5 STAR REVIEW

I have never read anything by Tracie Podger before, even though I own a few copies of her books but after reading Gabriel I have realised that I have been missing out on a seriously talented author, her writing style flows effortlessly and I was captivated with her story right from page one. Gabriel is a broken man who can't move on with his life until he finds out who murdered his wife after the police dept have no leads on the case and they claim she must have been killed during a burglary gone wrong, Gabriel doesn't believe it and needs answers and so he rips the house apart looking for clues as to why nothing was taken if it was a burglary that had taken place not realising what horrors he will uncover the further he delves. This story has a little bit of everything to keep you reading with elements of murder and mystery, and a lot of emotionally heartbreaking subjects are covered with sex, betrayal, and a child abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. The characters are very well written and you can't help but love Gabriel, he is a honest hard working man who is trying hard to bring up his 5 year old daughter Taylor alone. She suffers from frequent nightmares because she was in the house on the day her mother was killed and as time goes by she reveals in conversation things to help Gabriel piece together clues he would never have found and secrets his wife kept hidden from him. This book is very fast paced and you are taken on a journey with so many twists and turns you will be left emotionally worn out by the end of this book. I was so drawn into it that I couldn't stop reading chapter after chapter until id finished it. This book deserves every one of its 5 stars for such a brilliant and yet controversial storyline. Much praise for Tracie Podger for tackling such hard hitting topics within this book.