The Staffymum's Book Nook: May 2022

Amazon

Australia

Published: 13th May 2022

★ 1 star

DESCRIPTION:

Someone knows what they did…

A laugh.

A touch.

A lingering look.

A dead body.

An affair.

A crime years in the making.

Alice knows she’s in too deep. But behind closed doors, no one is who they seem…

MY THOUGHTS:

The premise for this book told little of what the actual story was about so I kind of went in blind...particularly with not knowing the author or their style. It was a risky move that sometimes pays off...and sometimes doesn't. In this case, it was the latter.

We meet Alice Johnston, a well-respected and successful solicitor who specialises in defending those who need a voice...specifically abused women. Her husband of three years, Joseph, is also a solicitor within the same firm. And unfortunately, he has just confessed to having an affair with their receptionist..."but it was before we were together" he stresses. Alice loses faith in both Joseph and the marriage she thought she had and in a fit of anger, packs a suitcase and boards a train out of Paddington to the West Country.

But what made Alice choose Bath for her impromptu escape? A few days before, she had received an email from an anonymous person asking for her help. There is no name, no details, no information as to who or what she'd be walking into. The person requested that she meet them in a hotel restaurant in Bath...hence her impromptu travel plans. She checks in and collapses on the bed and sleeps half the day away before preparing herself for her meeting.

After waiting for some time, Alice realises she has been stood up...or maybe the person changed their mind about meeting her. Had they contacted her to let her know she wouldn't know as she left her phone turned off and locked in a drawer in her room to escape the incessant text messages from Joseph. But then she is approached by the young bartender, Luke, who has been serving her who then discloses that it was him whom she was waiting for. He informs her that he wants her to represent him. For what? Nothing yet...but for something he wants to do.

Intrigued and puzzled in equal measure, Alice tries to question him further to which he replies "Not tonight. This isn't the place."

Luke then invites her out the following night but reveals even less about his plans and what he requires of her and seems more intent on showing her a good time, drinking and pub crawling. Inevitably, they begin a romance which is insane since she knows nothing about him and he still continues his line of "Not tonight. Later."

Honestly, it was all dribble in my opinion and I didn't care for either Alice or Luke. I have no idea what he intended doing and why he needed Alice's services because he seemed more interested in bedding her than anything else. If this is a thriller, it a slow one. And if it is a slow burn, it is glacial - both in speed and intensity.

I realise I am in the minority here with so many rave reviews but I've said it before than I don't care for slow burns unless they intrigue me. And this one didn't. The premise said very little and I wish I had just moved past it instead of choosing to step into its minefield.

If you like slow burns, then you may well enjoy this one. I honestly couldn't get past the first creepy 20% of the 437 pages I'd otherwise subject myself to. It was dark and depressing and if a book fails to grab me within that time, then I move on. Life is too short and my TBR pile too big to read books that I don't enjoy.

I would like to thank #JSLark, #Netgalley, #OneMoreChapter and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheSecretCouple in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jane is a coffee, chocolate and red wine lover, and a late-night writer of compelling, passionate, and emotionally charged fiction.

Jane's books may contain love, hate, violence, death, passion, a little swearing, and an ending you are never going to forget.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

EXTRACT: The Daughters by Julia Crouch

The Daughters by Julia Crouch

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 23rd May 2022

Published: 26th May 2022

DESCRIPTION:

My father said my mother killed herself. My sister says he’s lying.

The day of our mother’s funeral, my little sister Lucy and I clung to our father’s side. He promised he’d get us through it, and we believed him. But then I discovered that the coffin we wept over was empty.

Dad says he was trying to protect us – that he thought it would be easier to grieve if we didn’t know our mother’s body was never found.

His new wife says she just wants to help us move on from the past.

Then Lucy has a flash of memory that leaves her shaking. Our father. A woman she doesn’t recognise. A knife…

She insists she knows something about the day our mother died, but it’s buried too deep to see clearly.

What happened to our mother? I need to find the truth. But I have no idea who I can trust. And what if the answer puts my life in danger?

