This novel is fast paced and could have been an edge of your seat mystery but ultimately it was too unbelievable. The premise is simple, a young girl disappears and the truth about the past is revealed as the search for her continues. The plot strains credulity. I became bored as the same people debated telling the truth over and over again. Also, the time lines were skewered… Marin’s death was revealed and then hidden. At the conclusion, the author inserted it again and it felt out of sync. Not a favorite book of mine.

This is my 4th read by this author enjoying all the novels especially ‘The Sister in-law’ so was looking forward to this one.

Alvera Fields, a women’s rights activist mysteriously vanishes from her home in April 1910. Her husband and newborn baby never saw her again and the mystery remained unsolved. In April 2021 on the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Vera Portman also vanishes.

The police discover the body of a girl six moths later leaving the Portman family eagerly waiting to find out if it is Vera. Her mother Felicity desperately hopes against the odds that her teenage daughter is still alive. While Felicity senses a link between the two cases all the suspicion is focussed on the last person who saw Vera alive, Felicity’s sister-in-law, Marin.

As Felicity makes a shocking discovery in Vera’s journal, she questions who her daughter really is. The deeper she digs, the more she’s ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed their ancestor in a terribly slow ruin.

Although I did enjoy the novel I didn’t feel the book achieved the same high standards of the other four books by this author I have read.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Tabella House for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Ruin - The physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed.

The Portman family have quite the story. Not only do Felicity and her husband, along with their three children, live in the Execution Estate (a sprawling mansion where a family was murdered years prior), there’s also the interesting history of Alvera Fields, an ancestor and Women’s rights activist who went missing in April 1910...never to be found.

In April 2021, on the anniversary of Alvera’s disappearance, Felicity’s teenage daughter, Vera, disappears without a trace.

Six months go by without answers, and Felicity is at the end of her rope. She eventually reads Vera’s diary, and a few passages convince her that she needs to dig deeper into her family if she wants to find out what happened to Vera.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I dived into this book, but I was caught by surprise in a pleasant way. The story started off a bit on the generic “missing child” side, but sure enough...Pamela Crane’s magical writing kicked in and turned the suspense up. Each chapter left me hanging...flying to the next one, and I couldn’t get enough.

There are quite a few threads and numerous characters, but this domestic suspense novel is handled expertly. There were many moments where I had no idea where the story was going or how it would tie into another thread. I also managed to be surprised by two twists I didn’t see coming. The first one felt a bit clunky, but ultimately worked. The second one was a bit convoluted. However, that one also worked in wrapping up the story.

Overall, despite a few moments where I desired something different, this is an entertaining and riveting story. It also managed to be quite moving, which surprised me.

Thank you to Tabella House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 11/30/21.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

It was ok. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t atrocious. It was just meh. Found myself more interested in getting to the end than the characters or the narrative definitely not her best

While I enjoyed this book tremendously, it was more a trilogy in one. There were so many people's stories involved that you lost the original story almost until the end. I enjoyed the characters and even the storyline(s), I just wish it hadn't gotten quite as convoluted. It definitely kept you interested and reading and because of that I'm giving it three stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Pamela Crane has done it again! Just like the other books of Pamela's I've read, this one had me gripped right from the beginning and didn't let up. I couldn't put this one down!

"April 1910. Women’s rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, the case never solved.

April 2021. On the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Alvera’s namesake Vera Portman vanishes in an eerily similar manner."

A mysterious disappearance from 1910 and an eerily similar disappearance in 2021?? Count me in!

I absolutely love Pamela's characterization and the development (or deconstruction) of their relationships. A Slow Ruin is full of drama and emotion and will definitely keep you guessing until the end.

I've had the pleasure of chatting with Pamela with a book club about her last book, The Sister-in-Law (which was also amazing!) and she mentioned that this book idea was sparked from something that actually happened in her family, which I think is incredible. I love knowing the inspiration behind books, especially before I read them. I feel like that adds a little something for me.

Another easy five stars for Pamela on this one!

#ASlowRuin #NetGalley
Awesome.
April 1910. Women’s rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, the case never solved.
April 2021. On the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Alvera’s namesake Vera Portman vanishes in an eerily similar manner. Six months later, the police recover a girl’s body. While the family waits in the horror of finding out if it’s Vera, Felicity Portman clings to hope that her missing teenage daughter is still alive. Despite all odds, Felicity senses a link between the decades-apart cases—a mother feels such things in her bones. But all suspicion points to the last person who saw Vera alive: Felicity’s sister-in-law, Marin.
Marin, with her troubled past.
Marin, the poor woman who married into the rich family.
Marin, the only one who knows Felicity’s darkest secret. As Felicity makes a shocking discovery in Vera’s journal, she questions who her daughter really is. The deeper she digs, the more she’s ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed their ancestor in a terribly slow ruin.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tabella House for giving me an advanced copy.

Wow, so many feelings rush through me as I finished this book in one sitting. First of all, how sweet is it that the author's daughter is on the cover? Right there it shows how meaningful the book is. And Vera's journal entries being written by the author's teen niece is a nice touch too. But the story and the ending...I nearly lost my breath at the end.

The dynamic between the characters Marin and Felicity added a powerful connection as they turn from sisters--and best friends--to enemies as Felicity suspects Marin knows something about what happened to her missing daughter Vera but is holding back.

Of course, nothing is as it seems...and this is where the twist ending shook me so hard I nearly dropped my ereader. That ending...no words to express how brilliantly handled that was. And the whole time I really thought I knew where the mystery was going, but that--that I was not prepared for. And I loved every word of it.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was how the newspaper articles from 1910 about their ancestor's disappearance follow the current timeline. So creative and so uniquely executed!

I absolutely love everything about this book, from the family drama boiling over, to the powerful emotions both Marin and Felicity work through as they search for Vera, to the hidden secrets that come out, to the link between Vera's disappearance and her ancestor's. Rarely do I come across something as refreshing and page-turning as this one. It earned every single one of these five stars.