REVIEW: I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry

 

I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry

Genre: Domestic thriller, Family Drama, Women's fiction

Read: 8th December 2020

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Amazon

Published: 28th May 2020

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT.

IT WAS ONLY ONCE.

BUT NOW HE'S DEAD, AND SOMEONE HAS TO PAY . . .

In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands, and those who are not. Until now, Poppy has never questioned which she was.

But when handsome, charming Matthew Gordon walks back into her life after almost two decades, that changes. Poppy makes a single mistake - and that mistake will be far more dangerous than she could imagine.

Someone is going to pay for it with their life . . .

MY REVIEW:

"It started with a kiss...and ended with murder!"

Although I have a couple of Jane Corry's books on my TBR list, this is the first book I have read by this author. And although I MADE A MISTAKE is a very slow burn to begin with, it does pick up the pace further in with a mystery to make you glad you stuck around for it. I wouldn't class it as a thriller as such - more of a domestic drama tinged with some thriller aspects. These types of books are generally difficult to categorise as they tend to fall between genres - not quite in but not quite out either.

Beginning with a tragic accident at Waterloo underground station, we don't discover who is involved till further in. And only then we are given tidbits to flesh out in our imaginations as to what really happened on that fateful day. It soon becomes clear a few chapters in that someone is on trial for murder and, though we don't know who, the deceased's identity is soon revealed...leaving us trying to piece the puzzle together.

Rewind six weeks prior and Poppy Page is at a Christmas party where she bumps into an old boyfriend. But not any old boyfriend. Matthew Gordon was her first love and they were together for three years before he upped and left with another student from their drama class, whom he later married. Matthew went on to become a successful actor in the title role of a popular drama in the nineties...although he hasn't been in anything since. He claims to be at the party to network amongst directors and producers, hoping to land himself something.

Although Poppy's dreams of becoming an actress never came to fruition, she now runs a successful agency for "extras" negotiating with casting directors for films, TV and commercials. The last thing she expected, or even wanted, was to chance upon Matthew bloody Gordon. But she soon catches his eye and he hones in on her almost immediately, batting away a string of admirers along the way. The meeting is tentative and awkward at first but Poppy soon finds herself reminiscing about the man who could ignite a passion in her she has never felt since. And what was at first a chance encounter leads to a mistake with such repercussions that could devastate her entire family.

As a mother to 17 year old Melissa and 14 year old Daisy, Poppy has been married to her dentist husband Stuart for nearly twenty years. Her family mean everything to her. Including her mother-in-law Betty, who also lives with them since the death of her husband Jock. Since starting up her extras agency business, which she runs from home, Poppy has welcomed Betty's presence even moreso and her invaluable help with the girls when it is most needed. For Poppy, Betty has been like a mother to her...especially since her own mother abandoned her and her father when she was 18 and she hasn't heard from her since. But what Poppy doesn't know is that in a secret lifelong desire, Poppy is the daughter that Betty never had. Perhaps that's why the two women are especially close.

So when Poppy makes a horrible mistake that inevitably puts everything she values most at risk, she soon discovers that the ripple effect she has set in motion by diving head first into the deep end has far-reaching consequences that could destroy everything. Can Poppy's family survive the fallout from that one mistake? Can her marriage?

I MADE A MISTAKE unfolds rather cleverly through the eyes of both Poppy and Betty. As Poppy takes us on a journey through lost love, mistakes and repercussions, Betty recounts her own story in the format of a series of letters to her daughter-in-law. There is also the inclusion of excerpts from a trial at the Criminal Court where Poppy finds herself under brutal cross examination. And while we discover the identity of the deceased in the first of these (court trial) chapters, exactly who is on trial remains a mystery until about three quarters of the way through. Though I pieced it together in a random moment of clarity just before it was revealed.

Although there are two stories unfolding throughout, whilst seemingly different in the past and present, the choices each makes can often find two different women in somewhat similar circumstances. However, while Poppy's story is primarily the focus here that wasn't what made it interesting for me. I was more fascinated and invested in Betty's own story and the choices (and mistakes) she made as a young wife and mother and how that played into the circumstances Poppy ultimately finds herself in. It was Betty's story that kept me turning the pages. That, and the criminal trial which was also proving to be compelling. Poppy's story had me tearing my hair out at its slow progression to anywhere...and then when it did, I found I wanted to shake her for her stupidity. But then stress does make people do strange and idiotic things that another simply cannot fathom. And what with her already floundering marriage, her bickering teenagers, her busy lifestyle, running a house AND trying to cope with her father in the early stages of dementia...Poppy sure had her fair share of stress.

I have to admit, every time her name was mentioned in full - Poppy Page - I found myself hearing "Polly Page" from The Bill. And then to realise her mother-in-law's name was Betty Page...but somehow I didn't picture the 70 year old grandmother as a buxom pin-up model of the 1950s. I think hubby Jock might have had something to say about that, that's for sure!

Initially dubbed as a thriller, I MADE A MISTAKE is more of a family domestic drama that starts of very slowly but gains momentum about halfway through. Admittedly, I nearly gave up several times but it was Betty's story that kept me anchored in the hope the rest of the book would pick up pace. Not soon enough though, but enough to say that I am glad I stuck with it because in the end, I did enjoy it.

A story of mistakes, guilt, regrets, death and lost love, I MADE A MISTAKE will appeal to fans of slow burning domestic drama and women's fiction.