A completely gripping psychological thriller that will make your heart pound as you try to decide who is telling the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

EXTRACT:

For ten years now, Sara has spent half an hour on 30 May on her iPad, watching her family lay flowers at her mother Alice’s memorial tree. For ten years now she has wished that, like that first, awful grief-scarred time, she could be there in person.

The discovery she made last night about her mother’s death means that the urge to be there this year, on what would have been Alice’s fifty-sixth birthday, is so strong that it physically hurts her.

Sara’s stepmother Carys stands by the tree, her lean brown fingers wound around poor Lucy’s blue-white hands, her close-cropped hair resting against Lucy’s orange frizz. Carys is a good six inches shorter, but the way Lucy – Sara’s eighteen-year-old baby sister – leans against her makes it clear who is doing the supporting.

Carys has made herself indispensable to the family since she moved in less than a year after Alice’s suicide.

Supposed suicide, Sara corrects herself.

And that’s the uncertainty now burning a hole in her mind.

It’s early morning over there, and the camera lens is misted by a late-spring drizzle. Binnie, the five-year-old half-sister Sara has never met, stands next to Carys in a practical lime-green cagoule. Her head is somewhere else, in the land of My Little Pony or Pokémon, or whatever girls her age are into. She’s very sweet. She’s also proof, if any were needed, that Carys has truly embedded herself in the family.

And unlike Sara, Binnie – short for Robina – is actually there.

Also absent is Bill: Sara, Lucy and Binnie’s father, Alice’s widower, Carys’s much older husband. As with most years, his back is too bad for him to stand for the ceremony. He attends instead in one of the boxes on Sara’s iPad, looking on from the Muswell Hill house. The tears in his eyes as he watches the ceremony show everyone how much he loved Alice.

Everyone loved Alice.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Julia started off as a theatre director and playwright. While her children were growing up, she swerved into graphic design. After writing and illustrating two children’s books for an MA, she discovered that her great love was writing prose. The picture books were deemed too dark for publication, so, to save the children, she turned instead to writing for adults. Her first book, Cuckoo, was published in 2011, and she has been writing what she calls her Domestic Noir novels ever since. She also writes for TV and teaches on the Crime Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. She has three grown up children and lives in Brighton with her husband and two cats, Keith and Sandra.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Saturday, 28 May 2022

REVIEW: The Bridesmaids by Victoria Jenkins

The Bridesmaids by Victoria Jenkins

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 21st May 2022

Published: 23rd May 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Holly is getting married, but not before a celebration weekend with her closest friends. After a night of arguments, a body is found floating in the swimming pool of their secluded cottage. Holly must face up to the truth – one of her bridesmaids is a killer, but which one?

New beginnings. Old rivalries.

Best friends. Bad blood.

Five bridesmaids. One body.

Fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife Between Us will love this pulse-racing psychological thriller. Once you start reading, you will not be able to stop!

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Victoria Jenkins' addictive thriller THE BRIDESMAIDS.

"Tell yourself something enough times and eventually it becomes the truth."

Victoria Jenkins weaves another tangled web of secrets, lies and deception revolving around six women all connected by the secrets of the past...and of the present.

Holly has carried a torch for her first love for two decades. Joseph was tragically killed when he and Holly were 18, leaving her to bring up their eighteen month old son Caleb. Now she is marrying Aaron and her closest friends have organised a hens weekend away in a gorgeous converted barn in the remote countryside.

It's the perfect opportunity to relax with her friends and being pampered in the luxurious spa complete with a pool and sauna...and Holly is looking forward to catching up together. But the weekend opens up a pandora's box of secrets and deception, leaving Holly getting more than she bargained for in the face of the friendships she valued and trusted. Friendships that were nothing more than a lie.

Soon the secrets come spilling out from all sides and we begin to wonder is there anyone NOT keeping a secret? Because they all seem intent on keeping them from Holly so as to not spoil her weekend. But then Holly has a secret or two up her own sleeve that she is keeping.

THE BRIDESMAIDS unfolds through the narratives of Holly, Claire and Suzanne both before and after the event. Through each of the alternating narratives the reader wonders who is keeping what secret and who is the body in the pool? Of the six women plus one to venture off on this weekend, which of them doesn't return?

