Skeletons by Jane Fallon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jen has an ordinary life but a good one. It’s the life she always wanted and it fits her and her needs. Married for twenty years to Jason, two daughters, a house in an acceptable part of London, a respectable job in a hotel, Sunday’s with the in-laws she adores and the occasional visit to her mum, Jen doesn’t want or need more. This is happy.
The best part of Jen’s life is family. Her in laws provide the family and support she has never had...until she sees something which cannot be unseen or changed, something, which if exposed threatens to wreak havoc and change her whole life and expose the perfect world of her in laws.
In the run up to her in-laws forty-fifth wedding anniversary Jen tries to hide what she knows but ends up questioning her life as well as that of her family. It seems that everyone has skeletons in closets and with the truth finally exposed Jen has a lot of decisions to make about her future and family.
This is a real treat of a novel. Fallon has once again depicted a wonderful set of characters with truth and insight in a story that makes for interesting and compelling reading. The descriptions of the too-good-be -true in-laws are both humorous and slightly nauseating in that they come across as too perfect and you just know they are the sort of people, who in reality, you grind your teeth about in private! Jen comes across as someone lonely and lost, longing for love and finding it in this wonderful family; it’s no wonder she is devastated when things go wrong and she does keep the reader guessing as to her motives, thankfully showing a stronger side than ever before.
The dilemma itself is one that is experienced by an awful lot of people and as such is very realistic, you can easily imagine yourself in Jen’s shoes, experiencing the fear and feelings she does and although Jen is not without fault herself, there are times when the reader can feel a genuine sympathy for her.
It’s a fantastic, well-written novel which I read almost without stopping, full of warmth and humour despite its seriousness and a real page turner. A really enjoyable read.




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