Postcards From a Stranger

I absolutely loved this book. Beautifully written. A sad yet uplifting story about how your childhood shapes the rest of your life and the decisions you make. Secrets, lies, abuse, family drama. This book has it all but it is written with such caring and sensitivity. Was way better than I thought it might be. Pleasantly surprised !

Cara has uncovered evidence in a family attic that makes her question everything she believed about her family. To make matters worse, she can’t ask her father for clarification, because he’s suffering from Alzheimer’s’ disease. Unable to let it go, Cara begins investigating her parent’s marriage and looking for relatives who might be able to tell her the truth. But the closer she comes to exposing the truth, the more she wonders if she would have been better off not knowing.

I was really absorbed reading Postcards From A Stranger. Cara is a very talented maker of wedding dresses. She has a lovely best friend called Beth. She is also a bit of a wallflower.
Cara lives at home with her father, Joe, who has dementia. Joe was not a loving or kind father. Her mother died when Cara was two, and she and her brother lived in fear of Joe all their lives. Michael has long since moved away to London, vowing to stay away until his father dies.
One day, Cara goes into the attic (where she was always forbidden to go) and finds a box of postcards, each one addressed to her and her brother. So begins a journey that Cara needs to see to its' end.
Postcards From A Stranger has many examples of toxic masculinity, and the choices it forces women to make for the sake of their family. There are at least three men in this book that you cannot believe their wife chooses to stay with, but it's easy for me to say.
Along the way, Cara meets a lot of strong characters, all of them women, that enrich her life. And one man, later on. I was very disappointed with her brother Michael. He keeps a lot of secrets from Cara, mostly out of fear, and could have made her life a lot easier.
All in all, this is a very good read, and would be great for a book club evening.

Okay read. Somewhat predictable. Author has potential, though, and i would probably try one more by this author.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heart wrenching and heart warming story of a family where a domineering father caused the mother to leave. But the children are left to mourn their mother when the father tells them that their mother is dead...

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the eARC.
What a lovely book this is...heartbreaking and sweet, with a great ending I didn't see coming.
The story is told from different perspectives and in different timelines by members of the same family. Cara, believing her mother died when she was 2 years old, is now in her 30's and looking after her father who is suffering from Alzheimer's. The way her feelings are described is very realistic: the irritation, the guilt, the claustrophobia and the love all mixed up together. Michael, her brother, lives away in London and never got along with the father, so isn't any help. At her wit's end, she hires a carer, Mrs. P, who is an absolute treasure.
When she finds postcards that seem to have been sent after her mum's death, she slowly realizes her father lied about her mother being dead all these years. This sends her on a quest,
driven to find the truth.
The men in the story are all quite authoritarian and the women react by tamping down their emotions, ending up more and more insecure. To me it was a sign of the times...I remember my grandparents and parents having similar relationships and I myself sympathized with Cara, even when I wanted her to suck it up, because I totally understood where she was coming from. Our family upbringing can affect us for the rest of our lives - for good or bad.
A must-read, I highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed Postcards from A Stranger. It tells the story of a daughter who is taking care of her father with Altimerzes disease and mysterious postcards that appeared throughout her life. This book was interesting and filled with mystery. It was sad and made you want to know what happened. I would recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me. I went into the book thinking it would be a breath taking, edge of your seat kind of read but it just wasn’t. I found myself skimming a lot because there was so much unnecessary information. The big reveal wasn’t really anything too awesome and it was completely predictable. I felt no connection to the characters and actually ended up hating Cara because she was really annoying.

Cara has been caring for her father who suffers from Alzheimer's. Her father was a strict and controlling influence in her life, but is now a sad shell of the man he had been. Cara finally hires help in caring for him, and Mrs. P becomes an important addition to the household.

On discovering a box of postcards in the attic, Cara realizes that her mother did not die when she was two years old as she has always been told. Stunned, Cara can no longer get any information from her father, but is determined to find out the truth. Her brother is reluctant to get involved, and Cara realizes that he knows more about the situation than he is willing to reveal.

Determined to discover what led to her mother's absence, Cara pursues the few clues she has. In the process, she learns some things about herself as well as family secrets.