It's a very simple easy read that is quick and entertaining. I devoured it in a matter of hours as it was addictive and the fast pace kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. And boy, did these women weave themselves a tangled web?? Talk about drama! The women were catty, trashy and bitchy and at times I'd wondered if they were indeed friends, the way they treated one another. None of them were particularly likeable. But the twists were delicious, even if I did see them coming.

A quick entertaining read, THE BRIDESMAIDS is the perfect holiday thriller to while away a few hours filled with lots of drama and juicy secrets...and a lot of catty women ready to scratch each others' eyes out. A bit far-fetched maybe, but still a fun read to pass the time. Just pass the popcorn and watch the scandalous secrets unfold.

I would like to thank #VictoriaJenkins, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBridesmaids in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Victoria Jenkins is a Welsh author who has made a name for herself writing the highly popular Detective King and Lane series of novels. The first novel in the series was “The Girls In The Water” that Jenkins first published in 2017 and is an Amazon UK top 30 bestseller, and top 5 bestseller in the Amazon US chart., to much critical acclaim and popularity among crime fiction fans.

The series of novels features Detective Constable Chloe Lane and Detective Inspector Alex King, who are the lead investigative characters that solve some mysterious murders in their hometown.

Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020. Her latest novel, The Playdate is out now.

Victoria lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based.

Social Media links:

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Friday, 27 May 2022

REVIEW: Ashes by Christopher de Vinck

Ashes by Christopher de Vinck

Genre: Historical fiction, True Stories, Fact with Fiction, Holocaust

Read: 27th May 2022

Published: 18th August 2020

★★★ 3.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A deeply touching novel about two young women whose differences, which once united them, will tear them apart forever, during Hitler’s Nazi occupation of Belgium and France. Based on true events.

For fans of All The Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Belgium, July 1939: Simone Lyon is the daughter of a Belgium national hero, the famous General Joseph Lyon. Her best friend Hava Daniels, is the eldest daughter of a devout Jewish family. Despite growing up in different worlds, they are inseparable.

But when, in the spring of 1940, Nazi planes and tanks begin bombing Brussels, their resilience and strength are tested. Hava and Simone find themselves caught in the advancing onslaught and are forced to flee.

In an emotionally-charged race for survival, even the most harrowing horrors cannot break their bonds of love and friendship. The two teenage girls, will see their innocence fall, against the ugly backdrop of a war dictating that theirs was a friendship that should never have been.

MY THOUGHTS:

Inspired by true events, ASHES is the touching tale of two women and the bond of friendship between them. Simone is the daughter of a war hero, General Joseph Lyon, whereas Hava is the eldest daughter of a Jewish family.

Despite growing up in vastly different families, the two girls were inseparable. But then in the spring of 1940, the Germans invade Belgium and the friends are separated from their families with only each other for support. Forced to flee the only life they've known, they then find themselves caught in the crossfire of the Germans' onslaught but not even war can break the bonds of friendship.

In a heartwrenching tale of hope and horror in equal measure, ASHES begins powerfully as we follow the two friends' journey, their strength and resilence, their joys and sorrows. The tale tells of the differences that once united them and how they are now torn apart by Hitler's Nazi occupation.

Well written and at times heartwrenching, ASHES is well paced and keeps the reader engaged throughout. The ending, however, was a little rushed but it still left us with a poignant memory of the horrors of war and the resilient journey of these two women.

I may have been half-hearted in my enjoyment of this story because I have read so many similar tales in recent times that I just feel a little overwhelmed and all Nazi-occupation-taled-out. Had it not been for that factor I may have enjoyed it more...though it was still a good read.

I would like to thank #ChristopherDeVinck, #NetGalley and #HarperInspire for an ARC of #Ashes in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Christopher de Vinck is a teacher and the author of eleven books and numerous articles and essays for publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Reader’s Digest. He delivers speeches on faith, disabilities, fatherhood, and writing, and has been invited to speak at the Vatican. He is the father of three and lives in New Jersey with his wife.

