REVIEW: The Marriage Retreat by Laura Elliot

The Marriage Retreat by Laura Elliot

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 12th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 17th August 223

★★★ 3.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

My husband saved other people’s marriages.

But his secrets will destroy ours…

I stand in the mortuary and take a deep breath before identifying the body of the man I’ve been married to for twenty-six years. Victor and I built Serenity Falls, a successful couples’ retreat, together. Honesty and trust were the bedrocks of our marriage, and we helped other couples repair their relationships too.

Now my whole world has been turned upside down and I don’t know what to think. A woman lies in a coma, in a stark, white hospital room. She was by Victor’s side when he died. The police have been unable to identify her and I’m forced to confront the painful reality that my own husband was hiding something. My grief is laced with anger. How could he lie to me?

But as I begin to uncover the secrets of my husband’s past, I discover the shocking truth about the woman with no name and no memory. And to protect my family, I have to make a choice.

A choice that will turn me into a liar, just like Victor.

And will end in murder…

MY THOUGHTS:

My Husband saved other people’s marriages...But his secret will destroy ours...

To be honest, I found this book a bit of a struggle. It's a slow paced thriller which I don't mind sometimes, but this one was a struggle. It felt a bit too long and I felt like I was drowning part the way through. But having said that, it WAS a good story. Intriguing and compelling...just too long.

When Lorraine Gordon receives the news that her husband Victor was killed in a car accident on the motorway a few miles from Dublin when he should have been at a conference in London, her world collapses. Everything she thought she knew was a lie. And she was determined to right every last wrong.

She met Victor at some airy fairy hippies retreat in Texas where they lived on mung beans and gazed at their navels or something. I don't know but Victor seemed to be a guru that had an aura that shone from him. Every woman wanted to be with him, every man wanted to be him. He was an enigma that Lorraine fell in love with and together they returned to Ireland and built up their business in the hotel she inherited from her father, Serenity Falls, to become Rekindle Connections. And here, Victor became known as the "love guru".

So when the gardai come knocking to inform her of Victor's death, they have another piece of news to impart. He was not alone in the car. His travelling companion was a young woman who remains in a critical condition in a coma in hospital. Now it seems everything Lorraine thought she knew about her husband was a lie. Who is this young woman? And how does Victor know her?

But it seems Lorraine's troubles are only just beginning. When she visits Victor's solicitor's office for the reading of the Will with their son Aidan, it appears Victor had recently changed his Will in light of his health problems. Both of which were news to her. But, fortunately for her, the new Will had not yet been signed so therefore was invalid and given that Victor had revoked his previous Will meant that he died intestate. So where exactly did that leave Lorraine? And more importantly, Serenity Falls?

There is so much more I could say about this story but it would probably give a little too much away. So I shall just leave it at that and let you be the judge. To be honest, Lorraine is not very likeable which is hard in a main character because I really didn't care what happened to her. But I did want to find out what happened.

I almost DNF this book because I found it to be so long and drawn out. I was glad I stuck it out because it got marginally better in the last 25% which by then it should have had me enthralled (which I wasn't). I really wanted to like this book but it is hard to review because on the one hand it's a great story but on the other it is too long winded. I felt it would have been better editted down a little to be shorter and made pacier with short snappy chapters.

Overall, a good solid read that was atmospheric and chilling in parts.

I would like to thank #LauraElliot, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMarriageRetreat in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Laura Elliot is an Irish novelist who writes psychological thrillers and lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her novels are: The Thorn Girl, The Wife Before Me, Guilty, Sleep Sister, The Betrayal, Fragile Lies, Stolen Child and The Prodigal Sister. Her latest novel,

The Tinderbox is due for release in December 2020. AKA June Considine, she had written twelve books for children and young adults. She has worked as a journalist and magazine editor.

Social Media Links:

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REVIEW: The Family on Smith Street by Elisabeth Carpenter

The Family on Smith Street by Elisabeth Carpenter

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 10th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 14th August 2023

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

A happy family. A picture-perfect street. A secret someone would kill for.

