The Dark Side was not your usual Danielle Steel fare. It was intense, gritty, and lacked the normal HEA you get with her novels. The main character Zoe had a very traumatic childhood. Her baby sister Rose was stricken with leukemia and tragically passed away. During this time, her parents drew themselves into their own worlds of grief, abandoning Zoe to basically raise herself. Zoe managed to persevere and start a good life for herself. She met her husband Austin and started a family.
Zoe was an excellent mother to her daughter Jaime, too good even. Jaime started having a series of small injuries. Simple things, a fall here, a bump there. But it was more than that. Zoe had all the signs of a parent with Munchausen by Proxy, or MBP*. Luckily, in Jaime's case, she had an observant father and grandmother who were able to recognize the signs and symptoms. Combining forces with Jaime's doctor, Cathy, they were able to contact CPS and get the wheels turning to save Jaime.
Unfortunately, before they can remove Jaime from the grasp of her mother, she has an all too real allergic reaction to honey, giving Zoe the perfect weapon to be the savior once again. Cathy interrupts Zoe just in time to save Jaime's life. Zoe is arrested, put on trial, and permanently removed from her child's life in order to keep her safe.
I give this book a solid 4.5 stars.
*MBP has been in the media a lot recently, ever since Hulu aired it's series The Act. The Act is based on a real life MBP case. I'd suggest you watch it.
 |
| Release date: 8/27/19 |
No comments:
Post a Comment