I would like to thank #JaneCorry, #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for an ARC of #IMadeAMistake in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jane Corry has been writing stories ever since she learned to read as a young child. English was her favourite subject at school and she found books were a great escape. She often hid herself away in corners with books which she'd borrowed from the library and also from her parents’ bookshelves. Many of them were probably quite unsuitable but she devoured them anyway! ​

Reading English at Reading University she then trained as a journalist with the Thomson Newspaper Graduate Training Scheme. After that, Jane went on to write for various magazines including Drapers Record, Parents and Woman’s Own before turning freelance when she became  a regular contributor to The Times, Daily Telegraph and many other publications. After her first marriage ended, she took a job as a writer in residence of a high-security male prison which gave her a darker voice!   

Now a full-time Penguin novelist, Jane is also a hands-on grandmother. She writes Diary Of A Modern Granny in the online version of My Weekly magazine. 

Jane now lives by the sea with her second husband and love wild water swimming, tennis, walking and reading - as well, of course, writing! And often gets ideas walking along the beach with her dog.

Social Media Links:

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REVIEW: The Weight of Small Things by Julie Lancaster

 

The Weight of Small Things by Julie Lancaster

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Read: 9th December 2020

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Amazon

Published: 28th May 2020

★ 1 star

DESCRIPTION:

Nine-year-old Frankie Appleton likes to count gates.

One day she hopes to design the perfect gate - a gate to keep the bad things out.

Little does she know that the bad things have already got in.

Now her mother is dead, and the only other person with a house key has disappeared.

Frankie thinks she knows who it is. But first she has to prove it.

A delicately brutal exploration of what lies behind closed doors, and of the secrets and lies that form the fabric of every family, The Weight of Small Things is as charming as it is chilling.

MY REVIEW:

I tried to like this book. I really did. But I just found it a yawnfest.

I was so bored, what with gates being the epitome of Frankie's obsession, I was jealous of Peggy being murdered!

DNF...zzzzz....

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Julie Lancaster lives in Staffordshire where she was born. She worked in academic and public libraries - writing in her spare time. She has been a travel agent, a university admissions assistant and a volunteer counsellor. She loves true crime and crime fiction. This is her first novel.

Social Media Links:

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REVIEW: What Only We Know by Catherine Hokin

 

What Only We Know by Catherine Hokin

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2

Date: 6th December 2020

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Amazon

Published: 27th May 2020

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

When Karen Cartwright is unexpectedly called home to nurse her ailing father, she goes with a heavy heart. The house she grew up in feels haunted by the memory of her father’s closely guarded secrets about her beautiful mother Elizabeth’s tragic death years before.

As she packs up the house, Karen discovers an old photograph and a stranger’s tattered love letter to her mother postmarked from Germany after the war.

During her life, Karen struggled to understand her shy, fearful mother, but now she is realising there was so much more to Elizabeth than she knew. For one thing, her name wasn’t even Elizabeth, and her harrowing story begins long before Karen was born.

It’s 1941 in Nazi-occupied Berlin, and a young Jewish woman called Liese is being forced to wear a yellow star…

A beautiful and gripping wartime story about family secrets and impossible choices in the face of terrible hardship. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network.

MY REVIEW:

"I have one more piece of advice, if you can bear to hear it. When you dig up the past, do it gently. With a care for the living."

This story certainly isn't at all what I expected. It was so much more! Having read Catherine Hokin's historical debut with "The Fortunate Ones" which was incredibly beautiful as well as heartbreaking, I was eager to delve into WHAT ONLY WE KNOW. And believe me, it was just as beautiful and just as heartbreaking. A dual timeline novel the story, told two separate voices throughout, will consume you as if you had lived through it.

Hove, England, 1971: She steps into the water, the shingles crunching under her feet, until the ground becomes softer into sand and the ripples lap around her ankles. The sun would soon be up, floating on the horizon - it will be a beautiful day. But today, this is it. Her day has come. As she steps knee-deep...chest-deep...feet on tiptoes as the waves hug her shoulders pulling her deeper and deeper. Her eyelids drop. The seagulls fall silent. And there is nothing in her ears but the gurgle of Lottie's giggle. She has found her at last. Her parting thoughts are that he will read what she has written and will do what she asked. It was time.

Berlin 1936: Sixteen year old Liese Elfmann is the only child of Paul and Margarethe and heir to the Hause Elfmann fashion salon where the family design and make clothing for the wealthy women of Berlin and beyond. Their designs are highly sought after and their status is firmly entrenched within distinguished German social circles. But that all changes with the rising of the new National Socialist Party and their dogmatic leader, Hitler. For the Elfmanns are Jewish...albeit non-practising, but Jewish all the same. 

Little by little, Jews were stripped of their status right down to the last piece of their dignity. They were unable to attend school, go to work, run a business, own a property...to being restricted to curfews, wearing yellow stars emblazoned on their clothing, living in the squalor of the ghetto before being "deported" which was just another word for sending them to death camps. Some survived, most did not. But those that did, were irrevocably changed by their hellish experiences.

Liese's parents refused to listen to her pleas and those of their closest friend Otto or his son Michael, and continued to operate their business as if the new rules did not apply to them. They were royalty in German society! They dressed the wealthiest people...including Nazi wives. They were completely safe from being singled out. Until they weren't. And then they lost everything. 