My husband James and I love living on Smith Street, with its neat houses and friendly family barbecues. Our daughter Scarlett grew up playing outside with the other local kids – it’s somewhere nothing bad could ever happen. Or so I thought…

Because when I wake terrified, head pounding, in a cramped windowless room, I realise I was entirely wrong. As my eyes adjust to the dark, I see creased pictures of missing local people I vaguely recognise from the news covering the walls. Then my skin turns ice-cold when I notice the newest pictures are of me, of James, of Scarlett…

A terrified sob catches in my throat. It seems there’s been a killer hiding in our neighbourhood for years. And I’m their next victim.

I stare at the photos in horror. Because if they’ve got me, they could also have James or, worst of all, my precious daughter Scarlett... In that moment, I know I’ll do anything, everything, to save my family. Especially because, deep down, I know this is all my fault…

A completely compelling and page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of My Lovely Wife, The Serial Killer’s Wife and The Housemaid.

MY THOUGHTS:

How well do you really know them...?

How has it been so long since I've read Elisabeth Carpenter? When her debut "99 Red Balloons" was published, I devoured it it was THAT good! (Although my review of it is pretty crap - it was written in my early review days). And when a debut is THAT good, the bar is set that much higher and it is hard to beat. And this one comes close...very close.

Told through three different narratives, the story begins with Joanna who disappears on her way home one night after having a few too many drinks. She's clever enough to pretend to be walking up to her door when approached by a strange car but she's not quick enough to avoid a quick-thinking kidnapper from snatching her from the street. She awakes in a strange room that is eerily decorated much like her own at home...only it isn't. And she's tied up with a gag across her mouth. But why did they take her? What do they want from her? Surely, they have the wrong person. And the longer they hold her, the more she's convinced they have made a mistake. Nothing they tell her makes any kind of sense. She doesn't know these people. They have made a mistake.

Scarlett wakes the following morning surprised that her mum hasn't already beaten her to it, as she usually does. She gets herself ready for college and heads downstairs. The curtains are still drawn in the living room. Strange. And then she sees her dad still sprawled with his head on the table. Has he not been to bed yet? Wait...is he even breathing? Is he dead? Scarlett can almost taste the relief when she sees her dad slowly blink his eyes open. She asks him where mum is. Did she not come home? He assures her all is fine but Scarlett isn't stupid. Her dad may be saying all the right things but there's something he's not telling her. Does he know where her mum is? 

Rewind back nearly forty years to 1985 and we meet ten year old Alexander, a young boy whose mother is an alcoholic and whose father may as well not even be there. By the time he's 14, his father has been arrested for his mother's murder and he is is shipped off to his maternal grandparents in Yorkshire. Life hasn't been kind to Alex but maybe now it will be. Because now he has grandparents who love him...like his mother never did.

As the story unfolds through the three perspectives, we are lead on a merry chase trying to figure out exactly why Joanna has been kidnapped and by who? And how do the two timelines intersect? It's clear as the past timeline starts to catch up that Alex is a very troubled individual. In fact, being inside his head was creepy but oh it was such fun!

We are fed snippets along the way - some red herrings, some real clues - but how to decipher the fact from fiction? There are many threads weaved around each other, cleverly crafted and deftly driven to give you just enough without giving too much away. And then twist after twist came, blowing everything out of the water. What I thought was true wasn't and then it was and then what the...? How did that happen? And when?

Elisabeth Carpenter has expertly maneovured each thread into an expertly woven tapestry. As you stand back, just look at the picture and I just think - WOW. She's done it again. 

I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish which is the most important factor in a book. If I'm entertained, I'm happy. And happy I was. And thoroughly entertained. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, even though I was falling asleep. I just wanted to keep reading.

Another absolute winner for me. Now I really have to find time to go back and read all the others in between her debut to now. Until then, I can't wait to see what she delivers us next!

I would like to thank #ElisabethCarpenter, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyOnSmithStreet in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Elisabeth Carpenter lives in Preston with her family. She completed a BA in English Literature and Language with the Open University in 2008.

Elisabeth was awarded a Northern Writers’ New Fiction award, and was longlisted for Yeovil Literary Prize (2015 and 2016) and the MsLexia Women’s Novel award (2015). She loves living in the north of England and sets most of her stories in the area, including the novel she is writing at the moment.

Social media links:

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REVIEW: Anatomy of a Killer by Romy Hausmann

Anatomy of a Killer by Romy Hausmann

Genre: Psychological thriller, German

Read: 16th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 3rd August 2023

★ 1 star

DESCRIPTION:

They say he's a murderer. But how could he be?