His essays on everyday life have been published in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The National Catholic Reporter, and used in high school and college textbooks as samples of good writing.

He has won two Christopher Awards, which celebrates authors whose work looks at the ‘highest values of the human spirit’. His essays have been selected three times for ‘Best Column’ by the National Catholic Press Association. His essay The Power of the Powerless praised by, among many others President Ronald Reagan, was selected by Christianity Today as one of the ten ‘Best Biographies and/or Autobiographies’ of this past century, which also included the works of C.S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, and Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn.

REVIEW: The Second Wife by Miranda Rijks

The Second Wife by Miranda Rijks

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 21st May 2022

Amazon

Australia

Published: 15th May 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

She married the man she loved. Then she met his family.

Tamsin has recently married renowned composer Robin Featherstone. Robin is much older, but Tamsin doesn’t care - she’s in love.

And she knows Robin loves her too, even if he is very close to another young woman – his assistant, Mia.

But Robin’s ex-wife and grown children aren’t happy – they’re sure Tamsin is a gold-digger and Mia is an opportunist.

Then, when Robin dies suddenly, the family’s worst fears are realised - Tamsin stands to inherit everything. But when the will is read, its contents are beyond shocking.

As Mia and Tamsin are pitted against each other, only one thing is clear. The family will go to any lengths to stop either of them inheriting even a part of Robin’s estate.

Isolated in the family mansion, fearing for their lives and distrustful of each other, Tamsin and Mia are determined to stand their ground. But then a dark family secret is revealed which may engulf them all…

The Second Wife – the stunning psychological thriller from the author of The Visitors, The Arrangement and The New Neighbour.

MY THOUGHTS:

When a wealthy composer dies leaving everything to a woman who is all but a stranger, it raises more than a few questions. Who is this woman? Did she kill him? Did the new wife? Or maybe it was the bitter ex-wife? Or was it the spoilt entitled adult children?

Mia is excited to be working for the renowned music composer Robin Featherstone, even if she is just a cleaner. For Mia is a violinist and had been studying at the Royal Music College when fate intervened putting a halt to her dreams. Now she is trying to find her feet again and as needs must she needs to pay the rent and put food on the table, even if it is just herself. So whilst dusting the furniture or polishing the silver, Mia loves listening to the music emanating from Robin's studio.

Then one day Robin returns with a young wife in tow, Tamsin, whom Mia has heard the family call a gold-digger. But Mia sees Robin's face light up whenever Tamsin enters the room, the ways his voice softens whenever he speaks about her. Whatever their age gap, Mia knows that Robin loves his new wife. Tamsin, she's not so sure about as the woman hardly spends a moment at Stave House. Robin has given her free reign of a credit card to shop to her heart's content and that, it seems, is what she is doing.

Robin has two grown children - a daughter Brooke, who appears to live on and off at Stave House whenever the mood takes her, and an estranged son David, whom Mia has never met and hasn't set foor here for a number of years. It appears father and son do not get along. And then there is Claudia, the opportunistic ex-wife. She's no longer married to Robin but she seems to spend an awful lot of time at Stave House with their daughter Brooke. In the midst of family affairs is the devoted housekeeper Pavla, a Czech-born woman who has worked for Robin for some twenty years. She lives in the cottage provided for her on the grounds with her husband Thomas, who is the estate's groundsman, and son Marek, who when he is assisting his father appears to be silently lurking.

Then one day, Mia discovers a barely conscious Robin clutching his chest on the floor of his studio and calls an ambulance. He has had a stroke. Upon returning home, Robin discovers Mia's love of music and that she is a violinist so employs her as his assistant while he recovers from the stroke. They spend hours talking about music as she makes notations to his manuscripts, as he is yet unable to. The family are jealous of Robin's sudden attention to the cleaner and Tamsin is livid to overhear her husband discussing his private affairs with her.

And then just as Robin is recovering from his stroke, Tamsin discovers his lifeless body at the foot of the stairs, having obviously fallen. She is distraught that her husband of barely a few months is dead. No matter what the family may think, Tamsin truly loved Robin...and now he was gone.

