In The Absence Of Miracles by Michael J Malone @OrendaBooks @michaelJmalone1 @annecater

Book Description:

A young man discovers a family secret that turns his world upside down in this dark, emotive, shocking psychological thriller by number-one bestselling author Michael J. Malone

John Docherty’s mother has just been taken into a nursing home following a massive stroke and she’s unlikely to be able to live independently again.

With no other option than to sell the family home, John sets about packing up everything in the house. In sifting through the detritus of his family’s past he’s forced to revisit, and revise his childhood.
For in a box, in the attic, he finds undeniable truth that he had a brother who disappeared when he himself was only a toddler. A brother no one ever mentioned. A brother he knew absolutely nothing about. A discovery that sets John on a journey from which he may never recover.

For sometimes in that space where memory should reside there is nothing but silence, smoke and ash. And in the absence of truth, in the absence of a miracle, we turn to prayer. And to violence.

Shocking, chilling and heartbreakingly emotive, In the Absence of Miracles is domestic noir at its most powerful, and a sensitively wrought portrait of a family whose shameful lies hide the very darkest of secrets.

My Thoughts:

John is your everyday type of bloke. He seems to have some commitment issues and even though he knows he loves his girlfriend, something is holding him back from giving her his all. To be fair he does have his hands full with his work and visiting his mother who has ended up in a home after a stroke.

The box that he finds in the attic leads him into making some shocking discoveries and boy do I mean shocking. What follows then, is quite a harrowing and powerful read.

The author has a gift for writing about a hard subject and making it a totally compelling read. Sexual abuse is such an horrific thing to happen to anyone and even in fiction, it doesn’t make it any easier. Malone writes with a wealth of knowledge and you can tell he has done his homework. Some parts were so tough to read but it was done in a way that whilst the full extent of abuse isn’t gone into, it still had the full horrors and impact that is needed to hit the reader hard and having you care about these characters.

There is a web of lies and secrets to be uncovered and I was so wrapped up in what was happening. The outside world was lost to me as I devoured every page of this book. There are some bombshells that left me speechless. One especially I had to put the book down whilst it sank in what I had just read. I sure as hell didn’t see that coming!

In The Absence of Miracles literally left me speechless. More than on one occasion. The author writes so beautifully, drawing you in, making you not want to leave. Whilst I found some parts very emotional to read, I had to keep reading on to see where the author was going to take me next. A dark, harrowing and heart wrenching novel that packs more than a punch.

My thanks to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for a readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

In The Absence Of Miracles is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).