REVIEW: Inside Job by Dr Rebecca Myers

Inside Job by Dr Rebecca Myers

Genre: Biography & Memoirs, Non Fiction, True Crime, True Stories

Read: 18th August 2022

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Amazon

Published: 18th August 2022

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

And here I am. Totally alone in a cell with a convicted sex offender who is free to do what he wants. There is no officer. No handcuffs. No radio. Only the man across the desk and me. He looks more petrified than I do.

HMP Graymoor. One of the UK’s most notorious prisons. Home to nearly 800 murderers, rapists and child molesters.

Reporting for her first shift inside is Rebecca: twenty-two, newly graduated – and about to sit down with some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.

In this gripping, hard-hitting memoir, forensic psychologist Dr Rebecca Myers revisits her time in the ‘Hot Seat’ with Graymoor’s infamous inmates – who might not be as different to us as we think.

This is as close as we can get to knowing what really goes on inside the damaged minds behinds bars.

MY THOUGHTS:

EXTRACT: "Society does not want or welcome sexual violence and child abuse, and rightly so. Incarcerated men who have committed sexual offences, especially against children, are seen as the scum of society. My experience has taught me that underneath it all they are not so different from the rest of us.

However, I wouldn't want my compassionate view of the men as being (whatever is) normal, worthwhile and deserving of a second chance to be misinterpreted as sympathy or condoning their actions. It certainly is not. Yet if we can try and treat men who committed sexual offences this way, then we stand a much better chance of success. And so do they. We know that vilifying, stigmatising and ostracising these men does not help. If we shun and isolate them, deny them jobs and a sense of purpose, then the paradox is that they are MORE likely to reoffend...

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of men convicted of sexual offences desist (stop) naturally.

Your new neighbour might be someone who was neglected, sexually abused, mercilessly beaten and made to watch his mother being raped while he was tied to a radiator. And all before the age of ten years old, while his impressionable brain was still growing. I have absolutely no doubt you have rescued him from such a cruel horror as a young child if you could. Damaged children grow up. Now that child is an adult, can you find it in yourself to lay a role in helping him live safely in our society? It is a question we ALL need to be asking ourselves, and with the bigger picture in mind: the prevention of sexual violence."

Just wow! This has to be one of the most powerful books I have ever read. And non-fiction is usually my genre as I tend to fall asleep at the drone of factual text, but INSIDE JOB is presented in such a way we as the reader are drawn in from the start. We are made to feel a part of the programme in which these men are a part. It is eye-opening, raw and traumatic on many levels. These men are the scum of society and yet they are human too. This book takes us inside the Sexual Offenders Treatment Programme that was run throughout the UK prison system with Dr Rebecca Myers facilitating and then training further facilitators. We get to see first-hand how taxing it is for those who run the programme and how it changes their perception of the world around them too.

INSIDE JOB is honest, insightful and even disturbing at times but also challenges the reader in any pre-conceived perceptions they may have. Myers' account of her experience is astute and honest as she freely admits to the mistakes she made, both personally and professionally, in her early years as a prison psychologist at the Category A HMP Graymoor, one of the UK's most notorious prisons. She worked solely with sex offenders and murderers, running the Core-SOTP and Extended SOTP, a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) rehabilitation programme designed for offenders to recognise their behaviours and those that lead to their offending. The accounts of each of the men in the SOTP groups are harrowing, disturbing but incredibly raw. No one is left untouched by the disturbing darkness that descends of the horrors that then change the way that they see the world outside of the prison walls.

It is interesting to note the struggle that Myers herself was faced with, finding the crimes abhorrent whilst still conducting her job with an unbiased perspective. And that despite their heinous crimes, they are still human beings. Focusing on the SOTP brought these men to the forefront and through Myers' account she was able to humanise most of them as they went through the arduous and often harrowing treatment programme. We then begin to see beyond their offences, as abhorrent as they are, to the men and before that to the children they had once been...not as an excuse but often recognising them as the defining moments in the life of an impressionably aged young child. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings in places though none of what took place before excuses their offences...however, it does lead to an explanation of certain behaviours which are learnt at those impressionable young ages.

As a societal taboo, it is also widely perceived and accepted that these offenders cannot be rehabilitated but the truth is that in many cases they can be. Through SOTP they are given a sense of understanding of their behaviours which lead to their offences and why. Of course, not all offenders can be rehabilitated as they aren't open to the treatment being offered them. In actual fact, some treat it as a joke. Kyle is one point in case. Some make little progress while others come on leaps and bounds. I especially like how Myers focused on a particular group of men that we follow throughout the course of the book and as the reader we watch them unravel the puzzle, draw their life maps and gain an understanding as to their behaviour and the effects it had on their victims. Again, it is raw and insightful.

Throughout the book, Myers shows compassion and humanity and understanding as she develops something akin to a relationship with these men, as well as her wisdom in perceiving the parallels with her own life and how in many ways she saw herself as being like those men she was treating. Her own behavioural patterns were not so far from theirs and she found that both eye-opening and humbling.

Myers concludes her account with reports of the problems the SOTP faced along with its changes and modifications. To cease all types of treatment programmes would be redundant because the overall idea behind prison is for addressing offending behaviour and rehabilitation as well as punishment. To just punish would serve no purpose. INSIDE JOB is an eye opening and insightful read about the often dangerous offenders behind bars and the efforts in trying to change their behaviour and reduce sexual offending.

INSIDE JOB is a fascinating and engrossing read that just blew me away. It is not an easy read by any means, given the subject matter, but it is insightful and informative with achingly honest, raw and reflective. I liked how she ended with the outcome of some of those she encountered at that time, though it is a shame we never learnt the outcome of them all. I would have been interested to see how well, or not, some of those truly fared.

Overall, I highly recommend INSIDE JOB but it not for the faint hearted. Be prepared that this is not a glossed over account. It is in depth, raw and disturbing in places as it is not for everybody. I highlight the fact that it most definitely comes with trigger warnings such as descriptions of rape, murder and child abuse as well as psychopathy, sexual crimes and misogyny.

I would like to thank #DrRebeccaMyers, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #InsideJob in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Dr Rebeccca Myers is a forensic psychologist. Possessing only an undergraduate degree in psychology, she went straight into working in a male maximum-security prison, providing intensive therapy to rapists, child molesters and murderers. She has since spent 25 years assessing, treating and researching high-risk men who have committed violent and sexual crimes and, as such, has a rare insight into their mindset. She also trains and supervises staff/trainee psychologists and has disseminated and published her research at a national and international level.

REVIEW: The Country Bride by Dilly Court

The Country Bride (Village Secrets #3) by Dilly Court

Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas

Read: 10th January 2021

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Amazon

Published: 11th June 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The third book in the dramatic new Village Secrets trilogy from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

The time had come to leave Creek Manor. Their relationship was doomed from the start, he was the master of the house and she the servant…

Summer, Little Creek 1879

For most of her life, Judy Begg has been a loyal servant at Creek Manor and to Jack Fox, its future lord. But just as their childhood friendship blossoms into a secret engagement he abandons her to join his brother overseas. And with Creek Manor up for sale, Judy and her family lose everything.

 

Devastated, Judy is nonetheless determined to make the best of her life. Resolving to forget about Jack, she battles to keep her family from poverty’s door and her mother from the hands of her violent husband.

