I loved Elizabeth Is Missing by this author so was really excited to read her new book. Given the success of the former, I think the temptation/pressure must have been there to try and follow up with something similar - but I was thrilled to see the author write something completely different instead. She's a huge talent.

Whistle In The Dark is about depression, love and family, centring on the turbulent mother-daughter relationship of Jen and Lana. When the story begins, fifteen-year-old Lana has just been found, bloodied and bruised, having gone missing in the Peak District for several days, yet won't (or can't) reveal where she has been and what happened to her during that time. Her parents are worried and Jen, in particular, becomes obsessed not only with desperately trying to protect her daughter (who has self-harmed in the past and seems fragile and volatile) but also trying to discover exactly what happened when Lana was missing.

This main relationship is skilfully drawn - heart-breaking at times, as we see Jen flailing and floundering, tiptoeing around her daughter, longing to to help her yet being pushed away and fearing the worst is only ever a heartbeat away. The pain and tension is brilliantly captured, I could relate very much to these scenes, as a mother of teenagers myself, and really felt for Jen's anguish.

The mystery of Lana's disappearance builds throughout the book. I felt the pace slowed a fraction in the final third of the narrative but the concluding scenes, where Jen impulsively returns to the Peak District and discovers the truth about Lana's absence are completely gripping and deeply moving, and the ending itself is wonderful. I loved the structure of the book, with the quirky section headings, and felt that, despite the serious subject matter of mental illness and the stress that the characters are under, the author manages to find enough black comedy in the situations to keep it very readable, and really capture the pain of what it is to love someone who is deeply troubled and unhappy.

Emma Healey is such a gifted author, I can't wait to see what she writes next. Another fantastic novel which I really enjoyed reading. Thanks to the publisher for letting me read this advance copy.

Very well written and interesting story with believable characters. I enjoyed Emma Healeys previous book and this one was better. Strongly recommended.

Having loved Healey's debut novel "Elizabeth is Missing" I was really excited to get my hands on her sophomore effort, and I wasn't disappointed. I read this soon after John McGregor's "Reservoir 13" and there are definite parallels to be drawn between the two, with a central narrative of a teenage girl going missing in the Peak District. In Healey's novel, however, she reappears but with with total amnesia as to where she's been and what happened to her.
Her family struggle to cope with this stranger in their midst - she may look like the missing Lana, but she can no longer be in enclosed spaces and always needs to be able to see the sky. When she starts making secret phone calls and disappearing from the house, her family go to increasingly desperate lengths to find out what happens. When her mother, Jen, retraces their footsteps to the Peak District the excellent denouement reveals truths beyond what actually happened to Lana while she was missing.
This book covers multiple genres, neatly straddling the line between mystery and thriller, with a good helping of family drama thrown in for good measure. At it's heart is an engrossing story of a mother's love for her daughter, and the lengths she'll go to to try and save her from the demons that haunt her. I can't wait to read whatever topic Healey turns her talent towards next. Hugely recommended.

Whistle in the Dark is not a happy read but it is still a good book.

However, I have to admit that even though I was engaged by the characters and the story, I personally found the whole experience quite depressing and the writing self-indulgent and sometimes even rambling.

The portrayal of the troubled teenager Lana was very true to life and quite heart breaking in places, but I'm afraid that by the end I found her mother, Jen (who narrates the story) was far too self absorbed and annoying to care about - but perhaps that is the whole point of the story.

Thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read this book - unfortunately it must go on my 'not for me' pile.

When fifteen-year-old Lana goes missing on an artists retreat, everyone fears the worst. Four days later she is found. She is exhausted, yet relatively unharmed. She insists she has no memory of the events surrounding her disappearance and refuses to talk about it. Lana's mother, Jen, returns to London with her daughter and tries to resume family life. But that is not as easy as it seems. Her need to understand the reason for her daughter's missing four days becomes all-consuming and she begins to question her role as a mother.

Emma Healey astounded readers with her smart, witty and astute debut novel, Elizabeth is Missing, published in 2014. Her second novel is just as precise and observant, with a unique (and often deliciously humorous) tale of parenting and paranoia. Jen is intelligent, experienced in mothering and, along with husband Hugh, has provided a warm and loving childhood for both of her daughters. Then why does she feel as if she has gotten it so wrong? She begins to doubt Lana's short-term-amnesia explanation of the missing days and feels let down by the lack of theories from the police, therefore beginning her own research. Stalking Lana's social media accounts; questioning her friends; listening in to phone calls and private conversations; all the while feeling increasingly separated from her teenage child.