By 1939 they were shuffled into a Jewish ghetto and Liese sent them out to work while she stayed at home and cared for her baby daughter, Lotte. When one day her parents returned home late with letters telling them to report the following day for deportation, Leise bid them goodbye as she left the ghetto with Michael who worked for the German resistance and organised a litany of safe houses for her and Lotte to stay in, moving on regularly so as to not raise suspicion as to her being a Jew. But one day when Michael was to take them to their final safe house in the country, he had failed to arrive. And in his place were Nazi soldiers who threw Leise and Lotte into a truck and then a train bound for Ravensbruck concentration camp.

And it was there that Liese's life changed forever.

Aldershot, England, 1978: Eighteen year old Karen Cartwright was devastated when her mother Elizabeth took her own life seven years ago when she was just 11. Since then, the gap between her and her father Andrew has grown wider and wider, as she has grown angrier and angrier at him for refusing to tell her anything about her mother or why she took her life. Growing up, Karen's mother was something of an enigma. She rarely spent any time with her daughter or did anything together as a family, claiming one of her headaches and then sleeping for days on end. She would often recall her father holding her mother in a way she thought was coercive and controlling and so she therefore blamed him for her death. 

It is then she ponders as where her mother's jewellery box had gone to. It always sat on her bedside table, despite her mother never wearing anything that was in it. So Karen decided to search her father's room for it...and she found it, hidden on the top shelf right at the back of her father's wardrobe. Whilst reminiscing over the pieces locked away inside, the felt lining at the bottom came away, revealing just one of her mother's hidden secrets. Her mother's passport which held a different name and another document in German which appeared to be a marriage certificate dated 1947. She confronted her father with these documents but beyond confessing that her mother was German, her father refused to give her anything else.

So when her German class announced they were travelling to Berlin, Karen jump at the opportunity to see the city in which her mother once lived and hoped to find some answers there. But the Germany of 1978 was a different Germany to that during and after the war. Now the country was divided into East and West by a wall that now separated them...and never the twain shall meet. All she had was the address to a place her mother once worked as a seamstress and upon finding it, was to learn that her mother was actually Jewish...and from the East. It seems now she has more questions than answers. But still her father refused to give up her mother's secrets.

Eleven years later in 1989, Karen's father has suffered a massive heart attack and doctors advise that his best option would be assisted living. Her father, ever the organised military man that he was, had planned for such an occasion right down to his preferred care home. So while he was in hospital recuperating, Karen set to packing up the house he shared with her mother for 40 years. In doing so, she comes across a photo of her parents' wedding with a mysterious man standing behind them, a look of pure adoration in his eyes as he gazed upon her mother, and a postcard dated 1953 with an address for a man named Michael. Karen had no idea who this man was or how he was related to her mother but she had a piece of a puzzle she was determined to solve once and for all. She could not question her father, as the mere mention of her discovery sent him into all sorts of distress, so she was advised not to visit him. But she rang the hospital daily for reports on her father's progress despite her confused feelings for the man.

So with nothing but the photograph and the postcard's address, she sets off to Berlin, just as the East and the West are about to be reunified, to find out the answers she had been seeking for almost 20 years, determined to find them at last. But just as the Iron Curtain falls, so will the secrets of the past...and nothing will prepare Karen for what she is about to discover about her mother...or her father.

WOW! That is all I can say. WHAT ONLY WE KNOW is a story that takes you through a range of emotions from grief to anger to heartbreak to love and so much more. We are taken through dual timelines through the eyes of two women - Liese and Karen - whose stories are both painful and heartbreaking. The chapters alternate with the voices through each timeline.

Karen's story is told from 1971 through to 1990 in both England and Germany. From a young girl who lost her mother at a young age through to a confused woman at the age of 29, she feels she has nothing left to lose by digging into the past. Her father won't give her the answers to her questions so therefore she must seek them herself. But at what cost to others? I especially love the words given to Karen by the priest in the church where her parents were married and which I opened this review with that I feel says it perfectly:

"I have one more piece of advice, if you can bear to hear it. When you dig up the past, do it gently. With a care for the living."

But as the reader, we feel her pain. She never really knew her mother who always seemed just out of her reach...always unwell, always sad, always longing for something else. And after she died, her father stubbornly refuses to give her any answers or enlighten her as to who her mother really was. To Karen, she was an enigma. And that is incredibly sad. To have missed out on the love and warmth of a mother's love.

And there is Liese's story. Her's is the most difficult to imagine, let alone put into words. The utter devastation of her hellish experience could be felt within every word on every page that will have the reader reaching for the tissues as we cry along with the broken but stoic Liese. By the time she was 23, she had lost everything but her life...and even that she felt was not worth much. She may have survived the camp but she wanted to die. And she spent the next two and a half decades wanting to die. What was there to live for? By 1947, she had met and married British soldier Andrew Cartwright and moved to England to begin a new life...but how could she escape, let alone forget, the old one? My gosh, her story was at times brutal and difficult to read and I found myself in tears at the horror through which people like Liese had to endure at the hands of the Nazis. But although I have read many WW2 stories, including those of the Jew's plight in Germany and beyond, Liese's story is different and even more heartbreaking...if that is at all possible.

I cannot express how completely breathtaking WHAT ONLY WE KNOW is. You cannot help but be touched by Liese and Karen's stories...and you may find yourself bereft once they have gone. 

