Six Weeks To Live is a corkscrewing roller coaster whodunnit family feud filled with secrets, grudges and revenge.
Jennifer Barnes receives a shocking diagnosis and – you guessed it by the title – is given only six weeks to live. As you might expect of someone in this position, she spends her final days surrounded by family and reflecting on her life. As she does this, two things occur. First, reliving the past drags up painful memories that lead to the family airing their dirty laundry and confronting each other on long harbored resentments. Second, Jennifer starts to believe she’s been poisoned. As the end nears for her, she seeks the truth no matter how painful the outcome or what it might reveal about those closest to her.
Six Weeks To Live hooked me with two concepts. First, it’s a sleuthing mystery wrapped up in family drama that contains enough uncertainty to keep you guessing until close to the end. A twisting investigation filled with ambiguity, mixed with family issues that people can relate to make for a powerful combination. Second, the book dives deep into mental illness and its impact on the individual as well as those around them. Shedding light on the importance of prioritizing mental health and seeking help for mental illness is a critical topic that helps us as a society to fight stigmas and make it more acceptable for people to seek treatment and address their overall wellbeing.
Beyond these hooks, Catherine McKenzie does a wonderful job of keeping the reader in suspense with escalating speculation towards determining the culprit. You will change your mind multiple times before the big reveal and possibly start to question if your own actions could lead your family to plot your demise. Conjecture, personalization, and a twisting mystery. A great thriller combination!
Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase Six Weeks To Live
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen