by Sanjida Kay
She thinks she’s going to be sick. Bethany posted this photo eleven hours ago. Which means, she works out, bile rising in her throat, that her sister will be landing at Heathrow any moment. What the hell does she want? Is she on her way here, to Somerset? She drops the phone as if she’s been burned.
Matt and Nick are strolling towards her, the children licking Cornettos, the ice cream already melting and dribbling down their chins and wrists.
‘You all right, love?’ asks Matt. ‘You look a bit pale. On the hard stuff already?’ He smiles, seeing her glass of non-alcoholic white wine.
She doesn’t know what to say – how to express in words the sense that this fragile peace they’ve all been reaching towards is about to be shattered.
Her brother passes a tub of vanilla ice cream to their father.
As if it’s contaminated, she silently gives Nick’s mobile back to him. He looks from her to the screen.
He knows, she thinks. He’s already seen it.
He takes her hand and his palm is hot, his fingers cold, from where he’s been holding the ice creams.
‘Can’t ever get these pesky tops off,’ her dad, says, fumbling with the lid and the tiny, plastic spoon embedded in it.
‘I’ll help you, Granddad,’ Lotte says, handing him her leaking cone to hold.
‘What is it?’ Matt asks, frowning.
Nick squeezes her hand. ‘Bethany. She’s on her way. She wants to see us again.’ He gets up and she follows his gaze towards the ornamental pond and its armour-plating of water lilies. ‘It’s time, Amy.’
Amy stands too and reaches for Matt. She’s afraid he’s going to explode, but her husband pulls her into his chest, cups her head in one hand. She can feel the beat of his heart echoing in her own body. Lotte and Theo are kneeling by her father’s feet, concentrating fiercely as they lick their ice creams. And it’s as if there’s a third child sitting between them, a child with long blonde hair that gleams in the summer sunshine. She’s wearing a swimming costume, an old one of Lotte’s. She’s lost some of her baby teeth and her face is slimmer, her legs longer. Amy notices her bracelet glittering on her thin wrist: a tiny silver unicorn on a thread of coloured beads that Lotte made for her, and on her lap sits Pearl, her doll, naked apart from a purple ribbon round her neck. Ruby-May turns and smiles at her mother.
‘Yes,’ Amy says. ‘It’s time.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would, first and foremost, like to thank my readers. All writers say they’d write anyway, whether they are published or not -but if were not for people who love books, we would not have the exquisite pleasure of being able to hold our finished novel in our hands, nor be able to engage with those of you who are kind enough to share our imaginary worlds for a short while. Thank you, particularly to those of you who’ve followed my thriller-writing journey from the start.
One Year Later is mainly set in Tuscany in Italy, which I love and have visited many times. The island itself, Isola del Piccolo Giglio, whilst fictitious, is in a real location, off the coast of Isola del Giglio. I’m by no means an expert on Italy and have been guided by my friends, Enrico Carsano and Kate Clifford. Enrico has saved me from the perils of using Google Translate, and added an authenticity I would not have achieved on my own. I’m indebted to Paul Whitehouse, who once again has helped me with police procedure, and David Cohen, whose medical knowledge has, as always, been invaluable.
My editors, Sara O’Keeffe and Susannah Hamilton, have given me excellent advice and helped shape this novel. They’ve been a joy to work with. I’d like to thank the whole team at Atlantic Books, especially Jamie Forrest, Marketing Campaigns Director, and Kirsty Doole, Publicity Manager. Special thanks to Mandy Greenfield, who copy edited One Year Later with a light and understanding touch. A heartfelt thank you to Emma Smith-Barton who, along with Claire Snook, have helped me become a better writer. Special thanks to Claire, who weathered several drafts without complaint. As ever, I’m grateful to my agent, Robert Dinsdale, of Independent Literary, who continues to both support and challenge me to improve.
Thank you to my family: my mother, Rosemary O’Connell, and my siblings, Sheila, Dee and Patrick, their partners, Simon, Ian and Emma, my nieces, Daisy, Jessica and Emily, my husband, Jaimie, and my daughter, Jasmine, and in remembrance of my father, James O’Connell. I’m grateful for such a loving and supportive family. One Year Later is, at its heart, a book about the emotional damage families can inflict which, if left unchecked, can continue, generation after generation. I would like to salute all those of you who have come from a dysfunctional family, and are who are doing their level best to become stronger, healthier and happier.
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
Apart from the prologue, One Year Later, is told from two perspectives – that of Amy Flowers and her brother, Nick Flowers. Most psychological thrillers are usually narrated by a woman – what did you think about having a male perspective? What does it add to the story?
The story revolves around the death, one year ago, of Ruby-May, who drowned the day before her third birthday. Did you believe the characters’ recollection of the events leading up to her death?
Were there any discrepancies and if so, did they make you question the portrayal of other events that had taken place in the family’s past?
Who did you trust in the novel and why?
The police verdict on the drowning of Ruby-May was ‘accidental death’. Did you believe this?
The characters all grieve in different ways for Ruby-May. In what ways did they show how they felt? Do you think it’s ever possible to get over the death of a child?
How did you think the children, Lotte and Theo, have learned to cope with the loss of their sister, Ruby-May?
There are three absent characters in One Year Later – Eleanor Flowers, the mother, Ruby-May, the dead child, and Maddison, Nick Flowers’ ex-girlfriend. How did these characters, who never appear in the current story, shape the novel?
There are two characters who are not part of the Flowers family: Luca Castaglioni and Joe Hart. How did these young men fit into the story?
Sanjida Kay’s psychological thrillers feature mothers and daughters. What did you think of the mothers – Eleanor and Amy – in this novel? How are society’s expectations of motherhood reflected in these two women’s parenting styles?
The settings in One Year Later are the family’s childhood home in Somerset, Bristol, and a tiny, remote island off the coast of Tuscany in Italy. How did these locations reflect what was happening to the family?
The events that unfold are based on long-held secrets and grievances. Is it ever acceptable to act the way the characters did, given their past histories?
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is mentioned throughout the novel. How is this Italian poem used to comment upon the events in One Year Later?
The novel is ultimately about the emotional damage that families inflict on their children, which is passed on from generation to generation. Do the Flowers family eventually escape this cycle? Is it ever possible to break free from the harm caused by a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive childhood?