I have just two complaints with the book. The first being that the beginning was slow and incredibly drawn out. I can see why it was included, but I felt it may have also sufficed as a backstory reminisced on and reiterated at a later time, possibly as war broke out. I felt at times like giving up it was that slow...but I'm glad I stuck it out and I urge you to do the same. I guarantee that it WILL be worth it. My other gripe is the loooong and drawn out chapters. Again, I can see why they were, as alternating between the two narratives, but I really loathe long chapters and I find that they only serve to make the story even more drawn out. Had the chapters been shorter, I'm sure my first issue would have been null and void as it wouldn't have seemed so drawn out to begin with. If that makes any sense. However, as I said, I am glad I did stick with it because the story really IS WORTH it.

If you love historical fiction sagas, particularly WW2 fiction, then you will love WHAT ONLY WE KNOW. It is heartwarming as well as heartbreaking as we delve into both Liese and Karen's stories and uncover their secrets.

"We were brought together by a place. Now we need different places. To find our stories in. To be remembered in."

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

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Catherine Hokin is the author of two World War Two inspired novels set in Berlin, her favourite city. Following a History degree at Manchester University she worked in teaching, marketing and politics, while waiting for a chance to do what she really wanted which was to write full time.

As all writers are, Catherine is a huge reader and devours books of all genres. Having read Jane Eyre at an early age she likes a bit of Gothic, but also loves magical realism and obviously historical fiction. Her short stories have been published by iScot, Writers Forum and Myslexia magazines and she was the winner of the 2019 Fiction 500 Short Story Competition. She is a lover of strong female leads and a quest.

Catherine is from Cumbria in the North of England but now lives in Glasgow with her American husband. She has two grown-up children – one in London and one in Berlin – and a life long addiction to very loud music.

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REVIEW: The Watchful Neighbour by Debbie Viggiano

 

The Watchful Neighbour by Debbie Viggiano

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 1st December 2020

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Amazon

UK

US

Published: 7th December 2020

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

When Jade Ferguson’s affair with a married man abruptly ends, she’s devastated.

There is no quick fix for a broken heart.  A fresh start is required.

New job. New home. New neighbours.

The residents of Gresham Terrace seem pleasant enough.

Except for one…

An absolutely gripping debut psychological thriller.

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Debbie Viggiano's debut psychological thriller THE WATCHFUL NEIGHBOUR.

New job. New home. New neighbours.

When Jade Ferguson decides on a fresh start when her ten year long affair with married man and boss, Tom Harrison, comes to an explosive end, little did she know that her troubles were only just beginning. 

Moving into 3 Gresham Terrace is meant to be just that - a fresh start for a broken heart. But for Jade it seems trouble has a way of finding her. Or is it karma for ten years of lies? For ten years of sneaking around with someone else's husband, waiting for him to leave his wife to be with her? For ten years of being a naive gullible fool for believing his every lying word? Tom Harrison broke Jade's heart. He devastated her...and for quite a while afterwards, there was no coming back from that. But now she has a new life, a new job, a new home...a new start. But is she ready to be friends with the neighbours too?

Greg Good lives at number 2 and tried to welcome Jade upon her arrival but Jade was having none of his friendliness and, given her broken past, she felt she had good reason not to trust him. But when he told her he was a keyholder to not only her property but everyone else's in the Terrace, Jade was incensed. What right did he have to hold a key to her home? What if he gained access while she was at work? She demanded the keys to her property immediately...but he refused, citing he had been entrusted by the property's owner, Mrs Simms, to always have a key should the need to gain access ever arise.

She meets friendly Brad Grimshaw from number 5 while returning home one evening and despite his best efforts to engage her in conversation, Jade politely refused bordering on rude. But there was something about Brad that she found instantly attractive. That twinkle in his eye, the mischievous smile, his friendliness. But she didn't move to Gresham Terrace to make friends...she came here for a new start. But isn't that what you do when you move to a new neighbourhood? Isn't that what a fresh start entails? Making friends?

Shortly after moving in, another neighbour takes up residence in the house next door to her - in number 4. Dee Parker is a forty-something woman with a peroxide blonde bob sporting a very red lipstick. Despite Jade's attempts at ignoring her, Dee will not be swayed and tries to engage her new neighbour in conversation. Jade is horrified when Dee asks her if the men who live on either side of them - Brad of number 5 and the creepy Greg at number 2 - were good looking enough to take a stab at? Jade assesses Dee to be well out of their age bracket and didn't think either man would be interested...but it certainly wasn't her place to say.

Despite rebuffing each of her neighbours' attempts at befriending her, Jade concentrates on settling into her new life...alone, aside from her rescue cat Puddles. But no sooner has she settled in that Jade discovers that there's something not quite right about her new home. The twitch of the neighbour's curtains next door seemingly watching her every move makes her feel increasingly uncomfortable. And then strange things begin to occur inside her house. The cat flap is locked when she knows she left it open. Her precise and symmetrical placement of her perfume bottles on her vanity are moved to within touching distance - something she never does. Her shoeboxes are moved around haphazardly. Her wardrobe smells of her neighbour's mother's cloying rose perfume. Things go missing, and then they reappear again. Parcels sent to her that she didn't order. And then her kitchen window is smashed.

