Ruth Cosslett runs an expensive fee-paying school in Burlington Square, London, founded by her great grandfather. For her it is the reason she lives and breathes, so much so, even her marriage eventually became a casualty. Her youngest daughter Isobel has just arrived on her doorstep after a sixteen-year absence…with a fifteen-year-old son, Isaac, in tow.
Isobel left home at sixteen after a traumatic incident. Fleeing an abusive relationship and having nowhere to go, she has returned to the square and her former home. She plans to stay for a while until she can find somewhere to put down roots far away from her problems in Brighton.
Cecily, Isobel’s older sister, who abandoned her career in Hong Kong to return to help Ruth following a stroke some years ago, is now deputy head. It’s not what she wanted, but she’s made the best of things and the headmistress's job must surely be hers when her mother retires.
The arrival of Isobel and Isaac sees Ruth doubling her efforts to breathe life back into what has now become a school struggling to compete. She has already sought the help of an investment company, and with their financial support may even attain international status.
There are so many components in this story. Ruth’s blind obsession with the school to the exclusion of everything else, Cecily’s sacrifice of her dream job, leaving her unhappy and unfulfilled, and Isobel, with a sixteen-year secret gnawing away at her. It’s a bit of a melting pot made worse by the fact Ruth is both controlling and blinkered, thinking she knows what is best for her family. Isobel’s arrival has her dreaming of moving the Cosslett dynasty forward, with Isaac at the forefront of her plans. But this self-assured woman is about to have a terrible shock in more ways than one.
This was a slow starter for me, but I gradually got into the story and then found I could not put it down. I have to admit I could see what was coming, but when it did, it was not quite in the way I had anticipated.
My thanks to Leah Mercer, Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of Why She Left in exchange for an honest review. A well deserved five stars.

“The memories and secrets she’d kept would always pursue her, no matter how far she ran…always threatening her, no matter where she was. “

Read if you like:
Family drama
Suspense
Secrets

An intricately woven story of family drama secrets, revenge, and trauma. I was immediately sucked into the story and couldn’t wait to get the answers to my burning questions. The secrets just keep spilling out and will shock and startle you. Very well written and it kept me hooked the entire time! Highly recommend!

Thank you so much NetGalley & Bookouture for the advanced reader copy!

Isobel left her mom Ruth and disappeared 15 years earlier. All I could think this entire time is… who does this? Why? She better have one heck of a good reason for leaving her mom like this! Not my favorite characters but I did enjoy the story.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an interesting read, but slow paced at times.

A bunch of secrets come to life in this family ran school, known as the square. Ruth is a hard person who defends her school’s reputation. However, she has no clue she will play an instrumental role in her own decline. Cecily, I feel, gets the short end of the stick in her career aspirations and personal life. Isobel, the prodigal daughter, returns, but brings more trouble with her. I don’t really care for any of the main characters and the school gave off a superficial vibe.

Why did Isabel leave? You like me, might figure it out before her mother Ruth. And why on earth has she returned with her son Isaac? And why would she allow Isaac to be enrolled in her mother's school given, well, no spoilers. This is a drama of family secrets that should have been put on the table a long time ago. Ruth isn't particularly likable and honestly I didn't find Isabel all that sympathetic (even though I should). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm sure I'll be the odd one out on this but it was just meh for me.

This psych thriller had me turning those pages. What a hook! Girl runs away from home and suddenly turns up at mother’s house many years later with a teenage son. How can a reader not want all the answers to that conundrum?

I loved Ruth’s perspective and I followed it intently as she tried to work it all out. Then there was Isobel - the returned. She let us into her secret and once that had happened, the wheels started turning. Then there’s the unknown factor, the lurking menace that really ramped up the pace. Why were these sinister occurrences happening?

This book was a little eerie. There was something about the school that gave off that vibe, like it’s history seeped from the walls. The tone was set from the start. As the action ramped up and the revelations burst out, an exciting finale provides that gosh moment. Loved ‘Why She Left.’ Fantastic and intriguing read!

Thank you netgallery and the author for allowing me to read this book.

Unfortunately it didn't grip me like I expected it to and found it rather repetitive in places, I also predicted what was going to happen but continued to the end to see if I was right.

I would definitely read another of this authors books as have enjoyed previous books. This one just wasn't for me.