Berlin, 2017: several young girls have been disappearing for the past fourteen years. Red ribbons show the police the way to their bodies, but there's no trace of the killer.

One evening, internationally renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on the suspicion of the murders in the presence of his daughter, Ann.

'Professor Death' becomes the headline of the tabloid press and Lesniak himself refuses to cooperate with the police. Ann is certain this is all some kind of mistake. And she will prove it. Yet, with the arrest of her father, she begins a journey into the unknown . . .

MY THOUGHTS:

They call him a murderer...but how could he be...?

Oh my. I was so disappointed with this book sadly. I read and totally loved "Dear Child" so I was thrilled to see this one come up for request. It sounded intriguing. But...

Ann's father is in prison awaiting trial for the murders of several girls over a fourteen year period. Despite the evidence against him, Ann refuses to accept her father's guilt and so embarks on a journey to prove his innocence.

I didn't get that far.

Flipping burgers on Christmas Eve then going home with a customer/friend (still can't work out what he was meant to be) where she got drunk and confessed to the allegations against daddy dearest and her quest to see him free. I honestly couldn't get much past that. I really struggled with the format and the whole story just didn't gel with me. Ann was unlikeable and I found it hard to sympathise much with her. I found her internal dialogue and flashbacks somewhat confusing. But then that could be down to being lost in translation.

I must congratulate the translator as I can't even begin to imagine the task of translating an entire book page by page, line by line, word for word and maintain the integrity of the original. The inclusion of Ann's diary entries that were written phonetically, I think the translator did an astounding job. 

At the end of the day, we can't like every book we read. That's never going to happen. You win some, you lose some. I may give this one another go further down the track but as it stands right now I just couldn't get into it. A shame really because "Dear Child" was the bomb. Totally brilliant. But then it was always going to be tough beating that one.

I would like to thank #RomyHausmann, #Netgalley and #QuercusBooks for an ARC of #AnatomyOfAKiller in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Romy Hausmann was born in the former GDR in 1981. At the age of twenty-four she became chief editor at a film production company in Munich. Since the birth of her son, Romy has been working as a freelancer in TV. DEAR CHILD is her thriller debut, and her second mind-bending thriller SLEEPLESS published in 2021. ANATOMY OF A KILLER is her third english translated thriller published in 2023.

Romy lives with her family in a remote house in the woods near Stuttgart.

Social media links:

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REVIEW: Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

 

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 15th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 3rd August 2023

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from her push-chair, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning up mess and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.

Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door . . . and their intentions aren’t good.

With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.

The Queen of Twists, bestselling author of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors Alice Feeney, returns with another gripping mystery filled with drama and her trademark surprises in Good Bad Girl.

MY THOUGHTS:

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things." 🐞

This story begins at THE END. 🐞

And it ends at THE BEGINNING. 🐞

Two Mother's Days, twenty years apart, collide as this complex tale unravels from the end to the beginning. And four very different women find themselves tangled in Alice Feeney's latest intricate web.

Twenty years ago, a baby disappears from a pram in a supermarket and is never seen again despite police's best efforts to track her down. The mother is distraught as her whole world as she knows it inevitably changes. Six months later, they bury an empty coffin in an attempt to gain closure if not answers.

In the present day, we meet Frankie. She likes to think of herself as a good bad girl. Life has taught her that people can't be trusted and the only thing you can count on is numbers. So that's what she does. She counts. Three times to open the door. Seventy five steps to the next gate. Twenty five to her car. Numbers calm her. But what she really loves is books. To lose herself in a world of fiction. And as a prison librarian Frankie's job is to ensure that everyone has access to books. She built this library to what it is today. She taught some of the inmates to read. She gave them an appreciation of books. Because in books you can lose yourself and they can be a saviour to your hurting heart just by burying yourself within their pages. And every day she leaves the prison and returns home to her narrowboat and wishes for her missing daughter to return home to her.

Edith's daughter Clio is a therapist who is need of therapy herself. She lives in a pink house with a very expensive collection that remains private to all but her. She tries to help others but fails to help herself. And when it comes to her mother, she has little care to spare. After tricking her mother into signing papers which gave her power of attorney and removed her from her home, she then dumped her into the Windsor Care Home after relieving herself of her mother's beloved dog Dickens.

