Loved this book. Dark, intriguing & heart breaking it made me cry. First book I’ve read by this author but certainly won’t be the last. Would recommend this to anyone.

Nicola has been preparing herself for weeks for her beloved grandmother's death. What she wasn't prepared for were her final words, telling her granddaughter that there are babies at the bottom of the garden. Nicola doesn't know what to think, so near the end of her life it is possible that she was talking nonsense. However, when Nicola's daughter finds a bone in the garden, that's when Nicola realises that maybe she didn't know her grandmother at all.

This one had great potential, the idea is fascinating and could have gone in so many different directions, however I think the author did too much with it. Addressing a similar mystery in what was really 4 generations of a family was a big task, and I think was just a little too much. If it was condensed down, focused on just one or two I think it would have made a bigger impact on me. That said, it was incredibly moving and sad. It was also super twisty, and while I did guess that twist way before it actually happened, I liked picking up the clues, laid like breadcrumbs throughout the story.

What a brilliant book! It was powerful and moving and it made me think a lot about how women used to act when faced with abuse and violence in the past.

'There's babies at the bottom of the garden' – chilling sentence! The author knows how to keep the reader interested and the book can be read quite quickly. The way in which the chapters are written is intentional too – Linda knows how to capture her readers with flashbacks and letters. At first I thought I knew who was writing them and, as the book was coming to an end, I discovered the real twist.

Four amazing starts to this one!

Amazing book. I started this with a brief knowledge of what the story is about. I was so surprised and drawn in.
A grandmother on her death bed, bequeths her home to her granddaughter with the last wish of herbabies being looked after.
A love storey, a devastating crime to a 14 year old girl, and a woman trying to give her family a large spacious family home, whilst trying desperately to keep her grandmothers last wish.
Mystery, and secrets can nearly destroy families.
Definitely a high recommendation for this book.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. I loved the interaction between all of the characters and how real their relationships are. There was no glossing over family issues in this book and it was really refreshing how realistic the characters were.

There weren't so many twists in this book but there were so many questions right to the end. I often prefer this rather than a book which is filled with so many 'red herrings' and 180 degree switches which make you dizzy!

Would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good dark mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this ARC.

A very enjoyable read, with an intriguing plot. With excerpts from old letters and flashbacks from an anonymous narrator throughout, the story maintains an air of mystery.

This is the first Linda Green book I've read and the format was intriguing. It cleverly alternated from past to present, switching narratives, so the reader wasn't sure who the past contributions referred to. Whilst it was an engaging story, I felt there were too many convenient concidences: without giving too much away,the parallels between the grandmother and mother's experience and the two separate fairy placements suspended my belief . Incredible that two incidents several years apart,ending up connected. Thanks for netgalley for the opportunity to read a Linda Green novel though I wouldn't necessarily read another.

This is the first book I’ve read by Linda Green, and right away I knew I was going to love it. The story is hugely engaging, the characters very believable and ultimately it packs a massive emotional punch.

It begins with the death of Nicola’s grandmother, Betty, in her home in a Yorkshire village - only Nicola is there, as her mother, Irene, is apparently estranged from Betty. Betty’s last words to Nicola are to ask her to look after the babies at the bottom of the garden: words which naturally trouble and baffle Nicola, although she assumes her grandma may be referring to the fairy statues which have been there as long as anyone can remember.

However Betty’s dying words set in motion events which will have profound repercussions for the whole family, particularly Nicola, Irene and Nicola’s two daughters, with dark and long-buried secrets coming to light.

Scattered throughout Nicola’s narrative are sections from the point of view of two other characters in the past, and these are very mystifying and intriguing. I really couldn’t make head or tail of this for ages although about halfway I did get an inkling of where the story was going - in one respect, anyway - and really hoped I was wrong. I wasn’t, but there were plenty of surprises still to be had.

All the characters and their relationships were convincingly drawn and felt refreshingly realistic and natural - Nicola is a teaching assistant and her partner James a plumber - their two daughters, the boisterous Maisie and her quieter older sister Ruby, are also brilliantly portrayed.

Without going into too much detail there are some dark themes here and some distressing scenes, culminating in a very emotional and cathartic ending which had me in floods of tears. Despite the themes it manages to not be a depressing read in any way.

I loved this book and will definitely seek our Linda Green’s other work.

Now, this is going to be a really hard book to review without giving away any major spoilers! You probably think this is a bit of a short review, but I honestly don't want to spoil what I felt was an absolutely fantastic read! I’ve read a few of this author’s books, but this is the one I’ve enjoyed the most. As the blurb says, Nicola’s grandmother gives her the instruction to look after her babies at the bottom of the garden just before she dies. Nicola assumes she is confusing this with the fairy statues which has been at the bottom of the garden for as long as Nicola can remember. When the inevitable happens, and bones are found, Nicola has to make the difficult decision to report it or to leave the past alone.