Jade is convinced this is the work of her creepy neighbour Greg Good since he is the keyholder of the property and could easily gain access to her house. She ordered spy gadgets in the form of "magic eye" clocks trained on both the front and back doors. She even went as far as to change the locks. All to no avail. Still she arrives home to find he has been in her house once again. She confronts him angrily...and is left looking like a lunatic who is stark raving mad in the pouring rain. No one, not any of her neighbours believe her when she accuses Greg of gaining access to her home and messing with her head. Why would he? After all, he is the sole carer to his elderly mum who has dementia. But Jade knows it's him. And she is going to prove it.

And then Puddles goes missing...

It is hard to review this book without giving too much away but I have to say that it seriously messes with your head. It is so well written and so compelling that it is hard to believe that this is Debbie Viggiano's debut into the psychological thriller genre. She has crafted an ingenious plot that is so clever and so captivating that like a car crash, you find yourself unable to drag your eyes from the pages as you flip them at the speed of knots.

THE WATCHFUL NEIGHBOUR is terribly claustrophobic and gives you the sense of being watched and/or going mind boggling crazy trying to work out if Jade has due cause to be concerned or if it is paranoia talking. One would think having a neighbourhood watch programme would make one feel at ease, but this does anything but. You find yourself questioning the merits of her arguments or if she really is barking. And although I had my suspicions (which were correctly identified in the reveal), I was still second guessing myself the whole way through. Honestly, THE WATCHFUL NEIGHBOUR plays with your mind just as much as it does Jade's. And that's what makes it a spine-tingling creepy thriller.

I cannot say more than go out and get your hands on this book! You won't be sorry as it will have you second guessing yourself the whole way through too, I'm sure. I look forward to seeing what other thrillers she has to offer in the future.

Never mind the romance genre, Viggiano has cracked the thriller genre with this creepy stalkerish tale that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers. 

I would like to thank #DebbieViggiano, #RachelsRandomResources, #UnicornPublishing for an ARC of #TheWatchfulNeighbour in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy... apart from when they want to raid the fridge or eat her secret stash of chocolate. Tweet @DebbieViggiano or follow her on Facebook!

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Silent House by Laura Elliot

 

The Silent House by Laura Elliot

(previously titled "The Tinderbox")

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 29th November 2020

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Amazon

Apple

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Published: 1st December 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

In the small hours of a cold winter morning, charcoal grey clouds gather in the sky over Hyland Hall where a young teenage girl is about to make an emergency call to say her life is in danger …

 

With her marriage in pieces and desperate to find work and a new home for her and daughters, Isobel and Julie, Sophy accepts a job as a live-in nurse for Jack Hyland.

 

Once a magnificent house, Hyland Hall has fallen into disrepair and its owner, Jack, disfigured in a terrible fire that broke out on the property years ago, is now a recluse.

 

As Sophy’s daughters struggle to adjust to their new surroundings, exploring every forbidden corner of the house, Sophy does her best to care for Jack and her broken family.

 

But Jack has secrets of his own and Sophy’s arrival is about to set in motion a chain of events that will uncover the devastating truth of Hyland Hall’s past. A truth that will put her daughters in harm’s way.

 

An intense and emotionally engrossing read that will keep you compulsively turning the pages late into the night. If you read one book this year, make it The Silent House (previously titled "The Tinderbox").

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Laura Elliot's latest creepy thriller THE SILENT HOUSE.

My second read by Laura Elliot, THE SILENT HOUSE was different from the previous one I had read - "The Thorn Girl" - whilst at the same time having that similar sense of eeriness. The atmospheric setting and character building created a spooky tale surrounding the crumbling Hyland Hall in this modern day gothic thriller.

The story begins with a radio broadcast of a teenage girl being held at gunpoint in an unknown location, having called 999 before the call is abruptly cut-off. No further details of the incident are available but like all good media sources they continue to create a sense of panic to keep their listeners engaged.

It then changes pace as the story goes back two months prior where we meet Sophy whose marriage to Luke has recently fallen apart due to his gambling problem. Sophy has had to sell her business "Kid Chic" which she began with her mother-in-law Maddie (now deceased) to pay some of Luke's debts. Whilst he is bundled off to a rehab centre called Oasis of Hope (whose name sounds more like a cult), Sophy is left to deal with the sale of the home and the fallout of her marriage. When a prospective buyer comes to view the house, Sophy receives an offer that seems to be the answer to her immediate problem of possible homelessness.

Desperate for a fresh start, she accepts a job at Hyland Hall as a live-in nurse for its reclusive owner Jack Hyland, who was severely burnt in a fire that destroyed the stables on his estate. As Sophy and her daughters enter the gothic mansion, they are surrounded by its horrible disrepair which gives it a spooky air of creepiness. The girls - Isobel and Julie - immediately begin to imagine vampires and werewolves lurking in the shadows of the vast halls whilst begging their mother to leave.

Then enter Jack's nephew Victor. He is as surprised by Sophy's presence in Hyland Hall as she is by his appearance. As his only surviving relative, Victor insists that Jack isn't returning to the Hall but rather is entering a nursing home which can better cater to his needs. When Sophy tells him that she has been employed as his live-in nurse, Victor's response is to say his uncle is in no state to make such decisions and the fire has also left him somewhat delusional. However, Sophy produces a contract that was drawn up by Jack's solicitors engaging her as his nurse to care for him for the period of at least twelve months. Victor can do nothing but concede her contract is binding and soon accepts the situation.