Plucky Edith Elliot is high spirited and a prisoner in the Windsor Care Home. She has a plan to escape God's waiting room and return to her own home where she was happiest with her dog Dickens who was taken from her and dumped in a shelter, and she longs to take long walks with him again as she used to. But little do the powers that be know, Edith isn't stupid and she has a plan.

On Patience's first day of work at the care home, she found Edith crying in an armchair. It too was Edith's first day at the home and she was distraught over having lost her home and and her dog. When she discovered what had happened to Dickens to spent most of her savings and went to the shelter so she could adopt him. Now she brings him into the care home every so often so that Edith and Dickens are reunited once again.

But now Edith is missing!!

Enter DCI Charlotte Chapman (what a colourful character - in more ways than one...lol). But it seems she is not here to investigate a missing resident, but a murdered employee. And she has THREE suspects to TWO murders with only ONE victim.

The story unfolds through the distinctive narratives of each of the four women - Frankie, Patience, Edith and Clio. But how are all these women linked? And what do they have to do with the murders? Frankie has spent a year searching for her daughter which has brought her to Covent Garden, but will she ever find her?

Every nuance, every fibre, every braid of the story is intricately entwined as we try to untangle each invisible thread. Alice Feeney has a very distinctive and unique style and while this tale is not as dark as some of her previous ones, it is just as twisty and just as clever...given (also) that she wrote it at a very difficult time personally for herself. I normally prefer dialogue driven novels but I an enamoured by Feeney's unique style that she has me turning the pages at the speed of light as I try to untangle the web she has cleverly spun. She examines several issues surrounding motherhood like postpartum depression and the struggles that comes with motherhood. And yet still she thrills as the twists keep coming as slowly the threads begin to unravel to reveal the bigger picture. And while I did figure out pretty much every twist along the way, there was one I DID NOT see coming which left me speechless for a minute, as I went back and re-read what I just read to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me and I really did just read that.

I have only read three novels by Alice Feeney and she never ceases to thrill or chill me. I love her books which, while they are categorised as thrillers, Feeney has successfully shaped her own style of genre. I love how they are each different, exploring nuance and innuendo, whilst being thoroughly entertaining as well. I don't find her a slow burn at all though some readers might so be patient with this one, it really is worth it. 🐞

I would like to thank #AliceFeeney, #Netgalley and #PanMacmillan for an ARC of #GoodBadGirl in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Alice Feeney is an author and former BBC journalist. Her debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, was a New York Times and international bestseller. It has been translated into over twenty languages, and is being made into a TV series by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Her books have been translated into over twenty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Including her novel Rock Paper Scissors, which is being made into a TV series by the producer of The Crown. 

Alice has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in Devon, where she lives with her husband and dog..

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Adopted Daughter by J.J. Burgess

The Adopted Daughter by J.J. Burgess

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 8th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 6th August 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

She says she’s his daughter. But what does she really want?

Alice and Richard are happily married and about to achieve their lifelong dream – giving up their jobs to sail around the Mediterranean on their own boat.

But shortly before they are due to leave, a young woman, Sally, appears on their doorstep and says she is Richard’s daughter, given up for adoption by his former lover.

After he gets over the shock, Richard is welcoming to Sally, but Alice is unsettled. Discovering that Richard is a father is a painful reminder of her own desire for a family and her inability to conceive.

But is this what makes her wary of Sally, or is her intuition trying to warn her that something much darker is happening here?

When one suspicious incident follows another, Alice starts to dig into who Sally really is and why she has suddenly come into their lives. What she finds is something she could never have imagined in her wildest nightmares…

MY THOUGHTS:

She says she’s his daughter. But what does she really want?

Wellll...this is NOT the Bristol Lizzie Lane writes about...lol But boy, is it ever entertaining?!

Alice and Richard have been happily together for the past twenty years and are about to embark on their dream to sail around the Mediterranean for the next few years. They both took early retirement from their jobs at Bristol University and have just celebrated Richard's leaving do. With just over a week before they are due to leave, the couple are counting down until their new lives begin.