This was certainly a nail-biter of a book! It gave me the chills and made me cry all in one go! The story was set in present day, but was interspersed with two different characters points of view from many years before. You don’t get to understand these points of view until much later in the storyline where everything becomes clear. The story covers three generations of women, all of whom are hiding their own secrets.

The story is difficult to read at times and the story is both heart-breaking and shocking, but wow, what a book!! It kept me gripped from the first page, just trying to work out what was going on. I could not put this book down until I had finished it, and neglected everything else until I had! Moral of the story – your secrets will always catch up with you!

Beautifully written, deeply moving and highly recommended!

“Look after my babies”. When Nicola’s grandmother Betty dies and her youngest daughter comes running in with a fairy bone Nicola assumes the worst. But what happens when you dig too deep into the past? Each chapter runs in the same format of current day and a letter into the past. Whilst we know the female featured in the letter is Betty who is the mystery man she’s corresponding with? I received this from NetGalley and enjoyed it a reasonable amount. I found that until about 3/4 through I wasn’t trying to second guess what was happening and it was only just before the reveal I figured it out. All in all I enjoyed but wouldn’t read again

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a fantastic book. this author knows how to keep you hooked from the first page to the end. 5 stars all the way

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

The Last Thing She Told Me by Linda Green was a heartbreaking story of secrets, lost and regret.
Nicola is visiting her grandmother who is extremely ill. The last things she tells Nicola is that there is babies at the bottom of the garden and to look after them for her.
After her grandmother dies Nicola decides to investigate this and things quickly start to escalate out of her control.
I enjoyed reading this book despite the subject matter. This is the first book I have read from this author and I will certainly be looking for more of her work.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another great book from Linda Green.

This is a mystery told from three generations of the same family. It is a very emotional and heartbreaking which had me hooked. Would definitely recommend.

A great tense read! Full of gripping moments and twists and turns.
The story was exciting to read and the characters were fleshed out well.

I’d like to thank Quercus Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Last Thing She Told Me’ by Linda Green in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Just before Nicola’s grandmother Betty dies she tells her there are babies at the bottom of the garden and asks her to take care of them. Following Betty’s death Nicola’s two girls, Maisie and Ruby, are in the garden when Maisie digs into the soil beneath one of the two fairy statues and finds a small bone. She says it’s a fairy bone but Nicola isn’t sure and when she digs in the same spot the following day she discovers a tiny human skeleton. Nicola reports it to the police but it looks as if she’s opened up a Pandora’s box, but is she ready for what might come out of it?
‘The Last Thing She Told Me’ is an extraordinarily well-written and touching novel where Nicola searches for the secrets her grandmother has kept hidden since the 1940s and those of her own mother who has secrets and doesn’t want Nicola to get the police involved. There are extracts from poignant letters sent to Betty from William, a Canadian airman, flashbacks of the man who met Nicola’s mother in the early hours of the morning to watch the sunrise, and it tells of the circumstances when Nicola became pregnant with Ruby whilst at university. There are twists and turns as Nicola tries to discover the truth about her grandmother’s family and characters who are good people and totally believable. The story is compulsive reading, dealing with rape and sexual abuse with compassion and sensitivity, and it’s thoroughly heart-breaking, yet I couldn’t put it down as I needed to know the truth. This is a wonderful novel and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

When Nicola’s grandmother’s final words reveal an unknown secret. The words ‘that her babies are at the bottom of the garden’ Nicola does not know what to do with this information. Does is disclose it, who knows about this secret.
As the book progresses there are a lot more secret that come to light. But what is the impact.
Great Book
Thank you to both NetGalley and Quercus Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

This was a great read. Telling the story of Nicola and her family. Her grandmothers final words to her opened up a vat of family secrets that had been hidden for generations. Once Nicola starts looking into her past she discovers things about her past and creates friction within her family.
A really thought provoking read - should you do right by your past or your future?
Emotionally charged and gets more gripping the further into the book you get.

Fast paced and atmospheric. Kept me guessing until the very end. Enjoyed the characters and the story was gripping.

Nicolas Grandma is dying, her last words are " look after my babies at the bottom of the garden" Nicolas Daughter finds a bone under a fairy statue and so the story begins. What are these bones are they to do with Grandma and more importantly... are they human.

Follow Nicolas story as she endeavours to find the truth. Full of drama suspense and mystery this book kept me turning the pages anticipating the outcome of the find.

I would recommend this book indeed.