“The nightmare began on the day the dog died.”

After an accident took her husband, two children and one leg, Leah Brand thought she’d found a new life with Mason.

A lawyer, Mason started to change after the dog died. He had little time for Leah, always dealing with his clients, short tempered and distant, coming home and going to his office.

Leah had a difficult time dealing with Mason’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Belinda, who lived with them. Belinda never listened to anything Leah said to her and started having difficulty at school which Mason blamed on Leah.

Leah had suffered from depression after the accident that took her family and leg. As the problems in her new marriage manifested themselves, the depression began to return. And with the depression came misplaced items, moved items, and the appearance of objects that weren’t in their house before.

Leah tries to kickstart her education, taking classes as well as reading a book by a specialist on self-help. Spending time at a local library, Leah is friended by a handsome librarian. She enjoys his company and nothing else.

Leah’s neighbor, Andrea, wealthy and alone and doesn’t like Mason, offers Leah a caring shoulder to lean on, taking her on short retreats to forget her problems.

But as things continue to go missing or get re-arranged in the house with everyone blaming Leah, saying she must have moved them without remembering, Leah sees a doctor to be tested for a breakdown. Her depression and tears slowly push everyone away from her and Leah begins to feel more and more alone.

A Year In The Life Of Leah Brand is a wonderful psychological thriller for those who love these kinds of books. The reader is never quite sure if Leah is breaking down and blacking out and forgetting things or if someone or her family and friends are conspiring against her. Great read. Enjoyed.

Allen M Werner is the author of the epic fantasy series The Crystal Crux