A psychological thriller which is incredibly chilling with its plot, meet The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel.

The plot:

Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years. Turned out her mother was a really good liar.

After five years in prison, Patty Watts is free. Forgetting old grievances, she wants to reconcile with her daughter and care for her infant grandson. When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty home, their relationship seems genuinely on the mend.

But has Patty truly forgotten their past? And is Rose Gold really able to forgive?

It’s fantastic as a piece of fiction, but a tough topic to read

I can imagine this being quite a troubling read for some, so note trigger warnings of abuse (although not necessarily violent).

The Recovery of Rose Gold reminds me a lot of The Act (Hulu, 2019), which covers Munchausen syndrome by proxy, but looking at the after effects on the two key characters. This is a great angle, and a plot I was really looking forward to with the different routes it could go down.

I wouldn’t say the book is mind-blowing with its conclusion, although there are definitely lots of little twists and a climatic, sinister ending, but the whole book in itself is just messed up – is it a book you can necessarily enjoy? It’s fantastic as a piece of fiction, but a tough topic to read.

The two protagonists and their mental state – blimey. Brilliantly put together to make you question their every move. With Rose Gold, you sometimes sympathise but other times jaw-drop with how she thinks and her actions. It raises the debate of nature vs nurture, whilst having the thriller-y edge we all love.

Chapters are split between characters, including flashbacks to previous years. I’m personally not a fan when it jumps in time, but I can see why this was done; the characters each had their own, distinct voice, which comes across well.

I wish the topic of Patty’s past was delved into more – you’re given snippets and a revelation but combined it’s about a pages worth – when you’ve built such a strong character, I need to know why, and although the topic of mental health is covered throughout the plot (especially through individual thoughts), the past could’ve been covered more.

I think some excerpts of newspaper trimmings/social media posts/trial insights in a different format could have elevated this read to make it snappier. It wasn’t as much as a page-turner as I’d hoped, although you are faced with moments where you just had to finish that chapter or find out what was going to happen next.

I did think it was going to have a different ending, and I’m particularly pleased with how it played out. It’s sinister and not predictable, however the synopsis is incredibly leading with what’s going to happen.

This is a high 3-star/ low 4-star read – it didn’t blow me away, but I think it’ll stay with me, and it was incredibly interesting.

The Recovery of Rose Gold, Stephanie Wrobel, RRP £8.99 (paperback); Book Depository 

Pages: 370

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Penguin Random House