When Jack is released from hospital and returns to Hyland Hall, the girls are given strict instructions never to venture upstairs as Mr Hyland is intensely private and will only permit a handful of people to see his disfigured features. This, of course, earns him the moniker "The Reclusive One" and his rooms upstairs as "Fear Zone" as the girls imagine all sorts in the forbidden area on the upper floor. They are also convinced his German Shepherd Caesar is a werewolf, salivating at the prospect of two girls to sink his fangs into. These thoughts alone are enough to keep the two girls away from the old man they are sure is the undead and his formidable four-legged beast. Whilst Isobel tentatively braves her fears in her spirited way, her younger sister Julie channels hers through a shop mannequin she takes everywhere named Cordelia, her high-pitched squeaky voice grating on Isobel's nerves as much as the reader's.

The first half of the book had all the elements of a modern day gothic horror story: from the creepy mansion in the woods, the disfigured decrepit undead owner, sprawling crumbling estate in disrepair, a haunted past, a love story gone wrong, new tenants in search of a fresh start, a salivating werewolf dog, a talking mannequin with a squeaky voice, things that go bump in the night... It was very gothic.

But then the second half changed course and the events that unfold become something of a fast paced thriller involving Jack's mysterious past and that of his family, including a twin brother Laurence. Sophy is caught in the middle of Jack and his nephew Victor...and to make matters worse, her estranged husband Luke turns up. And just as Sophy was putting her life, and that of her daughters, back together again.

But some things are too good to be true. Jack, it seems, has a hidden agenda. He has a secret that has the potential to put her entire family in danger.

Captivating and all-consuming, THE SILENT HOUSE is told through the eyes of Sophy and Isobel and is reminiscent of V.C. Andrews with all the twisted creepiness of a Ruth Ware thriller. I was reminded of both as I devoured this atmospheric tale. The radio broadcasts were picked up again from about halfway through bringing the reader back to the reality of a crime thriller though an element of creepiness remained.

I figured out the twist pretty early on which was confirmed as excerpts from Jack's memoir began but it never deterred me from enjoying of watching it all unravel. I guess in this sense I found it to be fairly predictable but whether that was just me, I'm not sure. I still thoroughly enjoyed it though.

A page-turning atmospheric thriller with twists and reveals, THE SILENT HOUSE is an addictive read that will appeal to both fans of spooky reads and psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank #LauraElliot, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSilentHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

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

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

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REVIEW: Buried Angels by Patricia Gibney

 

Buried Angels (DI Lottie Parker #8) by Patricia Gibney

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural

Read: 2nd December 2020

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Amazon

Published: 26th May 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Bubbles of cold sweat trickled down Faye’s spine. The hole wasn’t empty. Before she could turn and run, she caught the two sightless eyes staring up at her. Only then did she scream.

When Faye Baker discovers a fragile child’s skull behind the walls of her new home, Detective Lottie Parker is called to investigate. The house has been owned for years by the family of Faye’s boyfriend Jeff, so when Jeff starts acting suspiciously, Lottie wonders what he might be hiding…

Lottie doesn’t have long to dig deeper before a child’s bones are found by eleven-year-old Gavin on nearby railway tracks. The bones don’t match the small skull behind the walls, but Lottie can’t ignore the coincidence. Someone out there must be missing their loved ones and it’s up to her to put right a terrible wrong.

Unable to shake a feeling of foreboding, Lottie goes to speak to Faye, and discovers that she hasn’t turned up for work. When Faye’s body is found stuffed in the back of her car, Lottie needs to find out who wanted her to keep quiet.

As Lottie hunts for Faye’s killer, the case takes a darker turn when Gavin goes missing. Faye and Gavin are connected only by the grisly body parts they discovered. But who are these little victims and why has their killer come back? Can Lottie find the answers before another precious life is taken?

This thrilling new novel from bestselling author Patricia Gibney will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. If you like Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine, you’ll love Buried Angels.

MY REVIEW:

I've been a fan of the Lottie Parker series from the beginning and, despite missing a few books in between, it's always a pleasure to meet up with Lottie and Boyd again. BURIED ANGELS picks up around six months after the culmination of events in the previous book "Broken Souls" with an even greater puzzle for Lottie and her team to unravel this time around.

The story begins with the brutal murder of a mother and her two young daughters twenty years prior before picking up in the present day. Their names are as yet unknown as is their killer. But before long, DI Lottie Parker will link these past murders to the case she is currently investigating. The question is how are they related?

Lottie already has her hands full with Boyd's recent leukaemia diagnosis and ensuing treatment, not to mention her growing teenage children and adorable grandson. And then her eldest daughter Katie announces she wants to emigrate to New York.

Eleven year olds Jack and Gavin are busy flying Jack's drone before school when they discover the decapitated torso on the railway tracks. Suitably shocked, the boys raise the alarm and the Gardai are called with Lottie and her team tasked with identifying the victim and bring the culprit to justice. But then it is discovered that the torso is that of a young girl, leaving Lottie wondering who on earth would cut up an innocent child so callously. And then a hand is found a short distance away and as the team continue their search, a leg is discovered in the nearby canal. The question is - are these body parts from the same victim?