 

Rob Dorning, the new owner of the manor, seems to be the answer to all of Little Creek’s problems, but Judy isn’t convinced. Can she trust him to do right by the village? And, when the ghosts of her past resurface, can she find the courage to do what's right for her, as well as her family? If she does, it could be the start of her greatest adventure…

MY REVIEW:

I was introduced to Dilly Court with the first in this wonderful series "The Christmas Wedding", following everyone from the beginning. And as with all trilogies this third book THE COUNTRY BRIDE brings the series to an end. I shall miss the characters, both new and old, as I grew rather fond of them...even the quirky ones. Daisy was primary focus in the first two but it is Judy Begg, whose family Daisy had saved in the first book, that takes centre stage here...bringing with it a different tale that is not so dissimilar to those of the past.

Little Creek, 1879: It's been over a decade since Daisy Marshall, now Walters, saved Judy Begg and her family from a fate worse than death after the tragic death of their father and disablement of their mother Hilda. Daisy thought nothing of bringing them to Little Creek and giving them refuge in the Creek Hall Hospital while their mother Hilda recuperated before she gave them a more permanent residence and work at Creek Manor upon her marriage to Jay Tattersall, squire and Lord of the manor.

Now ten years later, with Jay long since escaping to Australia after two bigamous marriages (with Daisy being one of them), Judy has grown up at Creek Manor from childhood to young woman. Jay's mother Mary relies heavily on Judy in the hope that she will take over from Mrs Ralston when she retires but Judy wants more for her life than to be a housekeeper. Now 20 years old, she has grown up alongside Jay's younger brother Jack Fox with the two childhood sweethearts hoping to marry one day. But as much as Mary loves Judy, she sees no future for the couple as Jack is Lord of Creek Manor in his half brother's absence and he must marry a wealthy heiress with a sizable dowry. Judy sees the sense in what Mary says but still it breaks her heart. Jack, however, would not be swayed and declares that he will marry Judy as they are meant to be together. 

Confused by her own feelings and knowing what's right, Judy flees to London to begin a new life away from Jack. She takes an attic room from the old lodging house in which Daisy had lived when working as a probationary nurse at the London Hospital, and finds work at the same hospital as a ward cleaner. However, on her first day, she receives word that Jack has taken a terrible fall whilst out riding and is asking for her. Judy collects her belongings and hurries home to be at his side. Even his mother sees her way clear for Judy to tend to her son as it is obvious how much she means to him. Jack is miserable confined to his bed "like a cripple" without any feeling in his legs whatsoever. The doctors tending him cannot say whether he will walk again or not, but Jack is sure he will remain a cripple...putting paid to his plans to marry Judy.

And then out of the blue, Jay returns. His reason? He has come to sell Creek Manor to fund his fortune in Australia. And everyone has exactly one month to vacate the estate before it is sold. The village is in shock as are the servants who have been loyal employees for most of their lives. Jay Tattersall is nothing but bad news and no good shall ever come of anything to do with him. Only one person is thrilled by his arrival and excited by the prospects he offers. Jack. He plans to return to Australia with his (half) brother and he wants Judy to come with them. But after much soul searching, Judy refuses. Her life is here in Little Creek with her family. And they need her now more than ever.

Jack leaves with Jay suddenly without so much as a goodbye to the girl that was meant to be his bride. Judy soon realised that she was to be nothing but a glorified nursemaid to Jack and discarded once she was no longer needed. Soon after they departed for Australia and every last tenant and servant had left the estate, Creek Manor was burnt to the ground. And now a pile of ashes, the new owner soon sold it off again, no longer interested in the cremated remains.

However, Judy is nothing if not determined. She refuses to let Jack's departure get to her and resolves to find somewhere for her family to live, after she was tossed out of the home she shared with her mother and her new brute of a husband, Wilfred Faulkner, when he tried it on with her. When she comes across an abandoned inn, the Crooked Billet, she forms a plan and seeks to learn of its ownership. When she hits a dead end in finding out who actually owns the old inn, Judy and her mother Hilda move in and clean the place from top to bottom and open its doors to receive custom once again.

Then a good looking stranger arrives to book a room indefinitely, revealing that he is the new owner of the Creek Manor estate. Rob Dorning seems to be the answer to all of Little Creek's problems, despite the Dorning name going down in infamy in these parts for smuggling and the like. But Rob appears to be nothing like his predecessors and promises to rebuild Creek Manor into something grand with modern amenities such as indoor privies and bathrooms. Even a water pump inside so one doesn't have to traipse out into the cold. He also intends on bringing custom to the Crooked Billet when building begins as the workers will be in need of a place to stay and to eat. But are his plans too good to be true? Is he who he says he is? And is he all that he appears?

Rob has certainly taken a liking to Judy as the two cross swords on occasion but, slowly succumbing, Rob soon grows on her. His presence at the Crooked Billet does prove to be an advantage for when Hilda's estranged husband comes looking for her, demanding she return home where she belongs. Faulkner takes one look at Rob seated by the fire and pales as if he had seen a ghost, turning and running out of the inn as if his life depended on it. 

But their relief is shortlived when Jay returns once again...this time to buy back Creek Manor as an inheritance for his son back in Australia. However, he is shocked and angered to discover that the estate had already been sold and Rob Dorning was the new owner. Jay is livid, having counted on buying his inheritance back for a reduced price. What then ensues is a battle of wills between Jay and Rob, both of whom claim rightful ownership. And unfortunately for Judy, she gets caught in the middle.

This final installment to the Village Secrets trilogy is a thoroughly engaging and entertaining read. We meet some lovely and not-so-lovely characters. We also meet some new and some old acquaintances from the previous books and return to Little Creek which is, of course, refreshing to revisit. Although Daisy takes more of a backseat in this book, she does still feature prominently at times as Judy defers to her for guidance on several occasions.

THE COUNTRY BRIDE brings this series to an end though it could easily continue should the author choose to. But it, however, a satisfying end to the trilogy. Although, having said that, after everything they had been through at the hands of Jay the way that was resolved felt a little out of left field...almost like it was thrown in as an afterthought. It didn't ring true and I kept expecting something else to come of it.

My biggest gripe is with the chapters. I have said it before and I feel it needs saying again. While I have read longer chapters than those in Dilly's books, I still felt they were unnecessarily long with plenty of opportunity to break them down into smaller chapters. Particularly where there is a change of scene in the story mid-chapter...to me, that is worthy of a whole new chapter. I don't see the point in chapters being separated into "parts", unless it is specifically under the narrative of a particular character, which Dilly's are not. Therefore shorter chapters I feel would be much better.

Still, a wonderful book and compelling end to the trilogy, THE COUNTRY BRIDE is a must for all Dilly fans. Or for anyone who enjoys Catherine Cookson, Rosie Goodwin, Katie Flynn, Elvi Rhodes and Iris Gower.

I would like to thank #DillyCourt, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #TheCountryBride in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Dilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the author of eighteen novels and also writes under the name of Lily Baxter.

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REVIEW: The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

 

The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 4th October 2020

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Amazon

Published: 30th September 2020

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Sisterhood binds them. Trauma defines them. Will secrets tear them apart?