But further distress is to come when the will is read and they learn that Mia is the sole beneficiary of Robin's will and the family, including Tamsin, inherit nothing. Angered that everything is to go to a woman who is all but a stranger, the family decide to contest the will.

Mia is just as shocked at the contents of Robin's will and has no idea why he has left her with everything. Her solicitors advise her to move into Stave House as it is now her legal property but that means living also with Tamsin and, it seems, Brooke and her mother Claudia who have also decided to move in. Soon strange things begin to occur putting lives at risk, leaving everyone questioning the other. Mia and Tamsin find that they cannot trust anyone around them, least of all each other.

Is Tamsin the gold-digger the family think her to be? And is Mia the opportunist who coerced Robin into changing his will in her favour?

And then a dark family secret is revealed, changing everything...

This is my third Miranda Rijks thriller and I just love her engaging style and fast paced narrative. THE SECOND WIFE is a well written addictive thriller with a storyline that had me enthralled from the start. Filled with twist after twist, the reader is quickly immersed within the story as we watch the lives of each of the characters slowly unravel.

Told through the alternating narratives of Mia and Tamsin, THE SECOND WIFE may feel as if not much happens for much of the story but there is an undercurrent burning beneath the surface that certainly threatens to engulf them. But it very definitely has the reader guessing who is responsible. And when that reveal comes, I was partly shocked but not surprised, if that makes a kind of sense. I was heading in the same direction myself and then BAM! Everything happens at once and you're left with..."what just happened?"

But then it comes back to the question that had everyone asking in the beginning...why did Robin leave everything to Mia? It didn't make sense...until it did. I should have seen that coming but it blindsided me.

Overall, THE SECOND WIFE is an addictive domestic thriller and although it is not my favourite by the author, it is still a quick entertaining read. A fun story that I think others are sure to enjoy.

I would like to thank #MirandaRijks, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheSecondWife in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Miranda Rijks lives in West Sussex, England, with her husband, their musician daughter and black Labrador. ‘The Obituary’ was her first psychological thriller. She has also written a psychological thriller series featuring Dr Pippa Durrant, a psychologist and specialist in lie detection, who works alongside Sussex police getting embroiled in some scary stuff!

After a degree in Law, Miranda worked in marketing in London and Eastern Europe before setting up businesses in the horticultural, leisure and retail sectors. Along the way, she got a masters in writing and wrote the self-help book, ‘How Compatible Are You?’ and biography, ‘The Eccentric Entrepreneur’. In 2018, Miranda wrote ‘Don’t Call Me Brave’, a novel very loosely drawing upon her experiences of having a rare bone cancer.

She feels extremely lucky to be living the dream, writing psychological thrillers full time!

Miranda loves connecting with her readers, so feel free to drop her a line.

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Thursday, 26 May 2022

REVIEW: My Husband's Secrets by Louise Sharland

My Husband's Secrets by Louise Sharland

Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Suspense

Read: 26th May 2022

Published: 26th May 2022

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

On the evening of their wedding anniversary, Ali and Matthew are involved in a fatal car accident.

Grief-stricken, Ali can’t bring herself to believe that her beloved Matthew is gone…

The smell of his aftershave lingers in their bedroom. His voice still rings out on their answerphone. She sees his face in the eyes of strangers.

But as the months pass, and her family and friends rally round, Ali starts to uncover secrets that Matthew kept from her.

Did she really know her husband as well as she thought she did? And why can’t she shake the feeling that somehow, somewhere, he is still alive?

MY THOUGHTS:

This book took me something like three days to read, which is an inordinate amount of time for me really. But as promising as the premise was, MY HUSBAND'S SECRETS didn't quite hit the mark. What began as a compelling and intriguing prologue, pretty much fizzled out into an average story that left me somewhat confused by the end.

Ali and her husband Matthew are involved in an horrific car accident after leaving their third wedding anniversary party. The couple left the event rowing and continued their arguement in the car until they plunged from the road and into the river. Ali was pulled from the wreck but Matthew was unable to be saved.