I quite enjoyed this book and her toxic relationship between her mother and sister . I had a couple of “why would she have done that “ moments in the book that to me didn’t ring true but on the whole it was a good book . I suspected the ending and there weren’t many surprises but on the whole it was worth a read

This was a super great book. Loved it it had all the makings of a thriller. Great job. I was so happy that net tally let me read this.boo. thank.you great author.

This family drama alternates point of views between Isobel, who's coming back 15 years after leaving home, and her mother Ruth, owner of a school that's her pride and joy.
Some of the secrets (starting with the reason why Isobel left) were so obvious the only question was "When will she/they find out?" but other twists were less predictable so I felt there was always some level of suspense and I really enjoyed following the characters through the whole story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dual POV story chock-full of family secrets and drama. The book is set within a family that has been fractured over the years and whose existence revolves around the prestigious private school they own and run.
The protagonist, Isobel, left the family and all the privilege that accompanied it when she was a teenager, returning only to the family home as an adult with an adolescent son in tow when she needs to escape a dangerous relationship. As the book progresses, we see why she left and we see that her chance for a happy return are slim at best.
The characters and their complicated relationships are outstanding. The writing is insightful and the author throws in twists and turns that surprise all the way through to the end. A well-written family drama that keeps you hooked.

Family suspense with layers and mystery and long held secrets that are ready to burst through. Solid domestic suspense with substance.

Isobel is part of a prestigious family that owns and operates an exclusive school.
Isobel leaves home in her teens and nobody knows why she left.
Now years later Isobel returns with her teenage son Isaac.
This book was billed as a thriller. I did not feel it was one. It read more like a family drama to me.
Still a good book, just not what I was expecting.
I will try more books from this author in the future.

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the arc of this book. I loved the way the book was partly in the first person, then Isobel's narrative was in the third person. The story was slow to unfold, and I would have liked to learn more about why Isobel had to flee home to her mother. But it was a good story! I didn't really like any of the characters, but suspected someone was not what they seemed early on, but not why. The writing was great and really drew me in to the story. I think people who like a well-written book and story would love this book, especially if they like the school setting as a backdrop. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book kept me on my toes the entire read. With so many different things going on I was never quite sure what to expect. Just when you start “getting” one subplot the author says WHAM look over here! I couldn’t put it down because I had to find out what happened.

Sucks you in so well you think you are in the story. The characters are beautifully brought to life. I adored this story, I adored the characters. The atmosphere was impeccable. The past/present chapters gave the story depth and dimension. The telling of such a triggering sensitive subject was done very tastefully. I grieved for what this family went through. I felt for each of the family members. The ended was unpredictable and pulled on my heart strings. This is a suspenseful, gripping novel that still invokes emotions from the reader. So well done!

SNICKER-DOODLE!! 😳🤯

This book was fab, Fab. FAABB!! It started a bit slow for me but 1/3 of the way through, holy macaroni salad, did it get good fast! I soaked it up fast! A daughter who comes back with her son to a school her mother runs, to get away from one evil to return to another? Unbelievable ending! Who can you trust? Nothing is what it seems. The secrets everyone holds. Absolutely terrific!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I give this 4 / 5 snowflakes! ❄️

Why She Left is billed as a powerful and emotional page turner about devastating family secrets. Sadly this book just didn’t grip me as I expected. I found the plot line slow and predictable. I know other reviewers have loved this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I would rate this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Solid Family Drama With Some Mystery. Reading through the Goodreads reviews (as I do before writing my own), a lot of the more negative reviews (anything less than 4* is considered by Goodreads/ Amazon to be negative, fwiw) tended to center around complaints that this book wasn't a suspense/ thriller. And yet looking around through the description and other materials available, I find no claims from the publisher that this is a suspense or a thriller. The closest claim is that it is a "suspenseful family drama", which is 100% accurate. There was an event years ago that caused one daughter to flee, and there are a few different events in the present day that build a decent amount of suspense (for a family drama, which is truly what this is, anyway). Yes, the years-ago event becomes rather obvious rather quickly - *hopefully* Mercer intended that. But there are many more wrinkles here that aren't so obvious, and even my usually fairly perceptive reading didn't actually catch some of the bigger reveals until they were actually revealed. Indeed, arguably the one true weakness here I can think of isn't actually one anyone else has cited - it is never truly established just how bad the situation the returning daughter is fleeing from now actually was. Still, for what this tale *actually* is, and seems to *actually* be being marketed as, this is actually a fairly solid story that will trigger some in a variety of ways but which is a truly solid story for most everyone else. Very much recommended.