Three little girls missing. One family torn apart…

Leah’s perfect marriage isn’t what it seems but the biggest lie of all is that she’s learned to live with what happened all those years ago. Marie drinks a bit too much to help her forget. And Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe.

Twenty years ago these three sisters were taken. What came after they disappeared was far worse. It should have brought them together, but how can a family ever recover?

Especially when not everyone is telling the truth . . .

MY REVIEW:

One word - WOW! It's been a while since I've immersed myself in a Louise Jensen thriller and I wasn't disappointed. It's taken me a couple of hours to assemble my thoughts after finishing THE STOLEN SISTERS and I'm still not even sure where to begin my review because I doubt my words could do it justice and illustrate just how bloody brilliant it was!

Meet the Sinclair sisters. Carly was 13 when she and her 8 year old twin sisters Leah and Marie were abducted. For twenty years she has blamed herself - for being too preoccupied waiting for a text from a boy at school, for snapping at her younger sisters, for not taking better care of them. Now she hides herself away in her flat, too afraid to come out, raiding charity shops for bargains and selling them on eBay for a profit. Her issues with trust keep her from forming relationships or having children...though she dotes on Leah's son Archie.

Leah blames herself for not closing the gate properly - with a firm three goes to latch it - from which the family dog Bruno had escaped leading the sisters to go in search of him. Now living with chronic contamination OCD, Leah cannot do anything without wearing cotton gloves to protect her from germs and bacteria, nor completing the "three time" ritual with everything she does. When she discovered she was pregnant she was horrified at the thought of giving birth in a germ-infested hospital, not to mention having another loved one that she must constantly look out for and protect.

But it's Marie that has the biggest regret of them all. Now she drinks to forget whilst waiting for the next acting job to come along. At least when she's playing a part she can pretend she's someone else in another life and she can forget. But it's not just alcohol that has become Marie's demon...and now she finds herself in debt to her dealer. 

So when she approaches her sisters about going on live TV for the twentieth anniversary of their abduction, part of it is for the money they will be paid for it but mostly Marie feels that it is time for the truth. Truth? What truth? Her sisters both feel "the truth" means revealing their portion of the blame that each have shouldered alone. What other truth could Marie mean?

When the sisters were taken, there didn't appear to be any rhyme or reason for their abduction. And what followed was several fear-filled days of terror, waiting for what was to come next. From the moment they were bundled into the van, blindfolded and tied up, the sisters huddled together drawing strength from each other. Thrown into a dark abandoned room with bars on the only window and a smelly mattress, they were supplied with an insufficient amount of junk food snacks and cherry Cola - not enough to keep them fed or hydrated. But...why were they here? What did the men Carly nicknamed "Doc" and "Moustache" want with them?

Carly cleverly found an escape as the girls followed their older sister around the rabbit warren of corridors and buildings in an attempt to find their way out. When at last they did, they flagged down a passing car and were recognised instantly as "the missing Sinclair sisters". They were taken to the police station, gave their statements and reunited with their distraught parents. But the nightmare was far from over...what was to come would be even worse than the ordeal they had just survived.

How will they ever move on?

Twenty years later and their nightmare has never gone away. All three sisters are a mess and are shadows of the young innocent girls they used to be. Their family has fallen apart; their parents divorced; the sisters are estranged from them but have remained close to each other. And now the person responsible has just been released from prison. So when Leah begins to find hand delivered notes on her doormat each morning counting down to the anniversary date, she begins to fear he is coming after them again. And this time, he will silence them.

WOW! What an emotional rollercoaster THE STOLEN SISTERS is! Louise Jensen has captured all the emotions from guilt, betrayal, sorrow, fear and an inability to trust like a raging storm ready to burst. As the reader is drip-fed information from the past and the present, the story slowly unfolds building a picture of the abduction, imprisonment and the aftermath through the eyes of Carly, Leah and Marie. There is also an underlying plot through the narrative of Leah's husband George in the present day. Each tendril of the story is cleverly woven together to create a tangled web of secrets, lies, betrayal, guilt and fear.

All the sisters are damaged from their childhood experienced and its aftermath so it is easy to empathise with all of them. They were just children. Children who should have been protected at all costs...not used as pawns in a grubby and unforgiving world. While it is Carly who shoulders the blame of responsibility, it is Leah whom the present day story primarily revolves around with the focus highlighting her struggles with her mental health and contamination OCD. It is clear her fixation on germs, bacteria and the like stem from their time imprisoned in the grubby room. And now it has become a necessity to maintain an element of control. It is because of this that it is Leah I particularly empathise with. She knows it is illogical but she still feels the need to go through her rituals before she can leave the house, drive the car even bathe her son Archie. The portrayal of OCD and mental illness is done sensitively with care.

A twisted emotional psychological thriller, THE STOLEN SISTERS is not your usual child abduction tale with a happily ever after. The story is unique, it is original and it is different. A dark and disturbing tale that will have you going through a range of emotions throughout, I was literally in tears by the final chapters. It really is a sad, sad tale that delivered such ingenuity with a satisfying end.

A gripping read that slowly builds with a palpable tension, THE STOLEN SISTERS becomes a fast paced ride to the end that will leave you breathless.

Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank #LouiseJensen, #NetGalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheStolenSisters in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate, The Date and The Family. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Louise's sixth thriller, The Stolen Sisters will be published in Autumn by Harper Collins.

The Sister was nominated for the Goodreads Debut of 2016 Award. The Date was nominated for The Guardian's 'Not The Booker' Prize 2018. The Surrogate was nominated for the best Polish thriller of 2018. The Gift has been optioned for a TV film. The Family was a Fern Britton Book Club pick. Louise was also listed for two CWA Dagger Awards.   

When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | YouTube

REVIEW: My Lies, Your Lies by Susan Lewis

 

My Lies, Your Lies by Susan Lewis
Genre: Suspense, Family drama, Contemporary fiction, chick lit
Read: 13th August 2020
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Amazon
Published: 16th April 2020

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

His life was destroyed by a lie.

Her life will be ruined by the truth.

 

Joely tells other people’s secrets for a living. As a ghost writer, she’s used to scandal – but this just might be her strangest assignment yet.

 

Freda has never told her story to anyone before. But now she’s ready to set the record straight and to right a wrong that’s haunted her for forty years.

 

Freda’s memoir begins with a 15-year-old girl falling madly in love with her teacher. It ends in a way Joely could never possibly have imagined.

 

As the story unravels, Joely is spun deeper into a world of secrets and lies. Delving further into Freda’s past, Joely’s sure she can uncover the truth… But does she want to?

MY REVIEW:

A Susan Lewis book is always going to be a great read, generally highly emotive with a river of suspense flowing through it. And usually with a twist thrown in when we least expect it. MY LIES, YOUR LIES had all this and yet it didn't quite live up to the expectations one would have of a Susan Lewis book. It was still enjoyable...but there were parts that were also bordering on the ridiculous as well.

The story begins with Joely, a former journalist who is dealing with the fact that her husband has moved in with her best friend, Martha the meat-eating man stealer. Reeling from her grief and her husband's betrayal, Joely accepts a job as ghostwriter to reclusive author, F.M. Donohoe, to undertake the task of ghostwriting a memoir. She travels from London to a remote area in North Devon to Dimmett House, riddled with secret rooms, towers and turrets and darkened halls. Freda is the reclusive writer and she is as eccentric as they come. Her manner is aloof and even arrogant. One minute she is full of memories she regales Joely with, the next she takes to her room and doesn't speak to her for a day. Joely doesn't know what to make of her or her behaviour, other than to undertake the task at hand. 

