I have started and stopped this book on a number of occasions, the story never really captured my interest and it took me quite some time to finish it.

Kim Slade is a clinical psychologist returning to work after suffering a mental breakdown of her own.

On her first day back of counseling young women wiht eating disorders, she's informed that a former patient of hers, Mimi Vellender, is in the hospital and dying. Rushing to her, Mimi has a request ... please find her brother Nicholas who disappears 5 years earlier.

If that's not enough stress, Kim's mother shows up ... the mother she hasn't seen or talked to in over 20 years. Not exactly thrilled to see her again, she learns that her mother recently worked for a judge who was murdered. Feeling that she can't turn the woman away, she finds a place for her to stay and finds her an attorney. Is this the reason her mother wants this reunion now?

As Kim turns to investigating on her own, she finds all kinds of questions .. but not many answers..... especially when both quests seemingly are one crime.

Lots of suspects keep the reader highly interested. More bodies fall. Secrets and lies are unmasked.

Many thanks to the author / Midnight Ink / Netgalley for the digital copy of this suspenseful book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I think I would have gotten a lot more from this book if I had read the first one in the series, but even taking that into account, I just didn't connect with the main character or feel that her voice was very authentic. Still an exciting story that I'm sure many readers will enjoy, it just didn't feel real to me.

Just returning to work as a clinical psychologist after having suffered a nervous breakdown Kim Slade is called by a former client, herself near death from an eating disorder, asking Kim to help find her brother-missing for 5 years. At the same time Kim's long lost mother reappears out of the blue after having been out of Kim's life for many years. She has stories of her own-believable or not-is she really there to re-establish a relationship with her daughter or is she running from something more sinister. Take this roller coaster ride. It's full of twists and turns, action packed suspense and intrigue all wrapped up in great writing and interesting characters.

Kim is a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. Jim was her boss. Kim works in The Lodge - a fifteen bed residential home for anorexic young women. Kim had a nervous breakdown which was not good when you are a clinical psychologist.Kim’s lover Chris had been murdered by his best friend who had stalked Kim. But Kim is better now. Her first day back and Kim was called to see a patient she had a while ago - Mimi Vallender. Mimi had asked for Kim when she was alert. Mimi was in the last stages of anorexia before death Mimi weighed about fifty pounds now. Mimi was fourteen years old when Kim saw her after a referral from her doctor.Mimi had the classic symptoms of an eating disorder: low body weight, extreme exhaustion, intolerance to cold, a tendency to faint, dry skin, thin hair and Mimi hadn’t had a period in a year. While seeing Mimi at the hospital, Mimi told Kim she had seen her brother Nick talking to her mother. But her mother had denied it and said Nick was dead that her father had killed him. Mimi wanted Kim to find Nick and protect him. Mimi died the next day. Kim’s mother- Monica had abandoned her when she was a toddler now after thirty years she wanted to see Kim. Kim had a meeting with her mother about twenty years before and it had been a disaster. Monica’s last employer was a judge who had committed suicide so she said. But the cops seemed to think there was more to it and Monica was involved. When Chris had been murdered the same officer- Niven- was involved as Monica was being questioned by. Niven had wanted to pin Chris’s murder on Kim but she was wrong. Kim had used a criminal lawyer called Gavin Chadwick. Kim thought of calling him for Monica. Then Mimi’s mother boy toy named Troy got a hold of Kim and told her Paris- Mimi’s mother- was lying that Nicolaus was still alive and hiding and said Paris was helping Nicolaus as she was afraid for his life. Kim wasn’t sure if Troy was being honest or not but thought Troy was a fraud. Then Kim finds out both Mimi and Nick had been adopted.
I read almost half of this story and honestly got bored. I saw no sense of pursuing Nick as Mimi had passed away. Mimi was dead and it really was none of Kim’s business and she had enough just dealing with her mother and her problems with the law. But as far as Monica goes why would Kim all of sudden be there for her after how Kim had been treated and at the very least go to the cottage and see if there was anything under the floorboards in the attic. This just didn’t keep my interest and kind of jumped all over. The beginning started out pretty good but then for me just went downhill as I read on.

