The Long, Long Afternoon
Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . .
It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified toddlers and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor .
This book reminded me so much of Kathryn Stockett's The Help, possibly because Ruby was referred to as "The Help". It also had shades of The Stepford Wives with the men out at their jobs leaving their wives at home with their perfect family lives. Only they weren't so perfect as Ruby finds out when she turns up for work to find the two children alone and their mother nowhere to be seen and the kitchen a bloody mess.
The descriptions of the characters and the places came across well.
I did find at the end the role of the police somewhat chaotic and farcical, but overall an interesting read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.