Three months have since passed and Ali suffers from injuries sustained in the crash as well as amnesia leading up to and surrounding the accident. She remembers seeing her daughter Emma and husband Matthew arguing at the party; she remembers Matthew whispering something in her ear as they left; she remembers screaming at him...but she remembers nothing about why this was so. She does not remember what Matthew said to her as they left the party nor does she remember why they were arguing. All she remembers is flashes of being pulled from the freezing cold water and rushed off to hospital. She had no idea that Matthew never made it.

Since Matthew's body has never been recovered, Ali is convinced he is still alive and is either in hiding somewhere or has amnesia and forgotten who he is and where he lives. She simply cannot believe he is dead.

And then she stumbles across something that shakes her world to its core. Did Matthew die in the accident that night? Or is he really in hiding, waiting to make his next move?

Determined to uncover the truth herself, Ali launches her own investigation into Matthew's disappearance despite her injuries from which she is still recovering. All the while taking comfort from her first husband Rory's positive affirmations that keep her going. Truth be told, I thought Ali missed Rory far more than Matthew. She sure talked about him a whole lot at least.

MY HUSBAND'S SECRET is my first read my Louise Sharland and I'm not entirely sure if I would race out to grab another. I wanted to like it but I found it decidedly lacking and the pace that it started off with soon fizzled out pretty fast. The characters are mixed and I can't say I liked them a whole lot. The story is a little predictable but not too much so. I just found it a bit of a non-event. By the time I reached the end I was feeling "Whew! I'm glad that's over" as well as "Is that it?"

Overall, MY HUSBAND'S SECRET is not an earth-shattering thrill-ride of a thriller. As I said, it begins with an intriguing prologue but soon fizzles out fairly fast and not much happens between then and the ending. It was overall an OK read, but not great.

I would like to thank #LouiseSharland, #NetGalley and #AvonBooks for an ARC of #MyHusbandsSecrets in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louise moved the UK from her native Canada nearly thirty years ago after falling in love with a British sailor.

She began writing short stories when her children were little and her work has appeared in magazines, anthologies and online.

In 2010 she won the Woman and Home Short Story Competition and her entry Black Rock, subsequently appeared in an anthology, The Best Little Book Club in Town (Orion 2011), alongside writers such as Lee Child, Ruth Rendell and JoJo Moyes.

In 2019 Louise won The Big Issue Crime Writing competition.

Social Media links:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Tuesday, 24 May 2022

REVIEW: The Daughters by Julia Crouch

The Daughters by Julia Crouch

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 23rd May 2022

Published: 26th May 2022

★ 1 star

DESCRIPTION:

My father said my mother killed herself. My sister says he’s lying.

Dad says he was trying to protect us – that he thought it would be easier to grieve if we didn’t know our mother’s body was never found.

His new wife says she just wants to help us move on from the past.

Then Lucy has a flash of memory that leaves her shaking. Our father. A woman she doesn’t recognise. A knife…

She insists she knows something about the day our mother died, but it’s buried too deep to see clearly.

What happened to our mother? I need to find the truth. But I have no idea who I can trust. And what if the answer puts my life in danger?

A completely gripping psychological thriller that will make your heart pound as you try to decide who is telling the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

MY THOUGHTS:

**TRIGGER WARNING** This story contains: racism, violence towards children, sexual assault, suicide and self harm.

Secrets and lies abound in this tale that begins off very slow and keeps up the glacial pace for as long as I could bear it. That's if I could find them amidst all the other fluff.

I wanted to like THE DAUGHTERS. I loved Julia Crouch's previous thriller "The New Mother" and was looking forward to this one, but...I just couldn't. Yes, there are plenty of secrets. Yes, there are plenty of lies. But there is also plenty of fluff about eco-buildings and hummus and rice cake snacks for a five year old that just had me thinking that this book must be the love child of Greta Thunberg and Elon Musk.

I'm sorry, but I am not interested in vegan life or eco-buildings when I want to delve into the secrets surrounding the girls' mother, Bill's first wife Alice. Nothing I read in the first 20% or so reflected anything from the premise so I kind of felt robbed. And I certainly don't have the patience to wade through glacial fluff before getting to the thrilling part of the story. Life is far too short to read books that do not hold my interest. And this one didn't.

