Two For Joy - Sarah A. Denzil

Reading Challenge Category: Just wanted to read

Official Blurb:

Leah Smith has a new name, a new job and a new home. The sleepy seaside town, Clifton-on-Sea, is a refreshing change from the gloomy moors of Yorkshire. She couldn't be farther away from her serial killer stalker.
Or so she thinks...
A new name isn't enough to make her forget her past. Leah must come to terms with the events that occurred at Crowmont Hospital, especially when police discover the mutilated body of a young woman. Leah and Tom struggle with the consequences of their actions on the moors, and how they may have led to murder.
While a serial killer is on the loose, Leah throws herself into solving a different puzzle. She meets George, an elderly local man who suffered a heart-breaking childhood. In 1944, when George was just ten years old, his mother perished in a fire at the family home. His sister, Abigail, went missing during the fire, presumed dead. Abigail's body was never recovered from the ashes. Twenty years later, George received a photograph of a young woman bearing a striking resemblance to his sister Abigail. Perhaps she didn't die after all.
George is not a well man and time is running out to uncover what happened to little Abigail. Leah is drawn into the mystery, keen for any distraction from her own troubles. With assistance from George's grandson, Mark, she vows to help.
But even as she immerses herself in George's tragic past, she can never escape the one name that haunts her nightmares, Isabel Fielding...

My Thoughts:

I literally finished book one and ten minutes later started book two. I just couldn’t wait to find out what else was going to happen with Isabel and Leah.
Leah and Tom are in protective custody while the police try and find Isabel. It is also in Leah’s best interests to be hidden away with being that ‘nurse’. The vitriol towards her is off the scale, and she needs to protect her identity the best she can. However, as she starts to feel settled in her new home and job, things start to become sinister once again. However, is it all a figment of her imagination, or are the baying wolves catching up with her?
Throughout this book, we alternate between Leah’s narrative and Isabel’s. It was really fantastic to now be in Isabel’s mind, something we hadn’t been privy to in the first book. Her sections are quite short and sweet, and they are written in the form of letters from Isabel to Leah. They still give a complete insight into what she is up to, how she is feeling and her deranged mind.
I wasn’t sure about the extracurricular activities that Leah took on trying to help George. I understand that she wanted to distract herself, but I’m not sure that side of the story really lent itself to the overall plot. However, reflecting on this, without it, it would have just been Leah cowering in fear waiting for Isabel to catch up with her, and it would have been quite repetitive. At the time of reading, though, I couldn’t quite connect with the characters involved in George’s side of the story.
There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you gripped throughout, and the end is just shocking. Like with book one, I completely devoured this in record time. I actually can’t believe how quickly I have read the first two books. I’m forcing myself to write these reviews now before getting fully immersed in book three and forgetting where one book ends, and another starts.
Another fantastic read, and I can’t wait to finish the series and see what direction the author takes book three.

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