Upon arriving, Joely discovers that Freda has already begin the memoir, having written the first two chapters already, and it is her firm wish that Joely continue in the vein with which she began. Their conversations about the memoir lead Joely to pondering many things but none of them would prepare her for where it would lead. Freda had her own agenda with this memoir. She wanted to right the wrongs that had taken place previously as a result of the outcome to the story Joely now transcribes. 

It is 1968 and the story of a 15 year old schoolgirl who embarks on an affair with her music teacher. It is explicit in all its naked glory. Their secret assignations, their trip to Paris, their plans and promises for the future...as they parade around naked in the confines of a secluded cottage, soaking up their love for one another. She was 15, he was 25. Not a huge age gap by any means, but still unacceptable by society's standard...even in the age of free love. But where was this love to go, given their age difference? And the fact he was a teacher and she was a student? Surely this could not end well.

Freda drip-feeds information while Joely begins to make assumptions. Is the girl in the story a young Freda? And is the music teacher the husband she lost three years ago? And why does she feel that Freda s watching her and listening in on her phone conversations? It is obvious that Freda is manipulating Joely to tell the story as she wants it perceived. So what was it Freda truly wants out of this?

Joely could not foresee what was to come. The twist that came that threw her whole world into disarray, and left her questioning everything she had ever known? What did it all mean? And where did Freda, and Joely, fit into it all?

MY LIES, YOUR LIES is an eccentric tale to say the least. It was mysterious, duplicitous and intriguing in a strange way. It did promise to be so much more but it really dissolved into a ridiculous caricature. Freda was meant to be a formidable woman but was more eccentric and aloof. Joely should have scarpered when she had the chance but she too went on to prove how idiotic she could be. Her big secret that she wallowed over the entire book, when she wasn't presuming what was to come in the memoir, wasn't that great after all...more a run of the mill kind of secret. Everyone else played so little part you couldn't really connect with them. Holly is a precocious 15 year old that should be taught a little more respect than the way she spoke to her parents, grandmother and even Freda. I think she was given a little too much free reign that would never have been allowed when I was her age. Times may change, but boys and hormones don't. And considering what the basis of this story is about, I would have thought she would have been reigned in a little more.

The story is told primarily through Joely's eyes in the third person, as as occasionally Freda and Joely's mum, Marianne. Peppered throughout are the memoir entries written in the first person narrative, leaving the reader pondering who she may well be.

I do love how the author approached and introduced an illicit affair between a 15 year old schoolgirl and her music teacher. It broke all the rules and crossed many boundaries. But it gave us as readers, food for thought that there is more to the story than one might at first think. Firstly the difference between paedophilia and haebophilia, when all interest in anyone underage is simply considered to be the former. The case here is obviously haebophilia and while it is still a disturbing thought to most, it is quite often an accepted practice in many cultures. Including our own many centuries ago. But that is not the case here. It is a little disturbing and uncomfortable read in parts but does that make it wholly excusable?

So is the relationship supposed to be acceptable or not? It's not so much the age thing, as there were only 10 years between them, it was the fact he was in a position of authority and trust. He has to take responsibility because he was the adult in the scenario. But we all know what 14 and 15 year olds are like. They can turn it on with the best of them. That doesn't make it right but it doesn't make her innocent or blameless either. She set out to seduce him. She wanted him. While in the eyes of the law she is still a child, there is so much about her that isn't. Both are equally to blame because it takes two. She knew what she was doing as did he. They were both complicit. They were both to blame. And there are always two sides to every story.

In my opinion, MY LIES, YOUR LIES took a little too long for interest to take hold - at nearly 30% in, which is a bit too long in my opinion - but then it did admittedly get rather interesting. And then it didn't. The climatic twist came 20% too soon or rather the ending was dragged out a little too long. As a result, it did become slightly ridiculous. I'm not sure how the past and the present were supposed to entwine but didn't seem entirely real. I'm not entirely sure what the author was trying to say in bringing such a story to light.Society certainly wouldn't accept it, so what is she saying? Did I miss something? Is she romanticising it? Or is it a warning? 

Overall, not a bad read but not the Author's best. Still, I give it 3 stars for being middle of the road. It's not a book I can decide whether I like it or not. 

But one this is for sure...there are two sides to every story. Not just the one you think you know.

I would like to thank #SusanLewis, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #MyLiesYourLies in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Susan Lewis was born in Bristol in 1956. She lives in the west of England and has written 26 novels as well as an autobiographical memoir – Just One More Day (2006) with a follow up memoir One Day at a Time to be published November 2011. Her novels were nominated for the Romantic Novelists' Association's Romantic Novel of the Year award in 2002 and 2005.

Lewis was educated at The Red Maids' School in Bristol, England. After several temporary secretarial jobs she worked at the television network HTV in Bristol, then moved to London to join Thames Television to work in news, current affairs, light entertainment and drama. She knocked on the Controller's door to ask what it takes to be a success. He told her: "Oh, go away and write something". Her first novel, A Class Apart was published in 1988. She has since published a further 27 novels.

Three years after her first book was published Lewis moved to France, followed by a move to California in 1996, then to the French Riviera in 2004. During this time she met her partner, James. She returned to Gloucestershire in the UK in 2010.

Her mother died of cancer when she was a child, and she is a supporter of Breast Cancer Care, and the Bristol-based charity Breast-cancer Unit Support Trust (B.U.S.T.), which raises money to help provide treatment and support for the local community and medical technology for the Breast Care Unit at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. She is also a supporter of Winston's Wish, the charity for bereaved children.

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Traitor by V.S. Alexander (ARC)

The Traitor by V.S. Alexander

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2

Read: 21st June 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 12th March 2020)

(paperback: 2nd September 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

"Not all Germans were Nazis."

No truer words than these. However, even long after the war, Germany was synonymous with Hitler and the Nazi regime but interestingly enough, most Germans did not agree with his politics but because of his power they dare not defy him. So therefore it was easier to "Heil Hitler!" than it was to go against him. To do so was treason, and for treason the sentence was death.

But to live under that kind of rule, that kind of dictatorship, to be told what you can and can't do, what books you can or can't read, who to talk to and not to...would be a sentence in itself. Despite a world war going on, there was another kind of war being fought within Germany. To be living in Germany during that time would have been insufferable. Anyone who did would be incredibly brave to have withstood it (I don't know if I could have)...and those of the neighbouring countries that were affected by Hitler's rule.

But then there were those whose bravery lives long after they did. Founded by university students Hans and Sophie Scholl and their professor, The White Rose was a peaceful resistance movement that began in 1942 and, though shortlived, operated under great risk to bring truth to German citizens about the fascist Nazi regime and the Third Reich. They spoke out against the Nazi propaganda and what it stood for for the good of Germany.

So incorporating true life with fictional, we meet Natalya Petrovich who joins the movement and helps spread words of resistance and hope to the German people.

So no, not all German's were Nazis.

