Whistle in the Dark is not a happy read but it is still a good book.

However, I have to admit that even though I was engaged by the characters and the story, I personally found the whole experience quite depressing and the writing self-indulgent and sometimes even rambling.

The portrayal of the troubled teenager Lana was very true to life and quite heart breaking in places, but I'm afraid that by the end I found her mother, Jen (who narrates the story) was far too self absorbed and annoying to care about - but perhaps that is the whole point of the story.

Thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read this book - unfortunately it must go on my 'not for me' pile.

I really enjoyed Elizabeth is Missing so was looking forward to reading this but was disappointed by the depressing narrative. Great concept with the parents of a self-harming teen trying to help her recover from a mysterious ordeal where she disappeared without trace in the Derbyshire hills and was found injured, wet and staring a few days later by a farmer. She refuses to answer any questions and her parents are left to deal with her recovery and try to solve the mystery. There follows several hundred pages of unrelenting misery as her slightly neurotic mother imagines the worst whilst stalking her on social media to try to find out more. It soon becomes clear that part of the problem is mother and her over-active imagination, seeing menacing people who aren’t there and trying to help her family in a way guaranteed to drive her daughters away. A shame as it was a good idea with well drawn characters but I could have done with something to lighten the load.

I enjoyed this book- admittedly not as much as Elizabeth Is missing- and also the subject matter is so dark it hardly seems appropriate to say I enjoyed it. The story focuses on Lana, a teenage girl who has gone missing and now been found, but is not answering any questions about what happened to her, and her mother’s desperate struggle to find out what happened, whilst tiptoeing around her daughter for fear of pushing her over the edge. The dark subject matter is mental health and this is a keen study in the impact this hasn’t on the family, and how we treat those with mental health issues.

The story opens with Lana, aged 15, being hustled into the back of an ambulance having just been found, after going missing for several days. Her mother, Jan, is both desperately worried and relieved to see that she is alive and talking. The book deals with the aftermath, Lana can’t remember, or is refusing to say, where she was or what happened to her. Lana has been suffering from depression for some time and her family have been struggling to cope. The book is well written and the characters are believable, but whilst I was initially interested and keen to find out exactly what did go on, I did find the story depressing and not all that interesting. The book follows Lana’s depression and her mother’s desperation to help her. It shows how depression affects those around you and the strain it puts on everything. You do eventually find out what happened, and the further you read the more clear the answer becomes. Not really a book for me- too depressing and I got a bit bored. Sorry.

I jumped at the opportunity to read this book because I'd really enjoyed the author's previous book Elizabeth is Missing. Whistle in the Dark is also really great - but it made me feel super anxious. Jen's obsession with her daughter's unexplained disappearance dips into total paranoia at times and it made me feel like I needed to finish the book simply to resolve the issues she was having. Clearly, Emma Healey is a very talented author but I'd recommend giving this book a wide berth if you think it could trigger some of your own anxiety issues.

I loved Emma Healy's debut novel, Elizabeth is Missing. When I saw this one on NetGalley I got really excited and requested it. So a big thank you for the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book.

This is the story of Jen and Lana, a mother and her teenage daughter. It's mostly about Jen, always worrying, thinking for her daughter, assessing the rights and wrongs in their relationship and her decisions. Jen is a loving mum to her two daughters- Lana has a big sister called Meg-, she is an easily likable character with real worries, as a mum I can relate to her a lot.

<quote>She didn't mind being mum to her children, of course, that was normal. But from other people - health professionals especially-  it felt wrong,  weird, paralysing.</quote>

One day Lana and Jen go to Peak District where the hope of a pastoral holiday turns into a nightmare for Jen, after Lana's four day long disappearance. 

<quote>Jen had a sensation of clutching at nothing, though her hands didn't move, and she walked around the series of outbuildings, her steps weighty in the thin morning air. It was too early to believe yet, but she believed it anyway. Lana was gone.</quote>

After she is found safe and sound, Lana says she doesn't remember anything. Nothing. Not knowing what Lana did for these four days eats Jen. The aftermath of what happened, why it happened, and how it happened haunts her.  Was she with Matthew, another youth Lana befriended during their stay, or the worryingly-religious Stephen, who believes children could visit hell and come back? She wants to know, but there are no answers in Lana. 

