She thinks she’s safe. She couldn’t be more wrong.

Elle, desperate to escape her abusive home, runs away to a seemingly cute small town where she gets a job as a waitress. And meets Vera, who offers her an attic room in her large house.

For the first time in years, Elle feels something like contentment as she bonds with Vera who becomes almost like a mother to her. Blossoming, Elle slowly begins to piece her life back together, make new friends and stand on her own two feet.

#DontTellASoul X(Twitter) @jess_read_write @inkubatorbooks @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #BookX #booktwitter
Instagram @jessica_reading_writing  @inkubatorbooks @zooloosbooktours #bookstagram

But all is not as it seems.

Because this old house contains a dark secret. And much as she cares for Elle, Vera will do anything to protect it. That’s why she’s warned her young tenant that she must never, ever go down to the basement.

But Elle doesn’t obey this simple rule and when she sees what’s down there, she finally understands that her lovely new life is actually the gateway to a special kind of hell...

My Review

I love a book that is set in the area where I live. I’m going to assume that Barrow-on-the-Water is based on Bourton-on-the-Water, just down the road from me. I have been there so many times – last time about two weeks ago. Who knew there was so many sinister things going on behind the frilly curtains, coffee shops and antique dealerships. It’s a hive of tourist activity, cute, and chocolate box pretty.

So this is the place where 17-year-old Elle ends up, having run away from her abusive father. Here she meets Vera, also abused by her father, but rather than running away, Vera and twin brother Kevin had a different way of dealing with things. Having found a job in a cafe, Elle takes the attic room at Vera’s run-down spooky house. There are only a couple of rules including don’t go down in the basement, Well. we all know what that means!

I am not easily shocked, but some of the things that happened twenty years ago are so horrific, that even I had to take a break. It’s all very gory and descriptive, but who do we believe? There’s a massive twist part way through, but I still wasn’t sure what was going on.

Well written, tense and shocking, it’s a real page turner and I loved it. The characters of Vera particularly, together with Elle and Kevin are perfectly fleshed out, and then there’s Hamilton the dog at the first place Elle stays before meeting Vera. There’s an element of dark humour, which I love in these types of stories – it prevents the horror from being too overwhelming, though one wonders how anyone can find humour in something so dark.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT  for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Jessica Huntley is an author of dark and twisty psychological thrillers, which often focus on mental health topics and delve deep into the minds of her characters. She has a varied career background, having joined the Army as an Intelligence Analyst, then left to become a Personal Trainer. She is now living her life-long dream of writing from the comfort of her home, while looking after her young son and her disabled black Labrador. She enjoys keeping fit and drinking wine (not at the same time). This is her first psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.

Jessica’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.reading.writing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jess_read_write
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessica_reading_writing
Website: http://www.jessicahuntleyauthor.com

Inkubator Books Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkubatorbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inkubatorbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkubatorbooks/
Website: https://inkubatorbooks.com

Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215947499-don-t-tell-a-soul
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/donttellasoul-zbt