Munich, Kristallnacht 1938: Sixteen year old Natalya Petrovich watches from her bedroom window the orange skies on the horizon, as the synagogues and homes of Jews are set alight rendering them homeless. Her best friend Lisa Kobl bangs her floor on the ceiling below to let her know she sees it too.

1942: As a Russian born German, Natalya's family moved to Munich when she was four years old for a better life. But life under Hitler's rising regime has been harsh and now with the cruelties of war, Natalya feels a powerlessness that can only be quashed by helping those afflicted by those horrors. Now she is 20 and, instead of finding herself a husband and producing a child every year for the Reich as the Fuhrer demands, she is on her way to the Russian front as a volunteer nurse for the German Red Cross.

There she meets and makes friends with Alex Schmorell, Hans Scholl and Willi Graf who, upon their return to Munich, introduce her to the White Rose movement. After witnessing such horrors at the Russian front, Natalya joins the movement with her friend Lisa. Together they are involved in writing literature leaflets, expressing the oppressive government, the fascist regime and the death of the soul of the German people - "the spirit of Germany has been crushed under a foul dictator's iron boot!" Natalya does not hesitate in helping to spread these words to as many German citizens as possible, travelling in subterfuge as far as Vienna to post the leaflets to random addresses from the phone book.

Despite all attempts to remain unnoticed, she does draw the attention of one such man - Garrick Adler. Garrick frequents the gatherings of Hans, Sophie and their friends, trying to ingratiate himself into the movement and becoming increasingly frustrated by their rejection of him. He claims to share their views and wants to stand up against Nazi fascism...but the Scholls don't trust him. And Natalya isn't sure if she should either. But Garrick is charming. He continues to call on her, bringing her gifts and even a kitten in an attempt to woo her. But in a world where you trust no one for it could get you killed, Natalya remains staunch and playing ignorant to his claims. But there is something about Garrick. Can she trust him?

As history goes, the White Rose movement lasted just a year, when in 1943 Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested in the university distributing what would be their final leaflets. What did this mean for the others involved in the underground resistance? Were they now in danger? It would take a betrayal to put them in the firing line...and no one in the White Rose would betray another.

But then Natalya is arrested and soon finds herself on trial, alongside Lisa, in one of the most pompous rooms decorated in Nazi regalia she has ever seen. The charge - treason. The penalty - death. But when Natalya's life is saved at the eleventh hour, she finds she must sell her soul to the devil to remain alive. As a traitor she must now become a traitor to her own people...but can she betray those whose beliefs she also shares?

A well-researched novel, THE TRAITOR is compelling tale set during a dark period of Germany's history. It vividly portrays the oppressive atmosphere of the time and the constant fear of the brutal punishment given to those who dared to defy the Reich that even I felt I couldn't breathe.

Having read many historical fiction novels set during WW2 and being familiar with the White Rose resistance movement, I was immediately drawn to THE TRAITOR. It is always interesting to read "the other side of the story" rather than just those on British soil. Because not all Germans were Nazis.

The first part of the book was a little slow moving though it soon picked up. However, it's not until Natalya's journey after the White Rose that the story became interesting. The book is divided into two parts which tell the two aspects of Natalya's journey - Part 1: The White Rose and Part 2: Traitors. It is the second part that I couldn't put down. Even to the final pages where I read through tear-filled eyes right up to the very end.

A beautiful tale that is both captivating and heartbreaking, THE TRAITOR is a compelling and thought-provoking read recommended to all fans of WW2 historical fiction

I would like to thank #VSAlexander, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheTraitor in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: A Village Scandal by Dilly Court (ARC)

A Village Scandal (Village Secrets #2) by Dilly Court

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 13th June 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 5th March 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

The second book in the Village Secrets Trilogy by Dilly Court, A VILLAGE SCANDAL picks up from where "A Christmas Wedding" left off, as Daisy and Jay marry.

April 1869: It's been four months since Daisy and Jay Tattersall's disastrous Christmas wedding where only the couple, the vicar and witnesses showed up with no guests in attendance due to bad weather. Now, for the benefit of the village, Daisy and Jay remarry in a lavish ceremony and wedding breakfast held at Creek Manor, that Jay inherited from his philanderous father, and in which they now live with Jay's mother Mary, Daisy's friend Hilda and her children. The couple have lived a harmonious life together since their first wedding and Daisy could not be happier.

But their happiness is short-lived when, at the wedding reception, Jay is urgently called away to attend to trouble aboard his ship, the Lazy Jane. Leaving his bride, Jay dashes off into the night with promises to return, never to be seen again. His crew, Guppy and Lewis and Ramsden, are picked up by a passing vessel with reports of what took place but Jay could not be found. Believed to be lost at sea, Daisy refuses to give up hope that her husband is alive.

In Jay's absence, Daisy must take over the running of the estate and oversee the renovations to the tenant cottages but is soon met with the obstacle of finances when the bank refuses to let her draw on the estate funds. Jay had not made provision for this should anything happen, and so Daisy is left to make ends meet herself. With no money to pay the servants' wages for the last quarter or cover the costs of the cottage renovations, she finds herself in a quandary. She is then approached by Marjorie Harker with a business proposition which she declares will benefit them both. Marjorie, whose husband is with his regiment in India, seeks a promotion for him and ideal husbands for her daughters and to do that she wishes to rent Creek Manor for a year, which will suffice for the dignitaries she wishes to entertain. In return she will pay all Daisy's servants wages and cover the current estate costs. But what Daisy doesn't know is that she has just made a deal with the devil who upon moving into Creek Manor, treats Daisy as a mere servant in her own home. Will Marjorie Harker be content with giving up Creek Manor at the end of her stay? Or will Daisy have to fight for her place as lady of the manor?

Despite the many challenges she currently faces, Daisy continues to live in hope that Jay will soon return home and take up his rightful place as lord of Creek Manor. In the meantime, she meets Marius Walters and strikes up a business deal with him as a shipping agent for the Lazy Jane, reaping a tidy profit for herself.

Then just when the village had accepted his fate, Jay turns up in a London hospital, where Daisy's brother Toby works as a doctor, a shadow of his former self and no memory at all of who he is. She rushes to his side but is soon despairing of his condition and that he fails to recognises her. Daisy decides take him back to Creek Manor amongst familiar surroundings which may help spur his memory but upon arrival in Little Creek is disappointed to find that nothing is familiar to him. When Marius suggests a walk one evening with Jay to where the Lazy Jane is moored, Daisy is excited at the prospect that her husband will recognise his vessel which she hopes will spur on the rest of his lost memories. When Jay sees the Lady Jane, his face lights up and at once he recalls her but Daisy's excitement is soon dispelled when that is all Jay recognises.

Then the following morning, she is even more shocked to learn that Jay has decided to sail with the Lady Jane as seafaring is what he knows...not life in a manor he has no recollection of. Before she knows it, Jay has left Creek Manor with her in charge, sailing off to who knows where.

But a scandal is in the midst which will not only set tongues wagging, but send Daisy's life into even greater turmoil than before. How will she face this new challenge? How will she get through it? And what does it mean for her?

In a return to Little Creek, A VILLAGE SCANDAL is filled with twists, turns and a few secrets that will have you turning the pages into the night. Following the theme of the first book, we revisit the characters we met the first time round as well as places old and new. I did find myself disappointed with the first part of the book with Marjorie Harker continually lording it over Daisy, despite her saving her pinched face from disaster. Any enjoyment I had in the story dissipated with the introduction of that particular plotline. However, it soon picked up with Jay's return as new mysteries evolved and was enamoured once again.

