A Version of the Truth by B P Walter

A Version of the Truth by B P Walter
Genre: Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3'5/5
Amazon

About The Book
There are three sides to every story...
2019: Julianne is preparing a family dinner when her son comes to her and says he’s found something on his iPad. Something so terrible, it will turn Julianne’s world into a nightmare and make her question everything about her marriage and what type of man her husband is or is pretending to be.
1990: Holly is a fresher student at Oxford University. Out of her depth and nervous about her surroundings, she falls into an uneasy friendship with a group of older students from the upper echelons of society and begins to develop feelings for one in particular. He’s confident, quiet, attractive and seems to like her too. But as the year progresses, her friends’ behaviour grows steadily more disconcerting and Holly begins to realise she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game.
A devastating secret has simmered beneath the surface for over twenty-five years. Now it’s time to discover the truth. But what if you’re afraid of what you might find?

My Thoughts
This had been a slow paced story, full of descriptive characters and let me tell you the truth, not really charming at all, but it makes sense in the story they told you, you don't have to like them, on the contrary, you should hate them, and page after page the hatred will grow... Because this is not a beautiful story, is a horrible story, in which you will hate and dislike, but that it has to be told; maybe if we read it enough times we will start making a better world for our children.
The story is told between the past (1990), where a young Holly is starting the university at one of the most prestigious of the world, Oxford. Sadly her new friends will not be what she will be expecting and their friendship will get darker and darker till a fateful night where her life will change forever.
And the present, 2019, where the happy wife (Julianne) of a very successful man discovers a secret that will change her and her family forever.
Of course both stories are related, but we will discover it after a few pages, when we will be glued to the story and there's not return of it, because as much as we like Holly and Julianne their lives were connected a long time ago and now is time to face the consequences, even if they will put the lives of their loved ones in danger.
I have to say that it was a little slow for my taste, it seemed that nothing happened till more than half of the book and then the story resolved in less than 50 pages. It is not that I didn't like it, but maybe I would prefer more confrontation and more explanation about the ending...
This is a story to read and digest, think and talk, it will not delight you, it will infuriate you and make you angry, but I am sure this is the idea of the author, because if we don't act against abuse, no one will.
There's always different versions of the truth, but you should always listen to all of them, not only the nice one. Ready?

About The Author
B P Walter was born and raised in Essex. After spending his childhood and teenage years reading compulsively, he worked in bookshops then went to the University of Southampton to study Film and English followed by an MA in Film & Cultural Management. He is an alumni of the Faber Academy and currently works in social media coordination for Waterstones in London.

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