Lana retreats to her bedroom, where she demands constant light and craves a view of the sky. She detests leaving her home and physically leans on her mother when they walk the shortest of distances. Hugh watches his wife's increasing anxiety and supports her the best way he knows how: by just being there. The tension between mother and daughter is palpable and Jen's efforts to 'solve' the mystery of Lana's disappearance take their toll: "Jen was aware of the paranoia beneath her thoughts, a hum that rose in pitch whenever Lana and she were alone together."

Hugh and Jen's eldest daughter, Meg, is pregnant with her first child, and her occasional visits to the family home are genuine moments of escapism and reality checks. She reminds Jen of her tendency to be overly-mothering to Lana and yet delivers some home truths about her sister's dramatic, and often condescending attitude to their mother. Is it just a teenage sense of entitlement and superiority complex or something more sinister? Jen cannot be sure, but she is drained by the atmosphere: "Sometimes Jen felt as though her daughter's emotions hung about in the air. Irritation, exhaustion or despair lingered like a cloud of perfume, waiting to be walked through, the particles clinging to whoever passed by."

Healey blends tension, fear, dark comedy and modern family life. Hugh and Jen have a wonderful, patient and resilient relationship which enables them to stay connected through their difficult situation. Hugh is the laid-back Dad, balancing Jen's more restrictive parenting. Meg is the product of their combined personalities and is a breath of fresh air in a house full of uncertain emotions. When she announces to her parents that she is gay, Hugh "(leap[s] off the sofa to hug her). Oh, thank God for that. I thought you were going to say you were vegan."

While the four unaccounted days are the focus of the novel, the true tale is Jen's need to be wanted and respected by Lana, and to make up for the four days that they have lost together. The responsibility of mothering does not diminish with age; rather the onus is shifted with time and trust in the child's ability to become a responsible adult. Whistle in the Dark is dark, yet funny; equally warm and sharp in its honest look at the role of parenting a teenager in a wifi-enabled environment. Another gem from an extremely talented writer.

I really enjoyed Elizabeth is Missing so was looking forward to reading this but was disappointed by the depressing narrative. Great concept with the parents of a self-harming teen trying to help her recover from a mysterious ordeal where she disappeared without trace in the Derbyshire hills and was found injured, wet and staring a few days later by a farmer. She refuses to answer any questions and her parents are left to deal with her recovery and try to solve the mystery. There follows several hundred pages of unrelenting misery as her slightly neurotic mother imagines the worst whilst stalking her on social media to try to find out more. It soon becomes clear that part of the problem is mother and her over-active imagination, seeing menacing people who aren’t there and trying to help her family in a way guaranteed to drive her daughters away. A shame as it was a good idea with well drawn characters but I could have done with something to lighten the load.

I enjoyed this book- admittedly not as much as Elizabeth Is missing- and also the subject matter is so dark it hardly seems appropriate to say I enjoyed it. The story focuses on Lana, a teenage girl who has gone missing and now been found, but is not answering any questions about what happened to her, and her mother’s desperate struggle to find out what happened, whilst tiptoeing around her daughter for fear of pushing her over the edge. The dark subject matter is mental health and this is a keen study in the impact this hasn’t on the family, and how we treat those with mental health issues.

The story opens with Lana, aged 15, being hustled into the back of an ambulance having just been found, after going missing for several days. Her mother, Jan, is both desperately worried and relieved to see that she is alive and talking. The book deals with the aftermath, Lana can’t remember, or is refusing to say, where she was or what happened to her. Lana has been suffering from depression for some time and her family have been struggling to cope. The book is well written and the characters are believable, but whilst I was initially interested and keen to find out exactly what did go on, I did find the story depressing and not all that interesting. The book follows Lana’s depression and her mother’s desperation to help her. It shows how depression affects those around you and the strain it puts on everything. You do eventually find out what happened, and the further you read the more clear the answer becomes. Not really a book for me- too depressing and I got a bit bored. Sorry.

I jumped at the opportunity to read this book because I'd really enjoyed the author's previous book Elizabeth is Missing. Whistle in the Dark is also really great - but it made me feel super anxious. Jen's obsession with her daughter's unexplained disappearance dips into total paranoia at times and it made me feel like I needed to finish the book simply to resolve the issues she was having. Clearly, Emma Healey is a very talented author but I'd recommend giving this book a wide berth if you think it could trigger some of your own anxiety issues.

I loved Emma Healy's debut novel, Elizabeth is Missing. When I saw this one on NetGalley I got really excited and requested it. So a big thank you for the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book.

This is the story of Jen and Lana, a mother and her teenage daughter. It's mostly about Jen, always worrying, thinking for her daughter, assessing the rights and wrongs in their relationship and her decisions. Jen is a loving mum to her two daughters- Lana has a big sister called Meg-, she is an easily likable character with real worries, as a mum I can relate to her a lot.