When Jeff Cole's aunt dies bequeathing him her house, he and pregnant girlfriend Faye Baker starts making plans to turn this into a family home. Desperate to make a start, Faye begins by ripping down the hideous wallpaper and discovers a hollow cavity where a range used to be. Deciding that the nook would be perfect for some shelving, Faye takes to the plaster with a hammer...only to reveal more than just an old nook. She gets the fright of her life when a skull rolls out from behind the plaster. She immediately tells Jeff who assures her that it is probably just a fake and discourages her from reporting it and wasting police time. But Faye feels a certain chill about the house...and after reading about the recent discovery of the torso, decides to report her find to the Gardai.

But when Faye turns up dead in the boot of their car, the investigation takes a different turn. If these discoveries are from an historic case, then why was Faye killed now? Then one of the boys who made the initial discovery of the torso disappears and is found dead the following day, it is clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the past dead and buried.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to find Lottie's family wasn't involved in any way this time...aside from her son Sean's friendship with one of the suspects' children. It made for a refreshing change...as did Lottie's demeanour this time round. Usually, she is surly and irritating but her relationship with DS Mark Boyd has mellowed her. And given that they have been engaged for the past couple of books, I look forward to when they actually tie the knot. I really hope this is a new start for Lottie after the heartache she's had to contend with in the past.

BURIED ANGELS is the eighth outing for DI Lottie Parker and her team and little by little, she gets better and better. While this is the eighth in the series, it still works well enough as a standalone with enough elements of Lottie's backstory woven throughout to keep the reader up to speed had they not read any other of the others. However, to make more sense of Lottie's journey and her growth, as well as the plots that have involved her children, beginning from the start always gives the reader a better perspective. 

As with any Lottie Parker book, we hear from a variety of characters throughout as we try to piece the puzzle together alongside Lottie and her team. And I have to say, this time I was outwitted and didn't have a clue. I had my suspicions and while partly right, they weren't completely correct. 

Still, it was an enjoyable read that had a steady pace throughout and keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. Always intriguing and I look forward to Book 9 coming in February 2021.

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

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Patricia Gibney is an Irish author of crime fiction who sold 100,000 copies of her first crime thriller as an e-book, and had total sales exceeding 500,000 copies in 2018. By 2019, total book sales had passed one million.

Patricia is from Mullingar, County Westmeath and has lived there all her life. She spent 30 years working with Westmeath County Council.

When her husband died in 2009, aged 49, three months after a diagnosis of cancer, Patricia turned to art and writing, self-publishing a children's book entitled 'Spring Sprong Sally'. She then started writing crime fiction and created her first novel in that genre featuring DI Lottie Parker with 'The Missing Ones'. She worked with the Irish Writers Centre to improve her writing. Eventually she began a second novel 'The Stolen Girls' and through that acquired an agent and a publishing contract with Bookouture.

Patricia currently has 8 DI Lottie Parker novels to date, with the ninth 'Silent Voices' to be published in February 2021, and is set in the fictional Irish town of Ragmullin, which is an anagram of the real-life town of Mullingar, where Patricia lives.

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REVIEW: Her Sister's Child by Alison James

 

Her Sister's Child by Alison James

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Suspense

Read: 27th November 2020

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Published; 26th November 2020

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

She rolls over and reaches for her instinctively: her baby. Her hand hits air and flaps redundantly. She stumbles out of bed and switches on the light. But this only confirms it. The baby is gone. Someone has taken her.

 

Sixteen years ago, Lizzie Armitage woke to find her newborn baby gone. Just days later, Lizzie was dead.

 

Her sister Paula swore she would do everything she could to find the child. If she hadn’t promised to keep Lizzie's pregnancy secret, maybe the baby wouldn’t have disappeared. And maybe Lizzie would still be alive. But, in nearly a decade, Paula’s never found any trace. Until now…

 

When Paula bumps into an old friend from the past, she realises she wasn’t the only one who knew about her sister’s child. Someone knows what happened that day. Someone knows where Lizzie’s baby went.

 

But can Paula find out the truth before another family is ripped apart?

 

A twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you hooked until the last page. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Friend Request and The Girl on the Train will love Her Sister’s Child.

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Alison James fantastic twisted thriller HER SISTER'S CHILD.

"She rolls over and reaches for her instinctively: her baby. Her hand hits air and flaps redundantly. She stumbles out of bed and switches on the light. But this only confirms it. The baby is gone. Someone has taken her."

The story opens with a woman, which we soon discover is Lizzie Armitage, waking from another drunken stupor to find that her newborn baby is gone. And then just a few short days later Lizzie is found dead in her flat. But became of her baby? Did she even have a baby? No one, not her parents nor her social worker or anyone knew if Lizzie was even pregnant. All except Paula, Lizzie's younger sister.

Despite being banned from having any contact with her alcoholic older sister, Paula Armitage snuck out as often as she could and made her way to the council flat in which Lizzie was living. One day upon arrival, she was shocked to discover the exposed stomach protruding on Lizzie's thin frame. Lizzie was pregnant. And by the looks of it, she was a fair way along. As soon as she realised Paula had seen the bulge, Lizzie begged her little sister not to tell anyone. Not a soul. If anyone discovered she was pregnant they would only take the baby from her and Lizzie wanted her child, vowing the baby would sober her up. 

So Paula scavenged together her savings and went out to purchase babygros, nappies and a Moses basket, packing them into a drawer in Lizzie's wardrobe ready for the baby's arrival. When she left, she promised Lizzie she would be back again in a few days. But then her mother reminded her they were going away for the week, as they always do, to her aunt's in Liverpool. So Paula made a mental note to check in on Lizzie as soon as she returned from their holiday. As it turned out, it rained for most of the time so her mother decided that they should return home to London but before Paula could make her way over to Lizzie's, there was a knock on the door. It was the police. Lizzie had been found dead in her flat.