<quote>..there were thoughts Jen tried not to think when Lana was near, in case her daughter saw the questions on her face.</quote>

Jen and Lana's relationship is explored and told masterfully mostly within Jen's feelings, from the times Lana was a small baby to her troublesome teenage years. There is magic for Jen in her ordinary life, where she thinks she's done a deal about Lana's name with a stranger, or when she thinks 'the depressed' Lana might have been replaced, she has a quirky way of thinking which is a delight to read.

A child growing up to become a stranger is a worry for every parent. It scares me to think when my son will ask for a mobile phone for himself, for instance. The idea of him being able to communicate with everyone, anytime without any limits is frightening. The novel puts a finger on all these worries. It explores the subjects like teenage depression, the use of social media, confidence issues, family members falling apart. Healey writes about these so elegantly and naturally. 

<quote>Happiness was doing everything wrong and finding that things had turned out okay, anyway. Happiness was obliviousness, it was not having to read books about adolescent mental health, it was eating dinner in front of the TV without consequences, it was buying your children mobile phones and feeding them crisps and forgetting to check with their homework. Happiness was everyone in the same room, captivated by their own digital device.</quote>

As Jen gets closer to discover what really happened to Lana; their relationship with other members of the family(Jen's older daughter Meg, and husband/father Hugh), Lana's depression, Jen's worries, are deeply explored and the end comes like a long breath of relief: all the pieces connected, making up a beautifully structured story in your hands.

I love the natural and effortless style of writing, 

<quote>Sometimes, Jen felt as though her daughter's emotions hung about in the air. Irritation, exhaustion or despair lingered like a cloud of perfume, waiting to be walked through, the particles clinging to whoever passed by.</quote>

Emma Healey reminds me of Elizabeth Strout, a little bit. Writing about ordinary characters in such an interesting way is a huge talent. Elizabeth is Missing was drawing a big circle around the word Dementia, and this book is making the same for teenage depression I think. I congratulate Healey for raising awareness in these sensitive issues by writing these wonderful novels. 

I also loved the name of the book.

A beautiful novel, deserving every praise. Probably one of the favourites of 2018, for sure.

Whistle In The Dark is a gripping novel about family, depression, and how imagining a mystery can be so far from the truth. When Jen’s fifteen-year-old daughter goes missing in the Peak District, there’s a hunt to find her. But Lana is found after four days, claiming that she can’t remember anything and she’s fine. They go back to London, but things don’t feel right to Jen. She believes that whatever happened in those four days holds the key to what is going on with Lana and is desperate to find out the truth about her teenage daughter and why she’s now afraid of the dark.

The premise of the book is quite simple: it follows from a mother’s perspective the story of her daughter’s depression, of an attempt to help via an artistic retreat holiday, and how that turned into a horrible four days and a troubling aftermath. It starts as Lana is found, jumping backwards in time in between showing what happens once they are back in London. As it is from Jen’s perspective, the visions of the characters are very specific: her husband is often positioned as useless or unhelpful, her worries about Lana take over all over thoughts, and she finds it difficult to balance this with her job and dealing with her elder daughter Meg’s sudden announcement. This gives a suspense to the narrative as the reader must untangle what is Jen’s paranoia and what might be the truth. At the same time, her mindset also shows the times she isn’t able to help Lana, not listening at the right time or jumping to conclusions.

Healey really gets into the mind of Jen, showing how both mother and daughter cannot deal with Lana’s depression and with their relationship. The other characters feel like background to these two, in a way which actually suits Jen’s singleminded focus and inability to detach herself from the situation to see it in other ways. This is a moving novel that portrays the complexity of teenage depression and how a family might attempt to deal with it, as well as looking at how social media can impact on traumatic events and self-worth.