Whatever It Takes” by Adele Parks

“Whatever It Takes” is the latest book from “Sunday Times” bestseller Adele Parks

Eloise Hamilton is a Londoner, born and bred, so it is a big day when she reluctantly gives up her perfect world to move to Dartmouth so her husband, Mark can finally live in his. There are compensations to the new move, Margaret her mother-in-law will love having her family close to hand and she will be able to rely in her best friend Sara, to keep her up to date with all the news and gossip in London.

But it seems that both Margaret and Sara are facing problems of their own. As Margaret begins to lose her health and her mind, she wonders if she will be able to hold onto the secret that she has managed to keep hidden all her life and will Sara’s obsessive desire for a baby cause her to risk all.

Thrown into this unexpected turmoil, Eloise finds herself holding everything together but with the strain of having to look after everyone around one her, someone is bound to be overlooked.

I have been a fan of Adele Parks for years. Her books have never really been of a light hearted read, they all have touched on various serious topics such as affairs and betrayal but with “Whatever It Takes”, I found it to be a much darker read. Revolving the story around Alzheimers, obsession and jealousy, I regularly found myself gasping at the sad situations and catty remarks that Sara, Eloise’s supposedly best friend said. I found Sara in particular to be an extraordinarily hateful character, she seeped angrily of jealousy towards Eloise, that I occasionally wondered how Eloise could be bothered with her.

The subject of Alzheimers, can frequently make for sad reading as Margaret’s return to childlike behaviour can be heartwrenching at times, as she begins to discover the world through a new confused perspective. Eloise as the main character is a wonder to read, strong and independent, she takes on many roles within this story as mother, wife, daughter-in-law, carer, friend and hostess and never does her strength seem to weaken

Written, presented and handled beautifully with the dealing of sensitive issues of Alzheimers and infertility, “Whatever It Takes”, is a strong, insightful and most definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a story that will pull at the strings of the hardest of hearts. Captivating from the start, Adele has written another bestseller to be proud off.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”075537133X” target=”_blank” ] Whatever It Takes on Amazon [/amazon_link] and other good bookshops.