Well-written and interesting, Postcards from a Stranger covers several absorbing dynamics: family relationships, caring for a dementia patient, friendships new and old, loneliness and longing.

Read in June. Review scheduled for July 24.

NetGalley/Lake Union Publishing

Contemporary Fiction. August 7, 2018. Print length: 398 pages.

Omogen Clark entices the reader into "Postcards From A Stranger" by the second chapter. It is the story of Cara and Michael, siblings , whose father's memory is riddened by Alzheimer's disease causing family secrets to be locked away. Until Cara begins going through her father's neatly stored papers in the attic; which was always off limits to her and Michael while growing up. She comes across a box of postcards. And, here the journey of of a lifetime of secrets begin to unfold. The reader is taken from London to San Francisco; a sojourn of discovery. I recommend "Postcards From A Stranger" because just when the reader believes that all the secrets have been told, there is one more.

I found this a well written book which deals with family issues such as loyalty, abuse and redemption. The ways that 3 different women deal with controlling/abusive partners is perceptive. Secrets are eventually unfolded and the truth of historic situations revealed. A good read.

Sad but very uplifting book. Beautifully written, wonderful characters. Show how childhood really does shape your future

Postcards from a Stranger is an excellent story, wrapped around a disjointed, broken family, their decisions and choices and the repercussions of those choices for years and generations to follow. It is a story to warm your heart. I will watch for more from Imogen Clark. I really like her style. And I love her definition of 'mother'.

I received a free electronic copy of this modern British novel from Netgalley, Imogen Clark, and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

When I first read the synopsis for this story I was extremely intrigued. A girl, Cara, takes care of her father who is ailing from Alzheimer’s and finds out the mother she thought was dead could possibly be alive when she finds a box of mysterious postcards in the attic. Intriguing, right?

To be honest, I struggled to attach the the characters in this one, which led me to believe in the plot and in turn, the novel. I really wanted to. I love how the chapters rotate between past and present. I love how we catch a glimpse of the relationship Cara’s parents had when they first met, and I appreciate the parallels between Cara and the mother she doesn’t remember. I just couldn’t fall in love with this book though. Maybe, someday, I will pick it up and reread it and try again.

Imogen Clark writes with such fluidity, that this debut novel was an absolute delight to read. The alternating points of view showcased an elaborate web that Ms. Clark wove together beautifully. Cara is such a complex individual, and is yet somehow relatable on so many levels. I found myself cheering her on throughout the story, hoping that she could solve this most complex puzzle in her life.

The author also deals well with the stark reality of caring for an aging and/or terminally ill parent. The reader is privy to Cara's most honest feelings about her situation, and the true difficulties she faces on a daily basis in having to care for her father.

Several twists and turns had me guessing throughout the novel, and the "big reveal" was certainly unexpected! I look forward to reading more of Ms. Clark's upcoming work, as I can sense that her literary career will surely blossom.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for gifting me with this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the book from the moment I started reading it. I was first drawn to the cover and ended up loving the story. There's a bit of a mystery about what happened to Cara's mom.

Since Cara was two, she has always believed that her mom was dead. She grew up with an older brother, Michael, and a father who was rather strict. Cara and Michael weren't allowed to make noise while playing and the attic was forbidden. Michael left the house as soon as he entered college and never looked back. Cara became a wedding dress designer and lives at home. Cara finds a box in the attic full of postcards from her mom. A mom that is supposed to be dead. Cara can't ask her dad about them because he is suffering from Alzheimer's. Cara knows her mom must be alive and goes on a search to find her or at least the truth about why she abandoned her children. Cara travels to San Francisco to meet an aunt she never knew existed.

My favorite parts were reading about Cara and her quest to find her mom. I wanted to feel bad for Annie, but she made so many bad choices. To get away from her dad she goes straight into the arms of someone exactly like him. Tilly was one of the worst choices she made. Where was Annie when Cara turned eighteen? Cara and Michael acted the opposite of what I thought they would at the end of the funeral. Michael discouraged Cara from looking for their mom. Throughout the whole book I was hoping Mrs. P would turn out to be Cara's long lost mom. All signs pointed that Beth made a terrible mistake by getting married. He seemed so controlling. My favorite part is when she bought the dog and refused to sell her cottage. I loved the story, characters and writing style.

