Thank you to Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK and the Author, Imogen Clark for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review..
What a well written book with well developed characters.that you could actually feel right along with all of them.
What started out as a mystery turned into a bittersweet family story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book..

Well written, quick read about an English family. The secrets in the moms past come out slowly amid a great description of a trip to the Greek islands. I almost felt I had been along on the trip!

Loved the characters ; well developed with all their flaws. Easy, good summer read.

Cecily leaves on an unexpected trip to Greece leaving her 3 daughters puzzled. She is going to meet the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier. Upon her return, she explains this to her 3 younger daughters who are grown as well. Her husband Norman, is her rock and is always supportive of her. I did not like Marnie or Felicity’s characters as much as the others. Marnie is a thorny character with a large chip on her shoulder and can be quite unpleasant. What Cecily discovers about her at the end of the book is unsettling and makes you wonder why she waited to long, letting her bitterness fester. An enjoyable, quick read about mother/daughter/family dynamics.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Three sisters, Felicity, Julia and Lily are wondering why their mother, Cecily, had suddenly went to Greece. She's never even been there before. They realise their father knows much more than he's letting on about. When Cecily returns home, she tells the family the reasons why she left. Their lives are turned upside down and will never be the same again.

Cecily is a mother of three and a grandmother to six. She has gone to a retreat to face the consequences of a decision she had made fifty years ago. She has no idea how to right the past. The story unravels slowly, revealing secrets along the way. The characters and the plotline are intriguing. Everyone was struggling with their own issues. The book is well written and it's quick and easy to read. The content matter had been well researched.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and the author Imogen Clark for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful journey of self-discovery.

For Cecily, the past was never the past, every day of her life she carried a little piece of it in her memories and her heart. Now, 40 years later the past has finally caught up with her, and her mysterious invitation to Greece may just blow the lid off her entire life. Meanwhile, back home, her three daughters are astounded by their mother’s sporadic trip to Greece with no explanations as they slowly realize just how integral their mother is to their lives.

Imogen Clark weaves a powerful tale about the hardships of women and their resilience in the face of tragedy. A powerful theme throughout this book is “family” and the many iterations it can manifest from. The premise of the last piece, though simple in concept is masterful in its execution as Imogen Clark gives us a classical writing style with modern twists. Her characters were powerful and engaging, offering honest insights into motherhood, struggling marriages and separation, career obsessions, and the simple desire for children.

The last piece was an emotional roller-coaster that will have you guessing right up until the end. I appreciate books that are grounded in reality, as ugly as it may be, and Imogen did not disappoint. This is an excellent book for those who enjoy reading family drama, complicated dynamics, and OMG endings!

Sometimes in life you need to focus on the pieces you have instead of wondering what could be missing.

This review was posted to my blog on 07-08-2020 here https://jessicareadsit.wordpress.com/2020/08/07/the-last-piece-by-imogen-clarke/

In a year where staycations are the thing, this book gave a wonderful escape to the Greek Isles.

Showing it's never too late to find family, and love the various strands generally worked well together.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book

Unexpected and Intriguing…
The Last Piece by Imogen Clark is a wonderfully crafted and unique piece of fiction based on a social policy in the UK during the late 1960’s. It is a compelling yet heart-wrenching piece of history that I’m sure was instituted with the best intentions in mind but had long term effects on multiple generations of people. Using extensive research Clark is able to bring to life the experience and its aftermath in a poignant and realistic fictional story.

This is a difficult review to write without including spoilers so excuse my vagueness. From page one Clark piques your interest in the characters and hooks you into the mystery that is unfolding. She skillfully hides the theme through the beginning chapters of character interactions and events while giving the reader bit after bit of information, like bread crumbs on a trail, to lead the reader to the plot in the most unexpected way. The resulting story is a highly captivating yet deeply emotional journey through an experience that may be more common that one would think. I was entertained by the variety of characters and their reactions to Cecily’s disappearance and “secret” while also taken by surprise by the book ending.

Imogen Clark writes in a light, even humorous manner, while delving into a difficult and heart-rendering topic. She creates characters that bring life and authenticity to the topic and a story-line that is well-paced and captivating. The Last Piece is a fantastic story that is both an entertaining fictional work but and enlightenment of a social policy from 1960 Britain which addresses the impact this policy might have had on not only those involved but also their unknowing family members. The Last Piece will make a wonderful addition to any women’s fiction collection.

Cecily leaves for a Greek island without telling anyone except her husband. Her three daughters are thrown for a loop, as she never leaves and is always around and helps out with kids, etc. Little by little we get to see why she went on this spontaneous trip as well as what secrets she has been hiding for 50 years.

This was just okay for me. I thought the character development was done pretty well. I felt I knew the characters well enough, except maybe Cecily, which is interesting. Even though we spent the most time with her, I don't feel I got to know her as well as some as the others. I didn't feel much compassion for her either, which is too bad, since her story deserves that emotion. Marnie drove me crazy, but I think that was on purpose.

This was a quick read and showed many family dynamics. I didn't love it, but it was okay.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions are mine alone.

