The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall
Genre: Psychological thrillers
Read: 27th May 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(release date: 7th June 2019)
★★★★★ 5 stars
Honeymoons are meant to be beautiful romantic getaways from reality in the post-wedded bliss of getting to know each other. But for Chloe it was anything but. She had met Dan just two months ago when he brought his mother in for physiotherapy and theirs was a whirlwind romance. A month after meeting, he proposed. Another month after that, they were married. A bit too soon? Chloe didn't think so...at the time.
Chloe is a physiotherapist working and living in Brighton. She is a part time carer for her gran, who was prone to chest infections, and Chloe stopped by twice a day - before and after work - for physiotherapy and to make her tea. After the death of her mother almost a decade before, Chloe has been racked with guilt that it was her fault. Her brother and sister also blame her for their mother's death and have not spoken in years. So in an attempt to relieve some of that guilt she looks after her gran, whose barbed comments seem to reflect that she too blames Chloe for her mother's death. She was, after all, her gran's daughter. It only reiterates Chloe's guilt.
Then Chloe meets Dan. It isn't long before she is besotted with him. And after a whirlwind romance, they marry. While she organises the wedding, she leaves the honeymoon in Dan's capable hands. He is, after all, paying for it so it only seemed fair. But Chloe had one stipulation. She had always dreamed of a honeymoon in the Maldives (I don't blame her - I would too) and white sandy beaches with huts on stilts, being waited on in paradise. So when they arrive at the airport and she discovers at the boarding gate their destination is Menorca, she is confused. But Dan reassures her it was a last minute change and they will have a great time at the secluded villa he has rented in Menorca.
But things begin to happen that makes Chloe question how well does she really know Dan? Not long after their arrival, she discovers she has lost her phone. Despite looking everywhere, even where she knew she kept it, she can't find it. And Dan seems to have morphed into another persona. Since their arrival at the villa, he keeps Chloe a virtual prisoner but tells her he is doing so to keep her safe. And then he announces they are not returning to the UK but are staying in Menorca. End of discussion. What is going on? Does she even know Dan at all?
Chloe begins to plan her escape. When Dan is asleep one night, she stealthily tosses a few things into her rucksack, ensuring she has her passport and money, climbs out an open window (because the door is locked) and hurries to the village where she has a taxi waiting. She doesn't relax until she is on-board the plane and in the air bound for home.
But once she gets there, things only get more puzzling. Her key won't fit in the lock of her apartment. When she calls the estate agent they inform her that they received notification that she was vacating and the locks were changed, which was normal procedure. But what about all her belongings? But the place was empty when they took possession, so where is her stuff? She tries to make a purchase; card declined. She goes to the cash-point (ATM) to withdraw cash; it takes her card. She calls the bank; that account was closed and all funds were transferred to another account. What the? And then when she calls her work, she discovers they had received an email from her last Monday to say she would not be returning to work. Is this Dan's doing? She knows he wants them to move to Menorca, but would he go this far?
Then when she calls Dan's number she is informed that the number is no longer available. Her social media accounts have all disappeared, as has Dan's. All her online accounts, her emails - everything. GONE! It seems she no longer exists. And when her gran informs her doesn't want her living there Chloe realises she is homeless with no money, no job - nothing. What is going on?
Her gran says there is only one thing to do. She must go back and stand up to him. Find out what's going on. Chloe can stay the night and her gran will pay for her return with a little extra money the next morning. All the alarm bells started going off in my head and I was screaming at her - DON'T GO!!
But when she married him after only two months, it was never going to end well, was it?
I liked Chloe. She reminds me a bit of me. She is not a strong person, but she has strong ethics and moral code. Her questioning of Dan's motives did niggle at me a bit because I didn't trust the man, but I guess in her position we'd probably think and feel the same...wanting to believe the best in people. Dan, I didn't like. I didn't trust him the moment he started exerting control. I don't like someone who thinks they know best by cutting off all their means, despite protests. He claimed they were now married and a partnership, yet he showed no signs of a partnership but rather a dominant over a subordinate. And that alone rings alarms bells for me. But then...it wouldn't be a very interesting psychological thriller if he didn't exert some of "the bad guy". Even if to throw us off scent...or not.
THE HONEYMOON may be one honeymoon you don't want to take, but you won't be able to put the book down! It is thrilling, engaging and utterly intriguing. Filled with secrets and lies, it shows you how little you can know someone and that no matter how much you think you know them, it makes you question how well you really do.
I was 60% through THE HONEYMOON before I called it a night at 3am then picked it up the next day to finish...and what a race to the end it was! The style was easy to read, despite the excessive description (which I don't normally favour) rather than dialogue, but I still surprisingly found it an easy read. And by the time the big reveal came, I admit I was a little disappointed by the reality of it (as I was hoping for another outcome), but it soon made up for it as the shocks and the twists kept coming long after that. And that ending!! WOW! Way to go, girlfriend!!
THE HONEYMOON is the first book by Rona Halsall I've read but if this book is anything to go by, I will paying a lot closer attention to her in the future. Definitely recommend!
I would like to thank #RonaHalsall, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHoneymoon in exchange for an honest review.
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