My Review of The Night You Left by Emma Curtis

My Review:

The Night You Left was a delight from the first page to the last, it's fast paced as Emma Curtis tips the reader straight into the action as Nick, Grace's newly betrothed, is already missing. She's such a relatable character as she does what most of us nowadays have: used some sort of technology to check on where a loved one is. Fortunately for us our loved ones are never actually missing, they've stopped for petrol or popped to the supermarket and we have the luxury of being both annoyed and relieved when they come home. Grace doesn't and we follow her journey understanding and sympathising with her plight whilst being relieved it's not happening to us. Curtis expertly uses dramatic irony to create a sense of pathos as Grace confronts an avalanche of despondency. We know things her friends don't which deprives her of emotional support at a time she needs it most. To make matters worse the practicalities of having the main income earner missing presumed dead are keenly felt. This is predominately a female experience even in the 21st century and painfully highlights the fragility of our perceived security.

I enjoyed the layering of the narrative that Curtis creates with Grace having a past that is slowly revealed to us. Curtis forces the reader to think about the nature of forgiveness, particularly self forgiveness which is hardest of all. At it's heart The Night You Left embraces the emotions that most of us bury deep within such as shame and guilt. Curtis shows the reader how these secrets can never stay buried and by trying to do so we give them a power they don't deserve. Secrets also allow others in the know to affect our behaviour with devastating consequences. There's a lesson for all of us here. The past is something that shadows us; if we're lucky it comforts us but it can just as easily devour us.  

Curtis' crafting is excellent: Grace's first person narrative is always in the present whilst Nick and Taisie's are third person and in the past. This allows the reader to become detectives alongside Grace as she investigates Nick's  disappearance and a possible link to his past. I loved the red herrings, several times I thought I knew what was going on but I never did!

Finally, how well do you really know a loved one? The Night You Left will leave you wondering.  

Thanks go to Hannah Bright at Transworld Books and Penguin Random House for gifting me a copy of this book.