What an interesting book. I almost gave up on it from the start. It is written by an English author. Their style of writing and use of the English language is a bit different from American authors. I'm glad I stayed with it. It was helpful to read it on Kindle then you could use the dictionary for those words that are a bit different from what we know. All of the characters were believable and well developed. The story moved at a comfortable pace. It was a good, clean read. It did raise some social issues from the 1960's that made me stop and think. This was the time I was in high school. So I could really relate to the main character. The ending was not what you may hope, but it was very realistic. The ending gave the title of the book a double meaning that left you contemplating it long after you've read the last page.

I love Imogen Clark books, I've just read three in a row. I finished each one in a day.

An unusual story, but I so wanted to find out what happened in the end.

Imogen writes with a light hand but draws her characters so clearly you want to become their friends.

More please Imogen, let's get you your house by the sea!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This was the first book I've read from this author. It was a fast read.
I found it entertaining for the most part, loved the ramshackle countryside setting. My favorite characters were Cecily and Norman. I didn't much care for Marnie, either.

This was a beautiful and dramatic story of a family that kept me fascinated throughout the entire journey. The characters were likable and believable. Highly recommended!

This is a thought provoking book, dealing with a woman given up for adoption soon after her birth, to a teenage mum in the 1960s. It is unusual in that it isn’t the expected saccharine-sweet story of how the mother and daughter subsequently find each other, and live happily ever after. Rather it is a much more realistic outcome, given the ages, situations and personalities involved.
The characterisation of Cecily and her three legitimate daughters, and husband Norman , is very strong. Together with their respective families, the author builds a picture of a close-knit family, with very comfortable lifestyles, living in Harrogate. I loved the different personalities of Felicity, Julia and Lily, and how their lives intertwine, despite having very different outlooks on life.
Into this comfortable, cosy successful family mix comes Marnie, the adopted daughter, now aged fifty.. Marnie does not quite fit the rose tinted expectations of her mother Cecily and her family. The development of these relationships is fascinating.and somewhat surprising.
The section of the narrative given over to 15/16 year old Cecily, her pregnancy and birth of Marnie, is beautifully told, and entirely immersive. It really tears at the reader’s heartstrings, without being harrowing. Having been of a similar age in the early 1960s, I could identify with the situation and reactions of society to ‘unmarried mothers’ at the time..
A most enjoyable read, well plotted, and excellently written, I shall look for more of this author’s work.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

You'll go on a great adventure with Cecily and her three daughters. A good insight into the relationships between sisters and the complexity therein. This book shows us that families are not always as they appear. Often they hold many secrets from themselves and others. This story shows us that it's best to just be honest and not hold these secrets in. Cecily was not a spontaneous person and when she left for an unplanned trip to Greece she got the attention of her daughters. The book was well written and a great read. The storyline was very engaging and a page-turner. The characters had a lot of depth. I read an arc via Netgalley and voluntarily chose to write a review.

I received a free e-ARC of this book from Netgalley.com

The book starts off with a mystery: why is their mother jetting off to Greece without giving them notice? The 3 sisters are perplexed, but each is also busy with their own life problems. However, their mother soon draws them into her secret as well. I wanted to like this book more, but the characters just weren't very likable to me.

I have not read anything by Imogen Clark before but I did enjoy this book. I sort of guessed why Cecily took off on her unexpected trip; well, I had an idea anyway. However, I thought she was quite brave to take off as she did on her own at her age - she really must have wanted to go! The story developed nicely, going between Cecily's adventure in Kefalonia and the rest of her family back in Yorkshire. I loved how you learnt about her daughters and the relationships between the siblings..

What I wasn't expecting was the ending to the story - the closer I got to the end, the more I couldn't see how it was going to finish. However, I liked the ending - quite unexpected but it seemed to fit with the story in my opinion.

If you are looking for a book which explores families and their relationships, I would recommend this one. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book in return for a honest review, which I have given.

I received this book "The Last Piece" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This book was not for me. The story line about Cecily's daughters didn't seem to fit into the story, seemed like something extra to add. A brief background would have been better. I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The story line was not very original and I didn't connect with any of the characters at all. Overall dull and boring, predictable.

The Last Piece
by Imogen Clark
Amazon Publishing UK
General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 28 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 11 Aug 2020

I had never read a novel by Imogen Clark but this one is a winner!~ A compelling story of a family and the secrets they have.
Loved this book! I Will recommend it to our patrons.
Thanks to Net Galley and Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC.

5 star

I received an ARC of this compelling story. A riveting tale of family and secrets. When the past shows up in the present, it effects everyone in the family. A complex story that I couldn't put down!

Predictable Cecily is happily married to Norman, with whom she shares three grown daughters. They have their regular family get-togethers, regular visits with the grandchildren, and enjoy their nice, predictable lives. But then out of the blue, Cecily takes a trip to Greece---unplanned and alone. This in itself throws the family into a tizzy, even more so when she returns with her news of why she went away. I think this could’ve been a very sweet, heartwarming book. Unfortunately, it was kind of long, kind of predictable, and kind of boring. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and felt that the author spent quite a bit of build-up time for some of the story lines that basically didn’t go anywhere. I wish I had liked it more, but this one wasn’t for me.

2 Stars

Note: Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.