Search No More by AJ Campbell
Published: December 7, 2021
Code Grey Publishing
Pages: 259
Genre: Domestic Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
AJ Campbell is the debut author of the international Amazon bestselling novel Leave Well Alone. She writes in the psychological suspense and family drama genres.
Glamorous Cara De Rosa has it all: a highly successful chain of family-run Italian restaurants throughout London, friends aplenty and an imminent marriage to a much younger man.
But someone wants Cara dead.
Cara, fearing for her life, confides in her beloved Sienna De Rosa. Sienna, a troubled single parent, is exasperated with the police for failing to find the culprit of her husband’s death five years earlier. Her distrust in the justice system leads her to delve into Cara’s chilling allegation.
It’s a race against time to save Cara’s life. But Sienna gets far more than she bargained for, as the more she delves into Cara’s affairs, searching for the truth, the more she discovers the De Rosa family is riddled with dark secrets, lies and deceit.
But who would want to see the end of the popular family matriarch Cara De Rosa?
“Death is universal, but grief is personal.”
Sienna thought her family was a tight as tight could be, and though she knew they weren’t perfect, she thought she was lucky. Having lost her husband a year earlier in a tragic accident, Sienna always had her beloved Nonna to fall back on in the toughest of times. But now, Sienna might lose everything, and only she can make sense of the brief statements made by her Nonna in a dire circumstance.
There were a lot of emotions reading this novel. The first is identifying with how close Sienna and her Nonna are. The love and connection they share, practically two separate beings were sharing one heart.
The second is Sienna’s need for rational answers to things. When everyone else seemed content to accept the situation- Sienna knew there was more to the story, and she refused to settle.
I loved the way this story unfolded. There were so many secrets and trauma hidden in a feelingly average family. There was so much grief and hurt, masked beneath hard work and success.
I found the use of Sienna’s OCD both clever and heartbreaking. Her guilt manifested itself in a very physical way, and though her loved ones could see the damage, they merely accepted the obsessive hand washing as part of Sienna.
I loved Zach. He was every bit the perfect partner to Sienna. Even when she seemed distant and afraid, he loved her through every challenging moment and always saw her. He believed in her, and he didn’t let her push him away, even when she felt that was her only option.
I found Sienna to be brave, strong, and extremely caring. Despite still grieving for her husband, she put everyone else before her, and she did so willingly. She was very selfless, and her time with her Nonna meant everything. She exposed her daughter, Lola, to that relationship, which taught Lola what unconditional love felt like.
As the story played out, the twist took me by surprise. I did not see it coming and would have never guessed. I enjoyed that Sienna did what her gut told her to do, despite her heart feeling conflicted.
This was a beautiful story of family, secrets, forgiveness, and ultimately redemption.