A VILLAGE SCANDAL certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat and, despite a momentary lull, I found myself enjoying the ride. Readers will be captivated from the beginning and, in true Dilly style, will fall in love with the characters.

I look forward to the third installment "A Country Bride" to learn what becomes of Daisy and the village of Little Creek.

I would like to thank #DillyCourt, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #AVillageScandal in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Stranger in our Bed by Samantha Lee Howe (ARC)

The Stranger in our Bed by Samantha Lee Howe

Genre: Domestic thriller, psychological thriller

Read: 26th May 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 14th February 2020)

★★★★★ 5 stars

WOW! I went to bed early last night to start reading THE STRANGER IN OUR BED...and stayed up until 3.30am to finish it! It's the first time I can actually remember reading a book in one complete sitting! Initially, I had planned to read till around midnight...but nope, by then I was completely hooked and nothing would stop me till I completed it. It was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.

Charlotte met Tom when they were both studying corporate law at Oxford and upon graduating the couple married in a lavish wedding at the family manor in Surrey. Tom moved into the family company, Carlisle Corp, while Charlotte's own law degree was left on the shelf, spending her days lunching and organising charity events.

Charlotte thought she had married the man of her dreams but twelve years later she is left feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. Tom and his mother control everything she does down to the tiniest detail and she has little freedom. But why? She has everything she could ever need, they shop at Harrod's, they have a huge London apartment, a country estate in Surrey and a chauffeur driven limo - what else could she possibly wish for? Except happiness.

And then she meets Ewan.

Two chance meetings with him lead to coffee...then dinner...and then an all consuming affair. With Ewan, Charlotte can be herself. He makes her happy and with him she feels loved. She falls desperately in love with him and after months of sneaking around, tells Tom that she is leaving him. But when she arrives at their arranged meeting place the following morning, Ewan is not there. She waits for hours in the rain and he fails to show. She calls him but his number has been disconnected. She goes to the flat they used to meet at, but only a woman answers the door claiming that she is the only one living there. She returns to their meeting place and waits...but Ewan never shows.

And then a black limo draws up alongside her. Tom.

Despite her infidelity, Tom takes Charlotte back and together they work on rekindling their marriage. For the first several weeks, Charlotte is devastated to be duped by Ewan even moreso after Tom shows her a Facebook page outlining "Catfishing" where other women have been duped by similar men into leaving their husbands and the lives behind only to be left realising that none of it was real. How could she be so stupid? Ewan had really played her. She had believed him. She had loved him. And now he had vanished...as if he had never existed.

Then Charlotte falls pregnant and baby Melody is born...and everything finally seems to be falling into place. But after a passing remark by their nanny Tina about how much Melody resembles Charlotte, Tom is furious and demands a paternity test. He may have taken her back, but his anger was evident. And there was something about Tom that unsettled her.

Charlotte finds an unlikely ally in her mother-in-law who, while championing their reunion, confides that she would never let anything happen to her. What does Isadora know? She always claimed that everything she did was for Tom. So is she hiding something else?

And then Charlotte discovers an email from Ewan on her husband's laptop and a file in his desk drawer on the two of them. What does this mean? Just how much does Tom know about Ewan? Or more to the point, how much does she know about Tom?

Based on a true story, THE STRANGER IN OUR BED is a dark and twisted domestic thriller about one of the most toxic relationships I have ever read. And a scary example of gaslighting that you would hope it will never happen to you. It is well crafted and brilliantly told and while I did predict most of it, I didn't see that final reveal coming until the very end. However, it was an incredibly satisfying end to one of the best domestic thrillers I have come across.

A tale so twisted it is disturbing, THE STRANGER IN OUR BED is an addictive fast paced thriller that would make Hitchcock proud. Even down to the gothic manor of the Carlisle country estate in Surrey. And the more you read, the darker it gets.

An outstanding debut thriller from Samantha Lee Howe that is by far one of the best domestic thrillers I have come across.

I would like to thank #SamanthaLeeHowe, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheStrangerInOurBed in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Mrs Boots of Pelham Street by Deborah Carr (ARC)

Mrs Boots of Pelham Street (Mrs Boots #2) by Deborah Carr

Genre: Historical fiction, General Fiction

Read: 16th May 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 15th May 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

Easing myself back into reading after surgery, developing clots and now recovering, I thought I would lose myself to some delightful historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book "Mrs Boots" and decided to jump right into this one.

MRS BOOTS OF PELHAM STREET begins in 1891, six years after Florence and Jesse Boot married on the island of Jersey and they are now living in Nottingham working on building both their family and the Boots empire. They have two children, two year old John and nine month old Dorothy. But Florence feels the need to increase her brood and confides in Jesse that they should have another child.

Fast forward a year later in 1892 and Florence is pregnant with her third child whilst continuing to work in their Boots stores. Jesse implores her to take it easy as the pregnancy tires her while at the same time Florence tries to get Jesse to slow down due to his growing ailments. Neither of them wish to as they continue to build their growing empire. Then in the midst of her seventh month of pregnancy, Jesse announced that he had bought them a majestic house in the beautiful and sprawling The Park estate and named it in honour of her hometown on Jersey, St Heliers. Of course the last thing Florence wished to be doing at seven months pregnant was move house, but with another baby on the way the move made sense. Baby Margery was born on a night they were visiting old friends, keeping Florence bedridden for some ten days before she was able to go back home...and even longer before she could return to work at Boots.

Life had changed for Florence since her days living on Jersey with her family. She had always been an independent young woman, wanting both a career and a family and never losing sight of what she wants from life...but can she fit it all in?

When Jesse buys a massive floorspace on Pelham Street, Florence sees a chance to expand the chain into other departments. But Jesse is adamant. Boots is and always will be first and foremost, a chemist. But Florence has an eye for things that would draw a customer into their store who might never enter and the lure of gifts and pretty things is just the ticket. When that proves successful, Florence decides to expand into stationery and book lending...but all the while Jesse still feels that Boots should remain a chemist. Stubborn to the core, Florence and Jesse butt heads a number of times throughout the course of building up Boots from sixty stores into two hundred and fifty.

One thing Jesse has given his wife full control over is the female staff. She has made it her mission to help the women less fortunate than herself by giving them positions within one of their many Boots stores. Of course she would love to help them all, but of course that isn't possible. Her mind often wanders back to Jersey and young teenage Lily Buttons, whom she had taken off the street and given a job in her father's stationer's store. Lily was her success story and she was proud to have had a hand in helping the young woman find her feet.

So when her secretary announces that there is a Miss Lily Buttons who wishes to see her, Florence couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. Lily had handed in her notice at her father's store and had saved every penny to come to Nottingham to make something of herself. And she hoped Florence had a position for her in one of her stores. Florence was thrilled and promptly gave Lily a supervisory position within the Pelham Street store.

Jesse's health continues to decline but he refuses to slow down. A workaholic, he says he must work and as the head of the Boots empire it is up to him to continue to make it work. When he has a sudden health scare, Florence hopes he would take this as a sign that he must slow down but all that ensues is an even grumpier old man who cannot do all he used to do.