Many reviews promised the book does get better if I just stick with the boring bits and move past them, then it does pick up and the story moves a lot quicker. I'm sorry...but why? If there is nothing interesting to grab me in the beginning, what's to say I will enjoy the promise of what is to come? Of course it didn't help that I didn't like anyone. Lucy, Sara and definitely couldn't stand Carys. Didn't see enough of Bill or Binnie to form an opinion, but I felt for the poor girl being fed hummus and rice cakes. Just ewwww.

And then there was Lucy taking us on a journey to the cliff top, talking about fairies and celtic legends that live under hawthorn bushes. Seriously? Come on. This is supposed to be a thriller but I was bored to tears and honestly by that point, I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and Alice had been dead twelve years and nothing was happening to make me want to find out what actually happened.

After an exciting and twisted previous thriller with "The New Mother", I had high hopes for THE DAUGHTERS. Sadly, it did not live up to expectation. And certainly not gripping in the slightest.

I would like to thank #JuliaCrouch, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheDaughters in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Sunday, 22 May 2022

REVIEW: The Woman in my Home by Kerry Fisher

The Woman in my Home by Kerry Fisher

Genre: Contemporary fiction, Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 13th May 2022

Published: 20th May 2022

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

I was starting to believe it might be my turn for the fairy tale. A man who adored me, someone to return to at the end of the day and to share my life with. And Rebecca. Capable, reliable Rebecca who could help me to manage my busy home…

Finally, Cath has met someone: a man she loves, Robin, and who adores her in return. And after years of managing fine on her own, running a successful business, raising her son, and caring for her elderly mother, she feels she deserves some happiness. And who better to provide it than charming, fun-loving Robin?

She expected everyone to be delighted for her. But her friends and family are suspicious of Robin. And Rebecca, a desperate single mother who Cath has hired as a live-in housekeeper, doesn’t trust him either. He’s too slick, he’s too perfect and it all happened too fast… how well does Cath really know him?

Cath is used to taking care of herself; she’s nobody’s fool. But when things start to go wrong in the house that’s been her haven for all these years, she’s forced to ask herself whether the man she loves is really what he seems… And having let Rebecca in to every part of her life, is Cath ready to face the secrets she might find there?

From the Amazon charts bestselling author of The Silent Wife and The Woman I Was Before, The Woman in My Home is a gripping read about family secrets and lies. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain.

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Kerry Fisher's thrilling THE WOMAN IN MY HOME.

I've read a few books by Kerry Fisher but none of them had captured my heart like my first read by her "The Mother I Could Have Been"...until this one. To be honest, I'm not a huge contemporary women's fiction fan but slip in a little mystery or thriller aspect and you'll have me eating out of your hand. There wasn't a huge mystery to this one as we could see exactly what was happening even if some couldn't...but it certainly had that domestic thriller aspect I love. Provoking just the right amount of emotion, I have also wanted to smack some sense into a few characters whilst happily cheering alongside other. I'll say it now...Dolly was my favourite.

I wasn't entirely sure why it was titled THE WOMAN IN MY HOME until about halfway through when the author revealed a huge twist that changed how the reader looked at them...and the bigger picture. Even I, who is rarely hoodwinked, didn't see what one coming.

At fifty-seven years old, Cath has found love again after some thirty years as a single mum and living alone in her sprawling gated mansion complete with pool and tennis court. Having kicked out her womanising husband who found younger women far more attractive, Cath then turned her life around from nothing to a successful businesswoman that proved to be very lucrative indeed. But a time comes in a woman's life when she has made sacrifice after sacrifice so that her child never went without and now said child is thirtysomething and married with his own landscaping business, when she craves that companionship that has been missing from her life since her philandering husband walked out.

Enter Robin. He's handsome, charismatic, easy going and best of all, he loves Cath. Wealthy and charming in equal measure, he is perfect and everything she never thought she could want or hope for again. But is he really?

