A moving story of one woman's despair and recovery from hard knocks in life

An excellent start, strong and moving. Angie's husband is killed trying to rescue their son Liam from the gangland life he has immersed himself in. Then the same gang is suspected of murdering a girl. Angie fears that their daughter Emma will be tarnished by association. Written with compassion and hope for the future, this is a compelling read, though maybe not for anyone feeling a bit down!

An Absorbing and Topical Family Read:
"Home Truths" is an engrossing and topical novel which makes for compulsive reading once started. Lewis is so gifted at capturing the essence of everyday family life and the problems the family unit can face. Her latest novel deals with many issues: the "County Line" phenomenon, the disastrous effects of the roll out of Universal Credits for many, internet grooming, the plight of the homeless and unscrupulous landlords to mention some.
The story-line itself is that of an ordinary happy family, torn apart by tragedy and yet through the generosity and kindness of others the novel has a happy ending.
A story for any member of the family (I counted only one swear word in the entire novel) who is looking for a feel- good read. I have read a few Susan Lewis novels and this one is definitely my favourite. A great book to pack for your Summer holiday. I definitely recommend saving a little space in your case for it.

What a sad but realistic story showing how easy it is to become homeless and have your children fall in with the 'wrong crowd'. The plight of the family and the disinterest from government and council bodies rings true. As this is a work of fiction there is a 'fairy godmother' but real life does not have this luxury.

I'll be honest, I struggled with this book a lot. It was no where near fast paced enough and just feel it focused on money troubles too much. I know it is a real life problem, but I feel so much could have come from the other issues presented in this book and was a bit disappointed when it didnt.

Really good story with a lot of good likeable characters. Emotional read in places.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Angie lives a perfectly ordinary life, husband, kids, home, after school clubs, domestic bliss. Normal and happy. But her world shatters when her husband dies. And this topical tale is the lengths Angie will go to, to protect and rebuild her family. Homelessness, drugs, crime, Benefits, food banks and the dark underbelly of life are all discussed. It’s gritty and will make your heart thus with fear as you recognise the universal truth in this book

A new author for me but liked the sound of the book so thought I would give it a try. Although it was sad and emotional in places it was a cracking read that was so well written and told. The characters were believable and it just made for a fantastic read. I would definitely recommend this book.

For me this was a slow starter and began to make me feel depressed by the reality of Angies life, as far as the debts and lack of help were concerned. Unfortunately all too true to some people’s lives. However, having been allowed by Harper Collins to read this novel, I felt I needed to read the whole book. I’m glad I did.

The story is so well written and researched, makes it all too believable. It’s a powerful book and should be read by the policy makers in the agencies involved in housing benefit, Universal Credit etc.

Angie Watts’ husband, Steve, is murdered by the gang that has drawn in their eldest son, Liam, who then disappears. Angie is left struggling to to cope with life, her 2 younger children and spirally debts. The irony is that Angie, with her sister Emma, work at a small housing project that takes a small number of homeless men, trying to get their lives back on track.

Beautifully written, utterly believable. I’ve not read this author before, but I’ll definitely look for her other works.
4.5 stars

I loved this book and as it says in the title it’s all about home truths and makes you think how things can build up and change but everything happens for a reason. Really good read, highly recommend it.

Beautifully written. Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, poignant and thought-provoking. Not my usual type of book but I'm so glad I was very kindly given the opportunity to read this .It made me very aware of the misery and soul-destroying nature of the poverty trap and there but for the Grace of God go we all. A real eyeopener - and yes it did have a happy ending but sadly in real life this is very rarely the case. This book really gave me a more in-depth understanding of what it must be like to find yourself and your family trapped in dire financial straits and the ensuing consequences. Highly recommend this book - and many thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Thanks to netgalley for a pre release copy of this book.

Following her husbands murder Angie runs up debts that she is unable to pay. Things spiral out of control and she sees herself evicted with two children. Can Angie get her and her families life back on track? When Martin Stone enters her life she begins to rebuild her life and her family.

