The Gardener’s Daughter, by K A Hitchins, is a story of a young girl, on a roller-coaster of a journey searching for her true identity. With all things seemingly safe and secure, her life suddenly spirals out of control when she discovers by accident that her birth father is not the man who had brought her up.
Her “fight or flight” instinct kicks in, and she runs. The “roller-coaster” journey, by way of homelessness, takes her into a shadier side of life in her home town, discovering some harsh truths about her background and her parents. The circumstances come together to inform her of some deeply hidden dark truths about her back story, as her history is slowly unravelled.
This one is a good read, pacy, with the story unfolding well whilst keeping the reader guessing. With believable characters, set in the present, in circumstances that are relatable. But the intrigue and mystery is carried throughout the book right to the end.
There is romance too, as her life story unfolds and of course it has a happy ending. Relationships are broken and formed, with many not being as they first seemed. But the true message of the book is revealed right on the last pages, with the main character, previously quite “sassy”, matured and showing she is completely at peace with her understanding of fatherhood, and her life is all set on an even keel.
The Gardener’s Daughter, by K A Hitchins, is available here.