I definitely recommend the book. I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and the author, Imogen Clark, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

Very moving story which is beautifully written. There are three sides to every story, his, hers and the truth. This book will bring the reader on a journey of truths, half truths and lies but will the truth come out at the end? Read and learn

With thanks to Netgalley and Amazon for ARC in return for an honest review

A sweet book that I really enjoyed. I think the alzheimers part was portrayed perfectly and hit my emotions hard on a personal level. Absolutely perfect!

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark’ in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

Cara stumbles across some old postcards in her attic-the find and reading them makes her question everything that she knows and knew about her life.
It is a book that gets you hooked. Your introduced to various characters. Cara questions her past , there are many twists and turns. It will certainly play with your emotions.

The postcards Cara discovers in the attic open a door to her personal history she was not aware was there. She's always thought her mom was dead. At least that's what her dad told her. Cara's family has a long history of problems and this novel, which tells the tale in dual timeline and from different points of view, doesn't shy away from the impact of abusive relationships. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. There's a twist in here that rescues this from being predictable. It's well written and a good read.

A really enjoyable read despite the daily struggles that Cara faces in dealing with her elderly father and her distant brother.

I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Cara and Mrs P, her father’s nurse. I don’t want to give too much away but I also loved Cara’s persistence and determination to find out more and track down people overseas.

Unlike many books, the last few chapters were a crescendo and brought the story to a satisfying conclusion rather than a rushed/abrupt ending.

My first book from this author, I’ll look out for more.

4*

I was glued to this from the beginning and hated leaving it down to go to work. There are three different women all affected by a controlling relationship and the difference in how they cope with is cleverly shown by the author. Cara's search for the truth is often painful and frustrating but at the end not exactly what she thought it was. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have an advance copy to read.

Brilliant read. This is a beautifully written emotional story. When Cara finds postcards in the attic she realises that she has been lied to by her dad. Her dad has Alzheimer's which means he can't answer any of her questions. This is a story about family secrets and lies. It is emotional and heartbreaking in places. I would recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading more books by Imogen Clark.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a little mystery, romance and family drama, and you kept wondering were Cara’s mother was. This book kept my attention till the end. I am excited to read other books by this author.

I didn't love this one. The premise-- a woman finds postcards in the attic that makes her question what she knows about her own family and the person who has the answers has Alzheimer’s and cannot help-- was intriguing but I couldn't really connect with the characters and found them all a bit frustrating.

To be honest, I don’t know where to start. Maybe by admitting it took me a few chapters to get invested in this story. But after I got into it, the curiosity got the best of me and I joined the journey as a very connected reader.
The story gets triggered with Cara finding some postcards. They were an indication that her mother, which she thought dead since she was two years old, was possibly alive. From that point onwards, her life starts to change slowly as she decides if/what she wants to know while at the same time she keeps going with her life as a friend, a wedding dresses maker, a sister and a daughter living with a father that has Alzheimer.
Postcards from a Stranger felt like a slow-paced story, dragged by normality. I found it engaging and beautiful in its own way.

**A free ARC copy of this book was provided in exchange for honest feedback.

It’s not often I come across a book that I cannot put down. Ended up staying up way past my bedtime to finish this wonderful book.

Caring for her quickly declining father, Cara discovers a few of her fathers hidden secrets in the attic. The author takes the reader on a journey as Cara searches for answers.

A lovely read.

The title of this book and synopsis encouraged further reading. The premise of the story was intriguing in that it related to a mystery from a previous generation concerning a possible although unsubstantiated bereavement. How the current generation Cara the daughter and to a lesser extent Michael the son had their lives impacted and personalities formed by this ambiguity were the basis of this mystery. Written in alternative chapters, the reader is thrust between the mother Annie's story culminating in her death/disappearance and daughter Cara's current lifestyle and problems originating from an incredibly difficult childhood. The story made for compulsive reading with surprising endings to various plot lines. There was a sense of being frustrated in the final pages in that certain questions related to events in Annie's life remained an unanswered mystery albeit the book gave a satisfactory if not totally acceptable ending to a mystery covering 30 years and 2 generations. Would have been more than satisfied if the storyline had covered more chapters to slowly resolve the difficulties resolvement of the mystery had created. Will certainly read other books by this author.