Brilliant book would recommend.

I have read a lot of Susan Lewis's earlier books and was so pleased to be given a chance to read Home Truths as I have always loved her gritty yet realistic storytelling.
And I was definitely not disappointed.
We follow the story of Angie Watts, a woman who is thrust into the life of a widowed mother of two after the tragic murder of her beloved husband.
The loss of her husband is heightened by the subsequent disappearance of her eldest son who has been swallowed up by gang culture and drugs.
Spiralling into debt, Angie is faced with hard decisions, whether to feed her family or to pay those who are biting at her ankles for their money.
Losing her home, the home her husband had lovingly created for their family, is the last straw.
Until a saviour, or several saviours, enter her life, and help her rebuild her home and life.
It sounds like a total fairytale, but it really isn't.
This story deals with gang culture, drug addiction, homelessness, mental health issues, grooming of young girls for sex work and loss.
I was gripped.
And I can admit to sitting on my sofa reading, and having to message a book group I am a member of, to say how that moment when you feel your lips turn up slightly, at the prospect of all the downs turning to ups, in a book your reading is my #perfectreadingmoment.
And there were tears in my eyes at moments, of both sadness, but of happiness too.
A must read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have no idea why it has taken me so long to discover Susan Lewis... viaiting my gran today I noticed she had one of Susan's older titles on her bedside cabinet, I have clearly been missing out for sometime.
This book started dramatically and the trials and tribulations faced by the main character Angie are harrowing and heartwrenching. Thank you to Susan Lewis and netgalley for the advance copy. I loved it!

Angie’s husband dies in dreadful circumstances and her happy life spirals into a holy mess with a son she has cast away from her, huge financial problems leading to a period of homelessness, and a brush with human trafficking. The story of how her situation is turned round and resolved was an interesting one. I felt that it was a bit ‘easy’ and not true to real life (although if it had been would anybody have wanted to read the book?) The grim reality is that people don’t find fairy Godfathers coming out of the blue to help. However, this was an engaging storyline and a well written novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read in exchange for an unbiased review.

Spoiler alert!
I was so pleased to be accepted for an advance copy of this Susan Lewis book, but surprisingly it was a major disappointment to me.
The book is two parts horror story and one part fairy tale, and the last part felt like it had been written by someone else entirely. The story included gang warfare, a brutal murder, organised crime gangs, extortion, county lines drugs, people trafficking, online exploitation of children, social comment about the universal credit system to name just some of the issues highlighted.
The main character is the hapless Angie, who somehow manages to hold down a responsible job working with vulnerable adults on a one to one basis, alongside her long suffering sister Emma. The truth is that Angie’s background of brutally murdered husband, and the probable involvement of her own son, now missing and sought by police, and caught up in gang drug culture, would have been exposed during detailed background checks done before she could be cleared to be appointed to her position. Her two years of council tax arrears plus interest would also preclude her. Some basic research by the author would have made this obvious?
Given the line of work she is in, Angie would surely have known about Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and associated assistance with debt management etc, which I would have expected to be her first port of call to help her out of her financial mess. and she must surely have been aware that she had not paid council tax for two years? But she continues to pretend it’s not happening, and will somehow all go away!
The appearance of Martin in the story entirely changes Angie’s sorry tale, , as he is a veritable knight in shining armour. Not just Martin, but his entire family- his daughter, his mother, his friends in high places, even his ex-wife, all come charging to the rescue of the whole family. Amongst them they manage to turn Angue’s fortunes around in spectacular fashion.
This is not remotely up to the author’s usual standard of writing, and has put me off from reading any more of her work..
The third part of this story is utterly implausible, and reads like a Mills and Boon romance.
I am sure that this story will appeal to many readers, but definitely not to me, I’m sorry to say.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

This book means to show just how easy it can be to slide into poverty and despair, even for people with the best intentions and motivations. However, I found it very frustrating. I found it unlikely that the apparently sensible characters would make such poor decisions, and this got in the way of my enjoyment of the book.