Florence continues to be a stalwart for the company and for women, as she organises outings for several hundred female employees, Christmas gifts for them women and gifts for those who are struggling to make ends meet. She gives positions to those who need it most and takes the women under her wing, hoping to help make their lives better. Despite her mother's pleading and against her wishes, Florence continues to work and take her children to the office with her when they are young so that she can be both a working woman and a hands-on mother for her children. This is very forward thinking for the time particularly as women didn't work once they married or had children, staying at home instead with their family.

However with the number of Boots stores opening up across the country, the empire continues to grow at a rapid rate and fast becoming more than just a chemist, but a gift shop as well. Then they began their own printing means to reduce the need to outsource which was incredibly progressive for the time.

The scenes at Florence and Jesse's home amidst their children and servants had echoes of Downton Abbey, though not as much a grand scale. It had that warmth and homeliness about it despite being a majestic house with half a dozen servants. And their loyalty and appreciation to their servants reminded me those that had graced the halls of Downton.

I really enjoyed this second installment of the Boots empire, though admittedly not as much as the first. I think my biggest issue was with Jesse and his constant grumpiness which was so at odds with the man we met in the first book. Also his stubbornness regarding his children, particularly John, and their education contradicted his acceptance of Florence's position as an independent woman. Contrary to that forward notion, the one regarding John's education was completely belied his position as a forward-thinking man.

But Florence annoyed me in the beginning also when she demanded to remain independent, working at Boots whilst bringing up three children. When Jesse implored her to let him know if it ever became too much to let him know, she silently promised herself she would do no such thing. And then, she had the audacity to plead with Jesse to slow down whilst silently watching him for signs of pain when she decided he would need to slow down. I thought that to be somewhat hypocritical when she endeavoured to do the complete opposite herself. Did their children's well being mean nothing to them that they would both risk their health for the sake of being independent?

Aside from those little niggles, I did find a couple discrepancies in the plot and its timeline. Firstly, in April 1893 Florence was taking her three children to the office and alluded to Margery being just six months old...which was entirely incorrect as Margery was born in April 1892, making her 12 months old. The second inconsistency I found was with regards to Florence's family. She made mention of her own brother Willie. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly do not recall her ever having a brother - just two sisters, Adelaide and Amy. Had she had a brother, wouldn't he have been the most likely to work alongside her father at Rowe's stationers rather than Florence herself and her sister Amy?

Niggles and inconsistencies aside (though I felt I did have to mention them), MRS BOOTS OF PELHAM STREET is a lovely gentle read of times past and while it is the second in the series, it could be read as a standalone.

By the end of the book, they have entered a new century with the year now 1907 and Florence and Jesse are now celebrating twenty one years of marriage. I wonder, where do they go from here? Is there a third book to come to continue their story? I hope so as I would thoroughly enjoy revisiting the Boot family and their growing empire.

A wonderful nod to what has become one of the UK's biggest chemist chains, MRS BOOTS OF PELHAM STREET is an enjoyable step back in time, along with the first in the series "Mrs Boots".

I would like to thank #DeborahCarr, #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #MrsBootsOfPelhamStreet in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Mrs Boots by Deborah Carr (ARC)

Mrs Boots (Mrs Boots #1) by Deborah Carr

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 4th April 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 27th March 2020)

★★★★★ 5 stars

The first book in a wonderful new series, MRS BOOTS by Deborah Carr is inspired by the life of Florence Boot, the woman behind the UK's favourite chemist. It's not a history of the Boots empire but rather the beginning of a promising story.

Jersey, 1885: Florence Rowe is 23 and lives on the channel island of Jersey with her family. The daughter of a successful shop W.H. Rowe Stationers, she and her sister Amy are assistants in the family run business. A self-confident independent young woman, Florence has no intentions of ever marrying and being under the dictatorship of a man. She intends to make her own mark on the world with ambitions of owning her own shop one day.

But then she meets Jesse Boot.

Jesse is on holiday on the island of Jersey when he is invited to tea one afternoon with the Rowes in their flat above the shop. A successful man in his own right, Jesse owns and runs a string of shops on the mainland in Nottingham and has only recently branched out and employed a chemist. He had shared the responsibility with his mother until her recent death, selling herbs for various ailments which she had procured and dried herself. His sister Jane, having visited the island previously, recommended he visit to take in its sheer beauty and to call on the Rowe's who had made her stay a pleasant one.

Florence's father had spoken of Jesse to his family but she hadn't taken much notice, having no interest in marriage but rather the important matters of running the shop instead. So when introduced to Jesse, she didn't expect to feel the reaction she did. The flutter in her stomach, the twinkle in his eyes, the flush of her face.

Over the coming days, Florence is tasked with showing Jesse the marvels of their island and in doing so the two find themselves sharing a camaraderie unfamiliar to them. Despite being a small island, the vast differences between the town and the coast is striking. Jesse finds himself drawn to its wonder and enamoured with his guide.

Florence has never experienced the feelings she now does but finds herself looking forward to her outings with Jesse and being in his company again. He is not like any man she has encountered before. He listens to her, encourages her and sees her as an equal rather than someone to kowtow to his whims. Together they enjoy a friendly banter and discussions about important matters, rather than trivialities.

Suddenly Florence, who never saw a need to marry, finds herself falling in love with Jesse and he with her, despite their twelve year age difference. Then when Jesse seeks her father to ask for her hand, the couple are overjoyed that permission is granted. However, neither of them foresaw Florence's mother's reaction, who flatly refuses the union and convinces her father to rescind his permission.

Instead, Jesse is to return to Nottingham and the two are permitted to continue their courtship via letter for a further ten months until the following summer in the hope that they would both reconsider their decision. But Florence and Jesse know their own minds and their hearts and the woman who vowed never to marry, now longs to marry the man she so truly loves.

However, they are restricted to writing and with every letter they confide in each other, growing closer and develop a love and respect that only deepened. Florence sought Jesse's advice with her ideas in implementing changes in the shop to helping those less fortunate. It's then that she soon discovers that she values Jesse's thoughts when seeking his opinion on things that trouble her. Just as he values hers.

It's then one day when a bedraggled young girl comes running into the open door of their shop to escape the angry man pursuing her, that Florence sees something in her frightened eyes. Lily Buttons comes from the poorer side of town, living hand to mouth with a father often in the local jail. But Florence soon learns that Lily has dreams...and potential. It just needs nurturing. Realising she has opportunity where others have none, Florence desires to make a difference in the life of others. An attribute Jesse admires in her.

Their love story and courtship is a sweet and hopeful story. And despite a year of separation when their love is tested, it is clear that their love will survive and all will end happily. Or will it? Will Florence's father grant his permission after the year has passed? Will her mother finally accept Jesse as her choice in husband and give her blessing?

Set in the Victorian era of the late 1800s, a time when the opinion of a woman wasn't permitted, where parent's wishes were obeyed and respected and social expectations were strictly adhered to, MRS BOOTS is like a breath of fresh air. It is captivating and romantic and I devoured it long into the night.

A gentle romance, MRS BOOTS is an easy read with an upbeat feel that is engaging and delightful. Some reviewers have said that they found the pace slow but not me. I was enthralled from beginning to end and couldn't put it down. For me, the pace was perfect. It was like a gentle stroll in the park with that feel of anticipation building fit to burst at times. It was the excitement felt in a courtship that just leaves you wanting more. It was perfect.