I enjoyed Postcards from a Stranger and will be looking for more books from Imogen Clark in the future.

Cara's story, after finding the postcards, kept me wanting to know what she'd find out and how she'd process everything. The plot dealt with the issue of abusive relationships in a way that still allowed one to draw enjoyment from the novel.

While not quite as light as what I'd call a beach read, this would be good for that. Check it out, I think you'll be glad you did.

I received this book "Postcards from a Stranger" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. Cara and her brother were never allowed to go into the attic. She is older now and taking care of her father who has Alzheimers. Cara cannot believe it when she sees the attic and she does some snooping and finds these postcards. Who wrote them? She has never seen them before and the postmarks stop when she turns 18. She begins to discover a lot about her family. Did her mother die when she was two? Does her brother know more than he is saying? Was she better off not knowing? Several twists and turns. I enjoyed this book.

this is another great read I liked this book just as much. She has a unique clean writing style that draws you in and just won't let you put the book down. I read this one in 5 hours. Highly recommend.

Postcards from a stranger Imogen Clark

#postcards from a stranger
#Netgalley


Cara grows up without a mother. Her mom died when she was little. Her dad and brother take care of her. She is forbidden to look in the attic, her dad said its too dirty up there.

One day as an adult, while caring for her dad who has alzheimers, she starts going through the stuff in the attic. She stumbles upon a box of postcards.

Who wrote them and why did her dad keep them?

This takes her on a journey filled with secrets relatives she never knew existed, and a huge family secret is revealed.

It kept me turning the pages wanting to find out the secret. I was well blown away with the big reveal and I look forward to reading her other books.

thanks to netgalley for letting me have an advanced ereader copy of the book and the publisher and author.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a poignant and emotional tale of family secrets and lies. A controlling father and a distant brother and a dutiful daughter make up the family dynamic. Cara is the daughter who struggles to juggle her wedding dress business whilst caring for her father who suffers with Alzheimers.

I loved Cara, her gentleness and her artistic ability, her relationship with her best friend and the way she saw the best in people. I will definitely look for more books by this talented author.

I had been wanting to read this book since I first heard about it on Goodreads. It appealed to my love of history and how circumstances can change people's lives. "Postcards from a Stranger" certainly fit my criteria.

The story is about a family whose mother presumably past away when Cara and her brother were very young. The father was left with 2 children to raise. He tried his best, but had one rule. They must never enter the attic. The children never did. Now the father is old and his health is deteriorating from Alzheimer's disease. Cara is his caretaker. She enters the attic (feeling guilty) looking for an object, but finds a box of postcards from an unknown person. She believes them to be from her mother, but she's been told that her mother is dead. And the story takes off from there.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable and I read it in 2 days. However, I felt pulled along through Cara's journey. The book was occasionally slow and a little ponderous. Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this novel.

I wasn't sure about this book but the author has you hooked from page one, it is a real page-turner! The characters and the way they are connected are brilliant with an intriguing story line that will keep you guessing.
A great read that I would really recommend.

A good book appealing to my love of history. However at times the book was a bit slow. Well worth a read

Book Review: Postcards from a Stranger ****
Posted on October 7, 2018

I am proud to be a Ten Reviews or More reviewer on Net Galley.

I was sent this e-book, free-of-charge (yay!) by NetGalley, in return for an honest review.So here it is (It’s been hanging around meaning to be posted for quite a while!):

The Net Galley synopsis says:

A secret lies buried at the heart of her family—but it can’t stay hidden forever.

When Cara stumbles across a stash of old postcards in the attic, their contents make her question everything she thought she knew.

The story she pieces together is confusing and unsettling, and appears to have been patched over with lies. But who can tell her the truth? With her father sinking into Alzheimer’s and her brother reluctant to help, it seems Cara will never find the answers to her questions. One thing is clear, though: someone knows more than they’re letting on.

Torn between loyalty to her family and dread of what she might find, Cara digs into the early years of her parents’ troubled marriage, hunting down long-lost relatives who might help unravel the mystery. But the picture that begins to emerge is not at all the one she’d expected—because as she soon discovers, lies have a habit of multiplying . . .

