E-ARC Review: One Step Too Far

Posted by Nina L. on 12:00 AM in 4-star, adult, E-ARC, mystery, review, Tina Seskis,

Author: Tina Seskis

Release date: April 15th 2013

Publisher: Kirk Parolles

Series: N/A

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Mystery 

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

Add to your library: Goodreads

An apparently happy marriage. A beautiful son. A lovely home. So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life to start all over again? Has she had a breakdown? Was it to escape her dysfunctional family - especially her flawed twin sister Caroline who always seemed to hate her? And what is the date that looms, threatening to force her to confront her past? No-one has ever guessed her secret. Will you? (via Goodreads)

I was so intrigued as to what happened that made Emily Coleman walked off. It's just unlikely for a married woman to leave her husband and young son alone. I even felt annoyed with Emily because it's just so stupid to do that. She's not a teenager who can just walk off like that. But then, I have this thinking that people do things they thought was the best for the people around her and even for herself for that matter. Also, she had a reason. May it be enough for her to walk off or not, doesn't really matter. We have to understand that each and every one of us has different ways of coping with our problems. And like it or not, that was her way.

Emily went with her new life as Catherine. That was her first name. It was just so odd that she walked off and decided to change back her name to Catherine Brown when her maiden name was Catherine Emily Brown. I just felt like she could have chosen another name since she was supposed to start a new life. But I realized she didn't have that much of resources and connections to have a new identity. So she opted for that. It wasn't really hard for her to have a new life. Maybe in the beginning, yes. But as the year passed, I actually think that she didn't really care about her husband and son anymore. True, she thought of them at times but not as much as other people would do. She was that persistent to leave her life back. Again, what happened?

She was able to live for a year without being traced. She had a best friend, Angel. She got a job that gave her more than she needed. She really was having a new life. Or so she thought. She was also beginning to find solace in drugs and that's when things turn out in a wrong way. Again.

I gotta agree that this was truly a heartbreaking novel. Also a great mystery one. I even had a mental list of the things that made Emily walked off. I was right about two and even then, it was still shocking and painful to think about. Especially the one I didn't even have a clue. The secret that Emily kept from all of us was also kept from her husband. So imagine my surprise when I knew that Ben didn't also know what happened. I guess that's where it all came off. Communication is a two-way thing for couples and it is a must for everything. When Emily didn't tell Ben what happened back then, it was the start of their misery.

This wasn't like the other mystery novels I've read before. It didn't give me hints about the secret as the story progresses. The secret was really a secret. It was only revealed at the latter part of the story.

The thing that bugged me is the alternating POVs. One is coming from Emily and the other is from a 3rd POV. It was confusing because the organization and the flow of the stories coming from the 3rd POV is not in order. It was really alternate. But somehow, I was able to get the hang of it anyway.

One Step Too Far is truly a mystery. This is a story of pain, loss, hope, forgiveness and faith. Despite the alternating POVs, you'll enjoy the story as much. It was entertaining and it will give you a realistic feel. Anyone will enjoy this and learn things from Emily and Ben's life.

Many thanks to Kirk Parolles for allowing me to read this through NetGalley.