This book is a very realistic gritty drama about a family struggling financially after Dad gets killed by a drugs gang. It has clearly involved either a lot of research or true experience of the benefits system and its unfairness. Unfortunately this doesn't make it an entertaining read, and a third of the way through I gave up as the relentless misery and lack of movement plot wise finally beat me. Not enough happened, and Angie was starting to become too much of a martyr.

I just want to say that my thoughts on this book are very similar to another reviewer and I wouldn't like the reviewer to think I have copied what they have said. I wrote this a couple of weeks ago but there were so many readers who absolutely loved the book that I just didn't have the heart to post my review.

Overall I wasn't really that keen on this book. I think maybe it's not really my kind of genre. It may have started out with a somewhat gritty theme - Angie's husband is murdered by a gang of thugs, a gang her teenage son has become involved with - but I think the overall theme of the book is a feel good story of hope and triumph over evil. Nothing wrong with that, but it was a little sickly sweet for me in places.

The first half of the book highlights many social ills plaguing the less fortunate in this country at the moment. I could easily get into a massive political rant on the subject as it's something I feel as strongly about as it would appear the author does too. Homelessness, drug gangs, poverty, debt, most of it brought about and made worse by the unnecessary and ongoing "austerity measures" inflicted on those who need help most. I did find the first half quite depressing to read, although I think that is because the author captured the reality of it so well and has obviously done her research.

Unfortunately the second half of the book didn't really do much for me either. To me it swung from the depths of despair to one of incredulity. It all became a little too good to be true. You had to suspend what you know to be reality and be led down a path of fortunate coincidence and miraculous solutions to most of Angie's problems, brought about by the great and good Martin Stone. If only life were really like this. I have to say that Martin Stone started to really get on my nerves what with the amount of influential people he knew and his perfect persona. I've nick named him Saint Martin.

Nevertheless there were some very touching moments towards the end of the book and heartbreak too. It did finally manage to reduce me to tears (see, even I'm not completely without heart). I also read the acknowledgements at the end which did explain that as this is fiction you can't go too far into the real brutalities of life and readers do like some good to come at the end of a book. The author wanted to highlight the plight of how life is for far too many families today and hopes this book goes someway to show what's going on and that there is only so much we can do. I note that no one in any of the reviews I've seen has ever made comparisons of this book with the film I Daniel Blake. If you haven't seen the film then I would urge you to do so.

I do seem to be in a minority amongst those who have reviewed this book and not thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe I'm just an old misery but I think at the end of the day, it just wasn't my kind of book. Do read other reviews, lots of readers loved the story and enjoyed the premise that there are good people in the world who are willing to help out when the going gets tough. Though personally I think if everyone vowed never to vote Conservative ever again in their lifetime this would go a long way to doing a lot more good!

This is a beautifully written book that delves into the world of existing on benefits, dodgy landlords, the daily struggle to stay afloat whilst ramping up great debt and the dangers children on the edge face daily..
It is a sobering read from that aspect as it is no secret that there are so many in those dire situations today, with precious little meaningful support.
However there is an element of joy in the book as Angie struggles following the death of her husband and the disappearance of her eldest child and is evicted. However, ever the fighter she picks herself up, continues to support those who need her and keeps her life on track as best she can.
The characters in the book are so well written they feel like friends (or in some cases enemies) early on. I particularly liked the way that Angie was happy to seek revenge and retribution...it made her so much more real.
A great read, in some parts distressing and very thought provoking.

Topical tale of drugs, county lines gangs, child grooming, financial problems, homelessness - sounds depressing, and it is in parts, but ultimately uplifting. In particular, the many ways in which already vulnerable people are targeted is enough to get anyone angry. Even the problems caused by the mismanaged rollout of Universal Credit are a key part of the story. In some ways the baddies seem more realistic than the goodies, but this may be because of the prevalence of bad news stories in the media. Lots to be learnt from reading this book. Includes some romance!