<quote>She didn't mind being mum to her children, of course, that was normal. But from other people - health professionals especially-  it felt wrong,  weird, paralysing.</quote>

One day Lana and Jen go to Peak District where the hope of a pastoral holiday turns into a nightmare for Jen, after Lana's four day long disappearance. 

<quote>Jen had a sensation of clutching at nothing, though her hands didn't move, and she walked around the series of outbuildings, her steps weighty in the thin morning air. It was too early to believe yet, but she believed it anyway. Lana was gone.</quote>

After she is found safe and sound, Lana says she doesn't remember anything. Nothing. Not knowing what Lana did for these four days eats Jen. The aftermath of what happened, why it happened, and how it happened haunts her.  Was she with Matthew, another youth Lana befriended during their stay, or the worryingly-religious Stephen, who believes children could visit hell and come back? She wants to know, but there are no answers in Lana. 

<quote>..there were thoughts Jen tried not to think when Lana was near, in case her daughter saw the questions on her face.</quote>

Jen and Lana's relationship is explored and told masterfully mostly within Jen's feelings, from the times Lana was a small baby to her troublesome teenage years. There is magic for Jen in her ordinary life, where she thinks she's done a deal about Lana's name with a stranger, or when she thinks 'the depressed' Lana might have been replaced, she has a quirky way of thinking which is a delight to read.

A child growing up to become a stranger is a worry for every parent. It scares me to think when my son will ask for a mobile phone for himself, for instance. The idea of him being able to communicate with everyone, anytime without any limits is frightening. The novel puts a finger on all these worries. It explores the subjects like teenage depression, the use of social media, confidence issues, family members falling apart. Healey writes about these so elegantly and naturally. 

<quote>Happiness was doing everything wrong and finding that things had turned out okay, anyway. Happiness was obliviousness, it was not having to read books about adolescent mental health, it was eating dinner in front of the TV without consequences, it was buying your children mobile phones and feeding them crisps and forgetting to check with their homework. Happiness was everyone in the same room, captivated by their own digital device.</quote>

As Jen gets closer to discover what really happened to Lana; their relationship with other members of the family(Jen's older daughter Meg, and husband/father Hugh), Lana's depression, Jen's worries, are deeply explored and the end comes like a long breath of relief: all the pieces connected, making up a beautifully structured story in your hands.

I love the natural and effortless style of writing, 

<quote>Sometimes, Jen felt as though her daughter's emotions hung about in the air. Irritation, exhaustion or despair lingered like a cloud of perfume, waiting to be walked through, the particles clinging to whoever passed by.</quote>

Emma Healey reminds me of Elizabeth Strout, a little bit. Writing about ordinary characters in such an interesting way is a huge talent. Elizabeth is Missing was drawing a big circle around the word Dementia, and this book is making the same for teenage depression I think. I congratulate Healey for raising awareness in these sensitive issues by writing these wonderful novels. 

I also loved the name of the book.

A beautiful novel, deserving every praise. Probably one of the favourites of 2018, for sure.

Whistle In The Dark is a gripping novel about family, depression, and how imagining a mystery can be so far from the truth. When Jen’s fifteen-year-old daughter goes missing in the Peak District, there’s a hunt to find her. But Lana is found after four days, claiming that she can’t remember anything and she’s fine. They go back to London, but things don’t feel right to Jen. She believes that whatever happened in those four days holds the key to what is going on with Lana and is desperate to find out the truth about her teenage daughter and why she’s now afraid of the dark.

The premise of the book is quite simple: it follows from a mother’s perspective the story of her daughter’s depression, of an attempt to help via an artistic retreat holiday, and how that turned into a horrible four days and a troubling aftermath. It starts as Lana is found, jumping backwards in time in between showing what happens once they are back in London. As it is from Jen’s perspective, the visions of the characters are very specific: her husband is often positioned as useless or unhelpful, her worries about Lana take over all over thoughts, and she finds it difficult to balance this with her job and dealing with her elder daughter Meg’s sudden announcement. This gives a suspense to the narrative as the reader must untangle what is Jen’s paranoia and what might be the truth. At the same time, her mindset also shows the times she isn’t able to help Lana, not listening at the right time or jumping to conclusions.

Healey really gets into the mind of Jen, showing how both mother and daughter cannot deal with Lana’s depression and with their relationship. The other characters feel like background to these two, in a way which actually suits Jen’s singleminded focus and inability to detach herself from the situation to see it in other ways. This is a moving novel that portrays the complexity of teenage depression and how a family might attempt to deal with it, as well as looking at how social media can impact on traumatic events and self-worth.