The following morning, as the couple are packing the doorbell rings, presenting a young woman named Sally who purports to be Richard's daughter from a fling he had with a previous lab assistant. Alice is immediately suspicious particularly when Richard uncovers some disturbing information about Sally. And the more she digs, the more unsettled she becomes. Because what she uncovers she would never have imagined happening in her wildest dreams. Who is Sally and what does she really want with them?

I really can't say much more without revealing spoilers but one thing is for certain - Richard is hiding a lot of secrets but Alice is not to be outdone either. It soon becomes clear about halfway through the direction the story is taking and where each person's loyalties lay. Part two is a little repetitive in its retelling of the same scenarios but through slightly different eyes...and it is very revealing.

It's hard to review this book...seriously. Let's just say it's a little less to do about an adopted daughter than we all first thought, and more about...well, I'll leave you to discover what. But you will totally love to hate Richard. The guy is a snake. And Alice? Well, she was a surprise and she will have you cheering her on as she learns to sail and uncovers the truth about Sally and thensome. I was totally invested in where this tale was going. I wanted to see Alice sail into the sunset and reach the Mediterranean. And I couldn't wait to see how it all unfolded.

But...and it is a big but. The ending. It just sort of petered out. The last two chapters (when I look back on it) just felt like fillers, fluffed out to make the word count. I felt a little deflated by the ending and it's for that reason I've totally dropped a star from my rating because aside from that, up until the end, it was totally going to be a 5 star read. But I was disappointed by the ending. Still, it was a good solid and entertaining ride that was fast paced throughout.

I would like to thank #JJBurgess, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheAdoptedDaughter in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

JJ Burgess has a degree in Economics and lives in Bristol with his wife and two sons. By day he is the Director of a greetings card company, by night he writes psychological thrillers that ask questions about the world we live in.

When he isn’t writing, he is usually running through the woods around Bristol, thinking of new characters and dark plots.

This is his second psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.

Social media links:

Twitter | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Gilded Cage by Luisa A. Jones

The Gilded Cage by Luisa A Jones

Genre: Historical fiction, Romance

Read: 13th August 2023

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Amazon

Published: 22nd June 2023

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

1897. Rosamund bows her head and steps slowly down the aisle. The satin of her gown whispers against the stone floor and a single tear falls into the bunch of yellow roses twisted in her trembling hands. Despite rumours of his cruelty, Rosamund has no choice but to become this man’s second wife.

After her wedding, Rosamund finds herself trapped in Sir Lucien Fitznorton’s lonely country estate. As she wanders the chilly halls, made shadowy by drapes of heavy velvet, she longs for the lost comforts of her childhood home, where she was the beloved only daughter to a doting father, now buried miles away. As a young woman with no fortune of her own, only death can release her from this misery.

Until she meets Joseph, her husband’s gruffly handsome new chauffeur. With his mop of salt-and-pepper hair and lilting accent, Joseph is from another world. One of clambering children and tea at scrubbed kitchen tables, the hollow scratch of hunger and long hours of hard work. Despite their differences, they find themselves increasingly drawn to one other.

But Sir Lucien is not only cruel, he’s devious too, and soon Rosamund finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets and lies. Is Rosamund’s fragile marriage nothing but a golden cage, trapping her between two men who desire her… and to what end?

One holds her captive and the other offers a hope of escape… but who really holds the key to Rosamund’s gilded prison?

A gripping and emotional historical novel, fans of Lucinda Riley and Tracy Rees won’t be able to put this book down.

MY THOUGHTS:

I had been eagerly awaiting reading this historical tale and was devastated when my request was declined on Netgalley. However, I managed to purchase the title anyway such was my desire to read it. And I was not disappointed! I love losing myself in sweeping historical tales and this one was no different. It had a Downton-esque element to it with perspectives from the servants as well as the lady of the house. But it also has a much darker side, one that is sensitively handled despite its horrific nature.

Beginning in 1897, Rosamund Pelham is dealt a savage blow when her brother Tristram marries her off to the aging and ghastly Sir Lucien Fitznorton, citing debts left by their father and having to sell her childhood home with no means with which to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed. But nothing could prepare her for marriage to Sir Lucien. From their wedding night, he staked his claim on the virginal Rosamund using brute force and taking what he saw as rightfully his. His abuse is horrendous and depraved, abusing her in every way imaginable. And sixteen years later, the once bright vivacious young woman is silenced and now trapped within a gilded cage.