Paula was devastated, and shocked. Without thinking she asked "What about the baby?" Her mother and the police looked at her and said "What baby?"

Now sixteen years later, Paula is divorced with two teenage children of her own. She visits Lizzie's grave on what would have been her sister's 40th birthday and, still feeling guilty at having kept the pregnancy a secret, promises her that she will find out what happened to her baby. But over the course of time, Paula has found no evidence that a baby had ever existed. All the baby clothes, the nappies and even the Moses basket she was sure she had bought were all gone. Everyone who knew them denies there ever being a baby. Was Lizzie really ever pregnant? Or was it all a dream?

Then one day Paula bumps into an old friend, Johnny Shepherd, who, during reminiscing about Lizzie, asks "So what happened to her baby?" Paula knew then that she hadn't been dreaming. It was real. Lizzie HAD been pregnant. And yet her baby had disappeared. With Johnny's help, Paula is determined to find out what really happened to her sister's baby and uncover the truth behind what happened sixteen years ago.

Alongside Paula's story we also meet Charlie, a teenage girl who finds herself pregnant and, despite her parents cajoling, decides to keep the baby. Against her parents' wishes, she finds the bank account that was set up for her as a baby by her grandmother and sets out to convince the baby's father that they should set up home together. Jake is all for it once he discovers how much money is involved, convincing Charlie on leasing an Audi, despite needing the funds to live on until Jake gets a job. But Jake has no intention of getting a job...not with tens of thousands of pounds ready for the taking.

Charlie thought that the prospect of fatherhood would prompt Jake to take some responsibility but all he seems to be doing is milking her of her savings. Flat screen TV, games console, an Audi sports car which isn't child friendly...and yet he has never attended any of her scans or even acknowledged the existence of the baby, except to make known he only wants a boy. So when Charlie arrives home one day, heavily pregnant, to discover everything of any worth has gone along with Jake she realises she has been a fool. 

And then her waters break...

Addictive and compelling from the start, HER SISTER'S CHILD is fast paced and suspenseful throughout as Paula searches to uncover the truth about what really happened to Lizzie's baby. Did the baby live or die? Was it a boy or a girl? Paula didn't even know. I enjoyed her quest for the truth as her and Johnny teamed up, despite wondering if Johnny had some ulterior motive (I kind of hoped he didn't), and watching it unfold. 

Throughout the story we meet Paula as both an adult and a teenager in chapters from the past (which really should have been labelled as such). She is an endearing young woman who obviously cares deeply for her older sister, despite being forbidden to have anything to do with her. Lizzie is a seasoned alcoholic who ended up stealing from her family to fund her habit in alcohol and marijuana. Her's was a sorry tale of a life which ended at just 24 from an aortic aneurysm, perpetuated by her drinking.

Despite her resourcefulness, Charlie is a sweet, yet naive, young girl who I found myself yelling at much of the time. I could see the situations she was creating for herself and how they would end up, even if she couldn't. Her parents clearly wanted what was best for her and a child at 16 was not it. The money set up for her in the account she used to set up house with Jake was meant for her university education. But needs must and Charlie could not end the life of an innocent child just because it was inconvenient. Her chapters are somewhat depressing as the reader can clearly see how it will all turn out, even if Charlie couldn't.

By the time we reach Part Two and introduced to Marian, it is soon clear how Paula, Charlie and Marian are connected. These chapters are told "in the past" between Marian and a teenage Paula. My biggest gripe with the entire book is that there was no definition between the past and the present in the chapters. When Part Two begins, it should be titled as "2003" so the reader is aware that the following chapters take place in the past. It was a little confusing at first when I was reading with Lizzie being still alive and Paula returning home from school. This is when I realised the story had moved to sixteen years before. Then when we move into Part Three, we have "before" and "now" chapters although both take place in the present day. For clarity's sake, each "Part" should be clearly titled with their actual timeline.

Part One - Present Day

Part Two - 2003

Part Three - Present Day

And to make matters even more confusing, between Parts One and Two, there is something called "Untitled" with chapters one through to four. Well, it was in the pre-released ARC I received prior to publication. I can only hope that this is shifted into the end of the first part as there didn't seem to be any reason for it to stand alone "untitled". But with that aside, HER SISTER'S CHILD is a gripping read from beginning to end.

Told from the three narratives, the main character throughout is always Paula with Charlie and Marian's stories slowly emerging as the plot progresses. As the three women's stories collide, the result is shocking yet brilliant in a way that makes the story even better...if that were possible. Some twists were unexpected and some were predictable but on the whole, HER SISTER'S CHILD is a brilliant twisty thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout.

I have read three of Alison James' thrillers to date and while I wasn't as struck on "The School Friend", I LOVED "The Man I Married" and now HER SISTER'S CHILD. It is a fantastic psychological and domestic thriller that had me almost reading it in its entitrety in one sitting...but I had to sleep.

In all, HER SISTER'S CHILD is a definite read for fans of domestic thrillers and dramas. Thoroughly recommended.

I would like to thank #AlisonJames, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerSistersChild in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Born in the Cotswolds, Alison spent most of her formative years abroad. She studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after her two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, Alison worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyliner, before coming full circle to write fiction again.

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