Sorry Isn’t Good Enough
‘One of the best books I have ever read. More like this please JANE BAILEY’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1966. Nine-year-old Stephanie has an emotionally absent mum, a limp, and a manipulative friend who walks all over her. But everything changes when Stephanie strikes up a relationship with Mr Man, who always seems pleased to see her. Finally, it seems she has a genuine friend.
When Stephanie’s friend goes missing in the woods, no one in the neighbourhood appears to know what has happened to her, but someone is lying…
1977. Stephanie has spent her life trying to bury the events of that terrible summer. When a man starts following her on the train home from London, she suspects the dark truth of what happened may have finally caught up with her.
Praise for Sorry Isn’t Good Enough:
‘Gripping and surprising, and at turns chilling and heartbreaking‘ Melanie Golding
‘This was a fantastic book. This gripping thriller is a masterclass in tension‘ NetGalley Reviewer,⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Bittersweet and touching’ Amanda Reynolds
‘You will be hooked and not want it to finish’ NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Touching and gripping – a story that will stay with me‘ Jackie Kabler
‘It will stay with me for a very long time’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Richly-textured, compelling, emotionally complex’ Tammy Cohen
‘This story was AMAZING‘ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1966. Nine-year-old Stephanie has an emotionally absent mum, a limp, and a manipulative friend who walks all over her. But everything changes when Stephanie strikes up a relationship with Mr Man, who always seems pleased to see her. Finally, it seems she has a genuine friend.
When Stephanie’s friend goes missing in the woods, no one in the neighbourhood appears to know what has happened to her, but someone is lying…
1977. Stephanie has spent her life trying to bury the events of that terrible summer. When a man starts following her on the train home from London, she suspects the dark truth of what happened may have finally caught up with her.
Praise for Sorry Isn’t Good Enough:
‘Gripping and surprising, and at turns chilling and heartbreaking‘ Melanie Golding
‘This was a fantastic book. This gripping thriller is a masterclass in tension‘ NetGalley Reviewer,⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Bittersweet and touching’ Amanda Reynolds
‘You will be hooked and not want it to finish’ NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Touching and gripping – a story that will stay with me‘ Jackie Kabler
‘It will stay with me for a very long time’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Richly-textured, compelling, emotionally complex’ Tammy Cohen
‘This story was AMAZING‘ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Reviews
Richly-textured, compelling, emotionally complex. Squeezes your heart until the very last page.
What a wonderful book; it swept me back to the sixties and my own childhood. Touching and gripping - a story that will stay with me.
Sorry Isn't Good Enough was gripping and surprising, and at turns chilling and heartbreaking. Stephanie's story will stay with me for a long time.
Wonderful. Literally (literally!) couldn't put it down, to me it reads like Joanna Cannon/Maggie O'Farrell with a slice of Stand by Me era Stephen King.
Told from the perspective of a nine year old embroiled in tragedy that shapes her whole life, childhood memories carried with her that resonate on so many levels, it evokes the past in glorious technicolour. I absolutely loved it and cannot do justice to the goldenness it contains, bitter-sweet and touching.
The heart of this emotionally-literate coming-of-age story is Stephanie who, with her eccentric take on the world, yearning for love and unexpected bursts of wit, is as believable as she is sympathetic. What seems like a gentle story on first glance soon reveals itself to be much more: full of life's sorrow, joy and misunderstanding. I always love Jane Bailey's books and this is her best yet.