An apparently happy marriage. A beautiful family. A dream home. So what makes lawyer Emily Coleman—a woman who appears to have everything—get up one morning and walk right out of her life to start again as someone new?

Deliberately losing herself in London, Emily quickly transforms herself into Cat. Along with her new name, she finds a new home in a shared house in North London teeming with an odd assortment of flatmates, and a new job as a receptionist.

Soon Cat has buried any trace of her old self so well, no one knows how to find her. But she can’t bury the past—or her own painful memories. As the days turn to months, thoughts of all she’s left behind begin to consume her. She cannot outrun the ghosts that haunt her, no matter how hard she tries to elude them. And soon, she’ll have to face the truth of what she’s done—a shocking revelation that may push her one step too far.

Tina Seskis is one of those authors I have always meant to read but never have – for no real reason other than there are too many books in this world and too little time. I’m glad I finally found the time for One Step Too Far though, her debut from a few years ago, because it was great.

On a gray Manchester morning, Emily boards a train to London, arriving as Catherine (before becoming Cat) – a woman who has left a not so nice boyfriend and is looking for a new job and a new life. Apart from it isn’t a boyfriend she is running away from – it’s her husband – and the memory of events she can’t quite face (which you, as the reader, start to guess at but don’t know for certain either).

Once in London, her life becomes one she would never have imagined, for better and for worse. She becomes a different person and behaves in ways she would never have thought. The life she left behind though is always there in the background. No matter how hard she tries, she can never quite erase it. And then, through a twist of fate, both the past and the present collide.

Whilst I kind of saw the ending for this coming, I still thought it was cleverly done and the book is well written. Cat is a complex, interesting character – though possibly not the smartest when it comes to decisions – and the supporting cast are nicely drawn.

I was hooked from start to almost finish with this book – the almost being the last few chapters where Cat’s life for the decade or so after the “big reveal” were spelt out.  With these type of books I like a bit of mystery at the end and to plan my own futures for t characters so I could have done without this.  Still, it’s a personal preference and doesn’t take away from a good story that is well worth a read if you haven’t come across it already – liked it a lot!

Emma