Well written but a bland ending.

The story was really well written however, it didn't really lead anywhere and was disappointing. The story seemed too long for such an anticlimax.

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Enjoyable listen

Found this book very different and an unusual storyline. Identified with many of Jen’s thoughts as a Mum and typical teenager Lana’s comments. I thought the ending was good.

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Never gets going

No real mystery, suspense built for nothing. Got duller as time goes on. The plot didn’t make sense at times too.

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2 people found this helpful

Wonderful

Loved it. Intriguing story of a mother and daughter relationship, exposing the difficulties of communication.

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Good to listen to

Good narrator, struggled with the story a little but all clear at the end and then finish !! not over exciting tale !!

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Unexpected therapy

Downloaded this book after hearing an interview on Sara cox show, darkly insightful at times, funny at times, but a very necessary read for any parent, however old your offspring are, in this age of ever increasing rates of depression. Please don’t let that put you off, it is a fantastic ...,not so much a story, but a long article about motherhood and all the anxieties that go with it!
I listened to it on 0.75 speed accidentally to start with and changed to full speed when I realised, but changed back to 3/4 speed again as it seemed easier to listen to and more soothing at the slower pace.

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5 people found this helpful

good read

a story of a mother's struggle to understand her self harming daughter...an account rather than riviting plot

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4 people found this helpful

Brilliant read ,

Brilliant read , why do we think the worst of our kids .Why do we feel like we are bad parents .
I think every parent feels this . This book has put things in perspective what's important what's not .
I loved the characters in this story I could relate to them all . Thank you

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Amusing, enjoyable and incredibly well written

I really enjoyed this intimate view into the dynamics of a family, mainly centred around the relationship between mother and daughter.
I was really drawn into all the characters even the ones that didn’t feature prominently. The banter between family members was amusingly accurate and I found myself chuckling out loud a few times throughout.
The real-life issues were visited with a mixture of humour and sensitivity, and the story flowed well at a gentle pace.
Don’t expect any excitement or action - it’s simply a sweet tale of a mother trying to understand her daughter’s teenage struggles.
Great observational writing. I really like this author and wonder if there will be more to come. “Elizabeth is Missing” is one of my favourite books of all time so I was pleased to find another title by Emma Heaney.
The narration was a little “whiny” for me personally but did fit the characters well enough not to spoil it.

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What ever happened to Lana?

Emma Healey's Elizabeth is Missing was a great success - her focus there was the mental states of old people. Whistle in the Dark focuses on the mental state of 15 year-old Lana, Her parents Jen and Hugh have always done their best for her and tried to help her conquer her depression and urge to self harm. Jen takes her on a bonding painting trip and it's then that Lana goes missing for 4 days. The newspapers home in on the story and when Lana is found covered with strange injuries and claiming to have no memory of what happened, all kinds of fantastical and painful stories are printed about what might have happened - from sex to Satanic cult activity. The truth is revealed at the end.

The story is told by Jen and the pain, frustration and powerlessness she suffers in trying to help her daughter drives her close to distraction. The conversations where Jen tries to help and Lana blocks her and returns to her Messaging are brilliant in their excruciatingly painful reality, as is the disintegration of Jen as the very best she can do is never right. Anyone who lives with a teenager as troubled as Lana will recognise every line. But there's humour too and tremendous vitality, humanity - and hope. The story is fleshed out with flashbacks and it ends on an up.

The narration captured the different voices of Lana and Jen making them absolutely real. The whole comes from tremendous observation and understanding.

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