Household staff suspect what goes on but theirs is not to reason why nor to question their betters. But what makes them better? Class, power, money, aristocracy...certainly not morality, kindness or compassion. Lady Fitznorton's ladies maid, Nellie Dawson, is perhaps the closest to her ladyship to see the damage he leaves behind. The bruises on her wrists, back, neck, the scratches and welts across her breasts, the cigar burns on her abdomen, the scratches on her thighs. Yes, his Lordship may be aristocracy but he is a brute and a cruel one at that. Every morning, Nellie bathes Rosamund's wounds and draws a bath filled with lavender scent to ease her aches left from the previous night's brutal ministrations. Immobilised and traumatised by her husband's cruelty, Rosamund is eventually unable to function and becomes a shell of herself, devoid of life and spirit. Her one rebellion is to refuse food so that she may have that little bit of control that would keep her body repugnant from him. But still it doesn't stop his abuse.

When Sir Lucien purchases a new motor car, he also employs a new chaffaeur with the engineering and mechanical expertise needed to maintain it. And so Rosamund meets Joseph, who unwittingly steps into her life and shows her kindness again. When Sir Lucien and his spoilt daughter Charlotte travel to London, Rosamund uses her new-found freedom to learn to drive and undertakes Joseph to teach her. The experience is as exhilerating as it is dangerous, for if any staff loyal to Sir Lucien himself were to choose they could report her activities to her husband who would then find new ways of torturing her. And pay for it, she will, make no mistake. Still, Rosamund gains a confidence she has not felt since the passing of her dear papa. But is it enough to see her through what is to come? For doubtless, there will be repercussions. Esepcially as rumours begin to fly about Rosamund spending so much time with the chaffeur, and soon she realises that may have endangered not only herself but that of Joseph and his position at Plas Norton.

Oh, how I loved this book! I devoured it late into the night and then immediately picked it up the following morning and would not put it down until I had turned the last page. And even then, it left me wanting more. And yet, it ended just perfectly. I loved the Epilogue and thought it the perfect ending through Nellie's eyes. 

This book is perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey" or any historical fiction and will appreciate the Downton-esque similarities throughout. I particularly like Rosamund's maid, Nellie, who has very aptly a voice in this story and while she may have thought her ladyship to be cold and aloof to begin with, it isn't long before loyalty wins and she becomes a wonderful ally, fighting Rosamund's corner from below the stairs. My heart went out to Rosamund who finds herself trapped in a marriage to an abusive brute from which she sees no escape. Lusia's elaborate depiction of the abuse and its psychological trauma is both horrendous as well as accurate. The description of Rosamund's curling into a foetal position to protect herself; her seemingly cold and aloof nature; her act of rebellion to starve herself; her entire demeanour is one of resignation to her circumstances. She sees no end in sight to the torment inflicted on her night after night after night and the new and depraved ways in which her husband finds to further humiliate and control her, to keep her wings clipped and trapped in her gilded cage for all eternity. It is heartbreaking to read and one can be forgiven for feeling a rage towards the brute who mistreats her so. Honestly, it is difficult to see her so broken and terrified of her husband. His voice was the most brutal of all.

And then there is Joseph. Normally, I don't reconcile infidelity in any way but fiction is fiction and anything goes. And while we do venture into Lady Chatterley territory, I still feel it is done sensitively. Joseph allowed Rosamund to find her confidence, her inner strength and the courage to step out of that cage that kept her bound for so long. He also gives his voice to the story along with that of his wife Mary, and it leaves the reader to wonder just how this will all play out.

There is so much to love about this book, as well as some not to like. But the ending was a surprise. I didn't see it taking that road but it was a lovely divergent to the tangled mess left behind otherwise. 

Expertly crafted, THE GILDED CAGE is a heartbreaking tale of despair, sorrow, strength and resilience. But it is also one of hope. I cannot praise this book highly enough and I will eagerly look out for more of the author's work if this one is anything to go by. 

A well deserved 5 stars!

#LuisaAJones 

#StormPublishing 

#TheGildedCage 

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Luisa A Jones lives in South Wales, and takes inspiration from the Welsh countryside, towns, history, and of course its people. Her writing explores the dynamics within relationships, the pressures that mental health issues can exert on people, and how these can be overcome.