My next review is:-
"An Imperfect Past:A Kim Slade Novel No 2", written by Eve Seymour and published in paperback by Midnight Ink on 1 April 2017. 432 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0738748672

I have read four earlier books by this exciting author when she called herself "E.V. Seymour" and when her protagonist was a James Bond/Jason Bourne superman type and I found the books incredibly exciting. I wasn't sure what to expect with this new one about her clinical psychologist 'Kim Slade' but after a fairly slow beginning, I need not have worried as the plot really started speeding up and I just could not put this book down in the latter stages as I was so gripped and concerned what would happen to Kim.

I understand that authors need time to introduce all of the characters to their readers and that this can take quite some doing when the new reader, like me, has not read "Beautiful Losers" the previous book in this series where Kim Slade was first introduced. Early in the story we meet Kyle Stannard, a former male model, who like Kim has some imperfect facial features. Kim uses Kyle as a sounding board for all her worries and concerns as an alternative to her conscience, but he decides to go to the US to have corrective plastic surgery and has to speak with Kim via Skype and telephone, which is not ideal.

Kim has some trouble getting back into the daily grind of working after an enforced absence following a mental breakdown but soon she is back to interviewing and advising her clients who are generally young women that have eating disorders. Most of the story is based in and around Cheltenham although she does go to Devon for some parts.

No sooner than Kim returns to work after her breakdown, she's summoned to the deathbed of a former client Mimi Vellender. Mimi's dying wish is that Kim finds her brother, Nicholas, who mysteriously disappeared five years previously. This is a task that Kim finds very difficult but soon she starts to have some luck.

Kim had an unhappy child hood when her parents separated and her mother Monica moved out leaving her husband to bring up Kim and her older brother. Kim hasn't seen Monica, her mother for over twenty years but mysteriously she comes back into her life following the suspicious death of a judge whom she worked for as live in housekeeper. Is the sudden desire for a family reunion all it seems or does Monica have something to hide?

The story moves forward at breakneck pace and the murders start to pile up and one forgets ones earlier trepidation about the new direction of the authors new work.

Eve Seymour lives in the United Kingdom. Married with five grown-up children, she has had a number of short stories broadcast on BBC Radio Devon and is the author of seven crime/spy novels. She works as an editorial consultant, specialising in crime fiction, for Writer's Workshop. "Beautiful Losers" was her debut in an exciting new series of psychological thrillers with Midnight Ink.

I was enormously impressed with this new direction that the author has taken in her writing and was absolutely gripped with this very thoughtful and exciting new book. Highly recommended.If you want to read a book that is completely different then buy this.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

This was a crazy kind of book in the fact that Kim's long lost mother, Monica, who she hasn't seen in years comes back into her life. Kim doesn't know what to think. Monica tells Kim some stories about why she had to leave and Kim's not sure whether she's being lied to or not. She talks to her brother, Luke, who's now living in the States and he does confirm some of what she's saying. Kim was pretty young when her mother disappeared and doesn't remember a lot of what her mother says. This will not be the only time she questions her mother's stories and answers.

Meanwhile, there is another story going on wherein Mimi Vallender has asked Kim to help her find her long lost brother. Mimi is one of Kim's patients from long ago and she's is anorexic, only weighing about 53 pounds. Kim had been her therapist 5 years ago before she took a leave of absence. That favor opens up a whole new can of worms. One that puts Kim's life and others on the line.

This was definitely a great read and one that kept me on the edge of my seat once all the characters were introduced and the story got going. You didn't know who to trust. So many people were lying and there were so many people changing their names and trying to be someone else. I wouldn't want to sit at the table or turn my back on most of these characters. Suspenseful, action filled, fast paced, twists and turns worse than a mountain road, superb writing and character development. An altogether awesome read.

Huge thanks to Midnight Ink for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review. What a great read!