Thirtysomething Rebecca thought her life was perfect until her husband decided to guarantee the house she was still paying a mortgage on for loans he was taking out for some get-rich-quick schemes. All without telling her. So their marriage over, she packed up what was left of her life with her two young children and kipped on her heavily pregnant sister's settee for the foreseeable. Unfortunately while hubby was living the life of riley by the seaside with his parents, Rebecca was fast wearing out her welcome with her children in a cramped house preparing for a new baby.

After dropping Megan and Eddie at school, Rebecca traipse from business to business looking for any vacancy that will enable her to secure a roof over their heads and put food on the table without relying on her sister and husband's dwindling patience. She then wanders into the affluent Hetherington Close where she meets elderly Dolly struggling with a wheelie bin. The two women get talking and before long, Rebecca discovers that the beautiful house she has just been admiring belongs to Dolly's daughter Cath who owns and run a successful recruitment agency. Not wanting to farewell this kindly old grandmother-type, Rebecca offers to drive Dolly home where she admires her overgrown garden afterwhich she offers to help her get the garden into order for which Dolly agrees to pay her.

When Dolly has an accident resulting in a broken ankle, she moves into Cath's house where Rebecca follows and ends up as a cleaner-cum-housekeeper living in the run-down tennis pavillion in the backyard. Of course, Rebecca is desperate and undoubtedly grateful for Cath's generosity. Over the course of the following weeks, Rebecca is privy to Cath and Robin's growing closeness although aware of son Sandy's reticence of the man.

When some of Dolly's precious jewellery goes missing from her house, Robin is quick to point the finger at Rebecca...after all, she is essentially homeless relying on Cath's good nature without a penny to her name. But Rebecca insists she didn't take the items despite having plenty of opportunity to steal them.

And then Robin's property development threatens to grind to a halt and his ex-wife is upping the stakes delaying the divorce and sale of their marital home. Despite Robin's pleas, she appears to be out for as much as she can swindle out of him putting him in a quandary...particularly as he and Cath intend to marry in just a couple of months' time.

Until one morning, there is a surprise visit that will set the ball in motion to turn everything on its head, revealing a twist I didn't see coming!

THE WOMAN IN MY HOME is a complex tale of secrets, lies, manipulation and betrayal. There is mystery, tension and even better, an unreliable narrator you don't know whether to believe them or not. Riddled with red herrings and misconceptions, the author deftly guides us up blind alleys for the ride of our lives. Her storytelling is compelling, her narrative sharp and witty - especially with Dolly and some of Rebecca's quips.

The story unfolds through Cath and Rebecca's eyes which gives the reader two very different perspectives and circumstances. It is humbling to note that Cath never forgot her beginnings or how difficult it was to rise above her husband's mistakes to make a life for herself and son Sandy. So she was very understanding of Rebecca's predicament despite Robin's constant probing that they know nothing about her.

Well paced with a plethora of secrets woven within, THE WOMAN IN MY HOME does explore a very different side to life with desperation, loneliness and homelessness along with secrecy, lies and deception. And while this type of story is not unique, the way in which Kerry Fisher has portrayed it is quite original.

And then there was the ending. It wasn't what I expected...but it highlighted the reality and left readers with a sense of wondering. Although I don't normally like loose ends, this one dangled like a promise of what was to come. It's up to us to decide, I guess.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE WOMAN IN MY HOME and didn't want my time with Rebecca, Cath, Dolly or Sandy to end. A delightful read that I thoroughly recommend.

I would like to thank #KerryFisher, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWomanInMyHome in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kerry Fisher was born in Peterborough, studied French and Italian at the University of Bath and spent many years living in Spain, Italy and France. After returning to England to work as a journalist, she eventually abandoned real life stories for the secrets of fictional families.

Other than reading and writing, Kerry loves cooking, entertaining, wine and friends. Though she admits to be being not very groomed and a bit messy.

She now lives in Surrey with her very tolerant husband, with an intermittent empty nest as her two young adult children come and go.

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Saturday, 21 May 2022

REVIEW: Good Neighbours by Mary Grand

Good Neighbours by Mary Grand

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Read: 12th May 2022