T J Stimson

Wow, this was one fantastic book that kept me guessing. I read a lot of this genre but there were spots that surprised me.
Maddie is happily married to Lucas after her first husband died years before. Lucas has accepted Emily, her daughter, as his and before too long they have added two little boys to their family. She loves working with horses and has a horse sanctuary but it is bleeding out more cash than Lucas’s job as an architect can cover.
Then the worst thing in the world happened to Maddie. Her sweet two month old baby boy was found dead in his crib. And the police are pointing fingers at her. Sure, she has blackouts. But surely she wouldn’t have killed her child during one. She’s sure of it. But did she? And if it wasn’t her, then who was it? The only ones around her baby is her family and she knows that no one in her family would have hurt Noah.
But then doubt creeps in. If it wasn’t her, and the police are sure it wasn’t crib death, then who or what caused his death? The secrets start piling up. The lies Lucas has told her. Is he covering for himself or someone else? Does she really know anyone anymore?
The story is told focusing mostly on Maddie and her perspective with some chapters telling the story of another little girl, Lydia. A little girl with an evil mother that lives a childhood stripped of innocence. Who is Lydia? And what became of her? With Lydia, the age old question of nurture and nature comes into play. Are we who we are because of our heritage or because of where we come from?
More unexplained things happen and Maddie becomes convinced that someone is trying to kill her other son Jacob as well. But no one will listen to her.
This book is so good. I couldn’t flip pages fast enough, I needed to know it all. I have read books of this author writing as Tess Stimson with a different genre and they were all 4 or 5 star for me but this one blew me away. I couldn’t shut my brain off trying to figure it all out and the last few hundred pages I devoured in one sitting. Definite 5 star. I’ll be looking for more from her.… (més)

The nature/nurture debate is an interesting one, isn't it? Can someone simply be born bad or are they a product of their upbringing and their surroundings? Picture of Innocence addresses that question, along with asking how you can keep your children safe if you barely even trust yourself.

Maddie is our central character. She's married to Lucas and has three children, Emily, Jacob and Noah. Noah is only 10 weeks old and was a bit unexpected, especially given the fact that Jacob is only 2. After suffering from post-natal depression after Jacob's birth, Maddie is understandably concerned about having another baby so soon after, and so is Lucas. She's also trying to run an animal sanctuary that is drowning in debt so she's under a lot of pressure.

The first bit of the book is scene-setting but then wham bam, there's a tragedy in the family and everybody is a suspect. Maddie herself seems the obvious choice, but then what about Lucas? And extended family and friends? Maddie doesn't know who she can trust anymore. It blows her world apart.

This is such a gripping, fast-paced book. I just couldn't put it down and read it, all 404 pages, within a day. I suspected everyone, just like Maddie did. Intertwined with the main story is that of a young girl, mistreated from childhood and I thought this strand of the story was brilliantly executed to keep me guessing.

Picture of Innocence isn't an easy book to read in terms of subject matter. It's quite distressing a storyline, in fact both strands are disturbing. But it's absolutely compelling reading and just when I thought I had got a handle on what was happening, Stimson threw another curveball at me, sending me down another path.

I believe this is this established women's fiction author's first foray into psychological thrillers and what a way to begin. It's a chilling read, one that makes you think about how well you know people. I thought it was fantastic.… (més)

This is a dark and twisty psychological drama of a woman on the brink. Maddie, a young mother of three, one a colicky infant who was definitely unplanned, runs a horse sanctuary that is deeply in debt. She has a history of severe postpartum depression and is experiencing blackouts. During one such blackout she awakes in the rocker in the nursery without her infant. She finds him down beside the chair fine but with deep red marks on his face. Not wanting to admit the blackouts to her husband she makes up a story about him falling asleep pressed up against the bars of the crib. This seemingly innocent lie would never have been noticed if the infant was not found dead in his crib the next day. Thus begins the doubts and lies that could cost her her marriage. The book has 2 plots, one about Maddie and one about Lydia. Who is Lydia? How are the two plots connected? Ms Stimson does an excellent job tying them together. Several times I was convinced I had it figured out only to find another twist. Even though I guessed who did it just before that was revealed I was still not prepared for the disturbing ending. This book left me thinking and shivering. Excellent debut thriller for a former romance writer. I hope to see more from her. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.… (més)