for those who are cruelly shunned. But can we ever really atone?

My Thoughts:

This follows the story of Annie and Rita and zips back from the past to the present. It all starts in 1959 where Annie and Rita meet and become friends as they work together as student nurses. Work is tough and being on guard of the matron is soon tougher but something is not right at the mental hospital that they work at, can Annie and Rita work out what is going on in the side wards. Is this the right way of nursing for either of them. Fast forward a few years and Annie has suffered a loss, but when she realises she can still nurse, she decides to go for it. Present day arrives with Annie suffering with her demons and her memories of the past, can she ever get over what she saw back then? I love a unique story and I always find reading about hospitals back in the day fascinating. This one was just as good and very interesting how the story unfolded. I felt as though I learnt a great deal about how mental hospitals were back then and it was an eye opening experience. Jessica has clearly done a great deal of research and you can really tell. It was a good honest and raw story that I would recommend.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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