Review: Dark Blossom by Neel Mullick

Dark Blossom

by Neel Mullick

Publisher: Rupa Publications

Pages: 224

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Sam returns home from a business trip a day before his son's thirteenth birthday and is looking forward to being with his family, when his world is cruelly shattered in one fell swoop. Initially he thinks he can cope with the loss, but finally seeks the help of Cynthia, an experienced therapist, to regain his equipoise. What he does not know is that Cynthia herself is trying to cope with a debilitating divorce and the sinister shadow of her ex-husband over her daughter...

What happens when doctor and patient find themselves in the same sinking boat? Moreover, when they are rowing in opposite directions--one clinging to the past, and the other unable to get rid of it! In the midst of it all is Lily, Cynthia's daughter, who harbours a secret that has the power to explode the lives around her.

Kritters Thoughts:  A small, petite paperback that was easy to sit down and read in one sitting, but for me the story just didn't work.  Sam was a father and husband until a tragedy hit his family and he is still trying to cope with all of the change.  Cynthia is a therapist and is having her own life upheavals and when Sam comes to her for help their lives get very intertwined.  

I think my biggest complaint about this book was that I just couldn't trust either of the characters from the beginning.  I was waiting from page to page for something sinister or something to surprise me and it wasn't the good reading feeling that one can get from a mystery.  I wish one or the other of the characters was a little more honest and that I could trust them for the truth.  All of this made me just not care about the characters and I don't like not caring, I am fine with not trusting, but its hard not to care and keep reading.

The redeeming feature of the book was the twists and turns.  I won't spoil but I liked how the Sam and Cynthia's lives ended up connected.  That was interesting and I would have loved for that to come out earlier and for them to have to deal with that earlier in the book.  

AND the ending.  Call me an optimist, but I like a book to end with as few lingering questions and when it came to the end of this book I had some many questions and concerns and I felt very unsettled and I hated that feeling.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from FSB Associates.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.