I enjoyed the book – the mystery at the heart of the story was interesting, and I found myself rooting for Cara from the very beginning, although I did feel she let her brother get away with rather too much!

The story centres around Cara who is caring for her father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and through a random discovery, she starts to find out that the story she had been told about her mother’s death is not true. She then begins a journey of discovery, trying to unravel the truth from lies, and she uncovers things that perhaps she would rather not have known, about her family, and her childhood.

The characters were engaging, well-written, and believable; the story itself was gripping, and poignant. I would definitely recommend this book. Four stars.

Short and sweet, though I enjoyed the story I was waiting for it to pick up pace and when it all tied together at the end, I felt like it hadn’t fully got going. However, I did enjoy it

An emotional story about a dysfunctional family with past histories that colour perceptions (sometimes incorrectly) and lead to some secrets being revealed.
Cara was told her mother died when she was very small which she believes until she’s finds something in the attic which may contradict this. She has since been living with her father, latterly looking after him in his Alzheimer hit years which makes finding the truth more difficult. Her brother appears aloof and not interested but it soon becomes clear why he feels this way.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advance copy.

She was always led to believe her mother died when she was 2 years old, and her upbringing was a little neglectful. It's only when she discovers dozens of postcards in the attic from her mother, sent years after her death that she realizes her mom may still be alive, and tries to hunt her down. I wasn't fond of the characters but it was a good book all in all.

This was a light breezy read though the topic was definitely a deep one. Cara finds postcards in the trunk which opens up the proverbial can of worms. Trying to decipher and get to the bottom of her parents' marriage and what really happened decades ago causes Cara to travel to the United States and then back to London till a funeral brings the past to the present.

The author Imogen Clark has tried to bring twists and suspense and a sense of family to this clearly difficult topic of bullying in a marriage and life in the 80's where women were not allowed to work. But the novel did not touch the depths of emotions that I should have ideally felt. It did tell the story from different viewpoints and in different timelines. I could understand the problems women go through in this story, we still have those in my country. There was a definite struggle even where there was supposedly freedom. All the men were atrocious and controlling in the entire book, they were typecasted.

Friendships and relationships were shown, but I couldn't connect to any of the characters. So for me it was a 2 hour read in between my thrillers to divert my mind though this could have been a real family saga had it just allowed feelings to seep into the pages.

Overall, I enjoyed parts of it, but I couldn't really immerse myself into the story.

This is a heartwarming yet heartbreaking book, I enjoyed this book and would defiantly read another book by Imogen.
Defiantly worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book, it was full of emotions going from highs to lows. Cara is a wedding dress designer who lives with her elderly father who’s suffering from Alzheimer's. As far as she’s concerned, her mother died when she was 2 years old and she and her brother Michael were brought up by her father. Then she finds some postcards in the attic from her mother, except they were sent years after her death. Did her mum really die? She can’t ask her father so she starts to investigate herself. At one point I thought ‘ah ha, it’s got a twist and I’ve guessed it’ but that is exactly what you are meant to believe and it’s very cleverly done. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for letting me review this book.

A very enjoyable and emotional read about a very disfunctional family. I liked the characters especially Mrs P. Recommended.

This wasn’t my normal type of book but the cover drew me in and the idea of it was so interesting so I requested it. I’m so glad I did! Such a good story! I loved it.

I was very annoyed by the ending of this. A good book ruined by a poorly written end where it just fizzles out. Perhaps I just was hoping for something more dramatic or tragic considering the rest of the book so it just seemed quiet. I honestly hated the character of the mother. She seemed insipid, pathetic, weak, and I can’t blame the daughter’s Ire. The father was probably the best written character even for a supporting role. You want to hate him, but you really really can’t at the end. I empathized a lot with the daughter in the book which I think is a credit to the writer. A good book overall, the writing is well done and the characters came across as likable and real.

With thanks to Netgalley

I wish I could say that I really enjoyed this book, it seemed to be the type of book that I would normally read. However it just didn't hold my attention all that much, but it was still an good book.

Great story, intriguing plot that I could not put down. Well worth a read, and would recommend to others.