With the fabulous setting, the background, the supporting characters and the gentle romance between Florence and Jesse, MRS BOOTS is a beautiful captivating story I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

I have no hesitation in recommending it to lovers of historical fiction and I cannot wait for the second in this wonderful series "Mrs Boots of Pelham Street" released in May 2020.

I would like to thank #DeborahCarr, #NetGalley and #HarperCollins and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #MrsBoots in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Seven Days by Alex Lake (ARC)

Seven Days by Alex Lake

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 21st October 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication: 10th October 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

OMG - WOW! What. A. Ride. I literally could not put this book down and cursed every moment that I had to! I just have one thing to say before I go on...

...go out and buy this book NOW! Read it! You won't regret it!

Maggie has SEVEN DAYS before her son Max's 3rd birthday. Seven days  before he will be ripped from her arms, never to be seen again, just as her two other sons - Seb and Leo - before him were taken on their 3rd birthdays. Seven days to devise a plan to thwart the man's intentions. Seven days to save her son Max from an unknown fate.

Twelve years ago, the year is 2006, and 15 year old Maggie Cooper is a typical teenager. She has two loving parents, a young brother who annoys her, a circle of friends she confides in and a boyfriend she's thinking of breaking up with. She decides she will walk over to her cousin Anne's place on the other side of the village and talk things over with her. But before she does, her father confronts her with the extortionate phone bill to which she responds wouldn't be a problem if only they would allow her a mobile phone. "Not until you're 16!" her father tells her. But unlike typical teenagers, they agree to discuss things later and call out "I love yous" as she leaves. Her father offered to drive her to Anne's but after pondering Maggie decided to walk...that way she could sneak in a cigarette on the way.

When she doesn't return home for dinner that night, her parents aren't overly worried but think it strange that she didn't let them know a change in plans. They thought maybe it was her way of saying "it wouldn't happen if you got me a mobile!" But soon the hours turned into days and Maggie still hadn't returned. Friends had been called, her boyfriend, her cousin Anne who said she had never turned up, and the police were notified. No one thought this was a typical missing teenager case. Something had happened to Maggie. And yet she had disappeared without a trace.

And yet the reader is privy to Maggie's quandary throughout...even if her loved ones weren't.

On her way to Anne's, Maggie was abducted whilst performing an act of kindness to a stranger. She was sedated and awoke to find herself in a small basement with nothing but a mattress, two buckets, a bowl and a barrel. There are no windows so she cannot see the sun, the rain, the birds or the trees. She can hear nothing from outside. All she knows now is this basement...and the man who comes to her with breakfast and dinner...and sometimes later in the night, dressed in nothing but a blue robe. She soon learns what seeing him in that blue robe means.

As the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months then years, Maggie soon realises that this is her new reality. She will never see her family again - her mother, her father, her brother - or her friends. The man now keeps her prisoner - "for her protection" he says. Protection from what? She does not know; nor does she have any idea who he is, why he has taken her or where she even is.

Maggie was 15 when she was abducted and by the time she is 27 she has given birth to three sons - first Seb, then Leo and now Max. The man has kept her prisoner in this basement for twelve years. She has not seen the sun or felt the fresh air on her skin in all this time. Her sons have never known life beyond this little room...until their third birthdays, when they are taken from her, wretched from her arms and never seen again. But not Max. Maggie has vowed she will do anything she can to protect her son from whatever fate awaits him beyond that basement door. The man is not taking Max from her. She will die before he does.

In the wake of Maggie's disappearance, her family have become distraught by her sudden absence. Her parents, Martin and Sandra, are trying their best to keep what is left of their family together but James, their then 14 year old son, feels his sister's loss deeply. He grows up with severe trust issues and the only serious relationship he had ended after his obsessive behaviour, and constant need to know where his girlfriend was and who she was speaking to, tore them apart. But James was scared of losing another loved one just as Maggie had disappeared. He couldn't go through that again.

DI Wynne is the detective in charge of Maggie's disappearance. She has her suspicions but she is unable to act on them as the man she suspects knows more about her disappearance has had allegations made against him in the past that were never proven. Therefore, she cannot disclose this information in the course of her enquiries as that would be slanderous and she could lose her job. But determined to get to the bottom of Maggie's disappearance, she continues her investigation...keeping a close eye on her suspect as she goes.

Colin Best is cunning. He knows DI Wynne is watching him. He knows she suspects him. But she has no proof. And he enjoys toying with her every time he sees her.

As the world continues above her basement prison, Maggie has no idea if her parents are still alive or if her brother is married with kids. But she knows one thing for sure...that she has just seven days to save herself and her son. Before the man comes to take him from her too.

"The man", Maggie's captor, is a sinister and terrifying character. Straight from an episode of Criminal Minds, his delusions are the most frightening. He is so convinced that he truly believes that he had no choice - that imprisoning her and raping her for twelve years is saving her. And then his audacity in so many of his actions were incredibly infuriating that it made my blood boil! As was his toying arrogance that he would never be caught. He was malevolent and a fine example that evil can truly exist in masked form anywhere.

Told from multiple perspectives, the story unfolds in a very clever timeline beginning from 7th July 2006 - the day Maggie vanished - to the days following her disappearance. We are then taken to the days surrounding the anniversary every four years until we reach the present day, of which we are witness the the final seven days. Throughout the different stages of their lives following Maggie's disappearance, we see how it has affected her family and continues to do so. We also see Maggie at these different stages of her life in captivity, as she bears each son to having him ripped from her.

Although it is written in multiple POVs and timelines, it is very cleverly done and is not as confusing as it might sound. You are never confused with whose narrative it is or when it is taking place. It just flows seamlessly as each piece is cleverly woven together to create what essentially is the bigger picture. We know who has Maggie from early on and while that is never a secret, it cleverly gives you palpable tension with the suspense building as you wonder if it will indeed end well for those affected. It is like a Hitchcock film - that same tension, that same suspense, that same edge-of-your-seat thrill ride...even though you know who is behind it all, you are still scared witless for all those entangled within.

SEVEN DAYS is a psychological thriller of magnificent proportions. We are embroiled within everyone's lives as we see how they cope with their loss, the tragedy, their grief. Throughout every page we are entwined within a plot that twists and turns at every opportunity to leave us feeling breathless.

Will Maggie be able to save Max? Will she save herself? Will she ever see her family again? Will DI Wynne close the case? Are Seb and Leo OK and living happy lives? Will there be a happy end for all?

One of my favourite parts - along with just about everything else - is the short snappy chapters which keep the story moving along at a rapid pace and has you turning pages long into the night, devouring every word.

Highly addictive and heart-stopping, SEVEN DAYS is a dark, disturbing, twisted tale of masterful suspense. It is easily one of my favourite books - one of the best I have EVER read - and I guarantee you won't want to let this one pass by.

I've read Alex Lake's first book "After Anna" but it pales in comparison to this and it would take something momentous to outdo and outshine SEVEN DAYS. I doubt he could top this one it is THAT BRILLIANT!!

If I could give it more than FIVE STARS I would. It deserves a TEN STAR rating!!

I would like to thank #AlexLake, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #SevenDays in exchange for an honest review.