Luisa studied Classical Studies at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London. Her previous jobs have included tour guide in an historic house; teacher in both primary and secondary schools; careers adviser; and corporate trainer/assessor.

Luisa loves using her creativity for crafting and baking, as well as writing historical and contemporary fiction with romantic elements. She and her husband are the proud owners of Gwynnie, a Volkswagen camper van built in 1974, which inspired the story behind Luisa's first book, Goes Without Saying. They have three children, a dog, and two cats. 

Becoming an author fulfilled a lifelong ambition.

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REVIEW: The Mistake I Made by Sam Hepburn

The Mistake I Made by Sam Hepburn

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 6th August 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 11th August 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A man is dead. And only I know why.

As we sit drinking wine by the river and I gaze into his dark brown eyes, I know I have finally met the man of my dreams. I have been hurt before, but this time will be different.

He has a terrible past and everyone tells me he can’t be trusted, but they don’t know what I know. I know deep down that together we can overcome anything.

Because sure he has secrets, but who doesn’t?

But now a man is dead. And the police are knocking on my door.

Was trusting him the biggest mistake I could make…? I don’t know where to go or who to turn to. What if I am next?

This addictive and gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Family Across the Street and The Family Upstairs.

MY THOUGHTS:

I'm in danger...but no one will believe me...

I'm not sure what I expected from this book but after devouring her previous domestic thriller "A Good Mother" and loving it, I knew I would be in for a treat. I wasn't wrong. But it was also something completely different. Nothing at all like I could have or might have expected. But I was seriously completely blindsided until BAM! she hit us with the first twist and then BAM! the second coming right before that ending.

Heartbroken after her husband divorced her, Vanessa Dunn is intent on reinventing herself in some form or another by reaching out and helping those less fortunate than others. She volunteers at a men's homeless shelter as well becoming a volunteer visitor at a hospice where she meets Frances Findlay who takes her into her confidence and entrusts her with an important task: to find the child she'd given birth to over two decades ago. And this is where things get interesting.

That aside, Vanessa is also the owner and operator of her own interior design business in which she employs some of the men from the homeless shelter looking to improve themselves after falling on hard times. She finds two such employees in Mick and Jay, much to the annoyance of her manageress, Meghan who doesn't trust them. But Vanessa is intent on giving them a positive outlook on life and something to work towards.

On a personal level, Vanessa's life hasn't been a bed of roses. She grew up in a house where she felt very little loved and where her much younger sister was the deemed favourite. Even now, with her father living abroad and her mother in a care home with dementia, Izzy is still the favoured sibling despite never being around to visit or care for their mother. That's all left up to Vanessa. Her entire life, even that of the new Vanessa is filled with care home visits, hospice visits, homeless shelter volunteering as well as her business.So when Ralph steps into her store one day to buy a wedding gift, Meghan is quick to push Vanessa into going out with him. But Vanessa isn't so sure.

That is Part One. When Part Two begins, I had to go back and see if I was reading it correctly. What just happened? You will just have pick up the book and find out yourself. But prepare to be shocked. Nothing is as it seems.

I read this book in one sitting in bed tonight, so it was a fairly quick read. There really isn't a lot I can say about it except that it was well plotted and cleverly crafted. Throughout the entire book I wasn't sure how I was going to rate it as it really seemed mediocre throughout much of the story. And then BAM! that twist just threw everything sideways and then that final one was just a delicious twist of the knife. So close and yet so far.

What started out as a 3 star read easily ramped up to 4 by the end.

I would like to thank #SamHepburn, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMistakeIMade in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sam Hepburn read modern languages at Cambridge University and, after a brief spell in advertising, joined the BBC as a General Trainee. She worked as a documentary maker for twenty years and was one of the commissioners for the launch of BBC Four. Since then, she has written several books, including psychological thrillers Gone Before and Her Perfect Life, and novels for young adults and children. She won the 2017 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story award and has been nominated for several other prestigious prizes, including the CILIP Carnegie Medal for her YA thrillers.

Sam has worked and travelled widely in Africa and the Middle East, and is a trustee of the Kenyan’s children’s charity, I Afrika. She now lives in London with her husband and children. 

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