Category: abuse
+ abuse, brothers, care home, crime fiction, dark humour, dementia, domestic noir, fiction, jealousy, murder, review
Make Me Clean by Tina Baker
She will leave your surfaces sparkling.But she may well leave you dead… Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who’s losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Balogan, with the terrible neighbours. If you’re thinking of hiring her, … Read More Make Me Clean by Tina Baker
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, family, fiction, kidnapping, loneliness, obsession, relationships, review, thriller
So Pretty by Ronnie Turner
When Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, he believes he will be able to settle down and leave his past behind him. Little does he know that fear blisters through the streets like a fever. The locals tell him to stay away from an establishment known only as Berry & Vincent, that those who rub too closely to its proprietor risk … Read More So Pretty by Ronnie Turner
+ abuse, alcoholism, brothers, childhood, domestic noir, family, fantasy, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, folklore, forgiveness, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, List, literature, loss, love, music, paranormal, piano, relationships, review, secrets, sisterhood, sisters, slavery, suffragette movement, supernatural, superstition, tradition, whimsical
My Top 4 Books of 2022
It’s approaching the very end of 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of the year. Last year it was hard but this year is even harder. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to four. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read … Read More My Top 4 Books of 2022
+ abuse, adventure, childhood, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, grief, Historical fiction, List, literature, London, loss, love, Magical realism, mental health, motherhood, murder, mystery, police drama, religion, revenge, review, secrets, short stories, short story, sisters, supernatural, thriller, twins
My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
Here are my favourite eight books of the final quarter of 2022. One of these will make it into my top four books of 2022 (I just couldn’t cut it down to three this year). The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw This is the book I have been waiting for! A gothic tale of sinister goings-on, mysterious disappearances, hauntings and macabre artefacts with special powers. … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
+ abuse, child abduction, crime fiction, fiction, kidnapping, lies, ransom, revenge, review, secrets, thriller
Behind Closed Doors by Carol Wyer
Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter? When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the … Read More Behind Closed Doors by Carol Wyer
+ abuse, crime fiction, family, fiction, jealousy, marriage, murder, mystery, obsession, revenge, review, romance, Scotland, secrets, thriller
Secrets And Lies by Joy Wood
Secrets and lies bind three women together. Jenna, the beautiful yet fragile wife of the heir to the Montgomery fortune.Bridget, the wily housekeeper who carries out her duties with diligence and guile.Lucy, the jewellery designer living an almost reclusive life. #SecretsAndLies @Joywoodauthor #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Oak Ridge is the mansion where the heinous Montgomery family reside. A place where subterfuge, blackmail and murder have become the … Read More Secrets And Lies by Joy Wood
+ abuse, female friendship, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, lies, love, marriage, mystery, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, secrets, therapy, thriller
The Engagement by Nasheema Lennon
Speak now or forever rest in peace . . . THE PERFECT FIANCÉ When Victoria’s best friend Gwen announces she is marrying the rich and handsome Michael, celebrations are strained. Victoria doesn’t trust Michael – he’s hiding something. And he reminds her of someone she needs to forget. THE DREAM WEDDING PLAN Too loved up to see Michael’s dark side, Gwen drags Victoria into … Read More The Engagement by Nasheema Lennon
+ abuse, bullying, childhood, crime fiction, family, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, murder, relationships, review
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
The most compelling, challenging and contemporary novel you will read this year – and which will start conversations we need to have around authenticity, identity and gender. From the bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan comes a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves. Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return … Read More Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
+ abuse, crime fiction, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, kidnapping, lies, London, marriage, murder, revenge, review, thriller
The Prisoner by BA Paris
Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her mother as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London after her father dies. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she marries the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne. But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. … Read More The Prisoner by BA Paris
+ abuse, alcoholism, child abuse, childhood, domestic noir, eighties, family, female friendship, fiction, grief, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, obsession, relationships, review
Surviving Her by Jo Johnson
Nicky is the child with the hurting eyes and desperate ways. Rescue him.Claus is the man with the empty eyes and controlling ways. Rescue her. Broken by the death of her sister, Keziah can’t believe her luck when Claus, a beautiful psychologist saves her from a disciplinary disaster. Desperate to heal herself and restore her parents, she marries in haste. But her husband’s idiosyncrasies … Read More Surviving Her by Jo Johnson
+ abuse, child abduction, childhood, eighties, family, fiction, Ireland, kidnapping, lies, loss, motherhood, mystery, relationships, review, secrets, thriller
Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara
The game of hide and seek is over, everyone has gone home, but little Lily Murphy hasn’t been found. Her parents search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn’t happened – but deep down they know this peaceful Dublin suburb will never be the same again. #HideAndSeek @AndreaMaraBooks @TransworldBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour COUNT TO TEN Years later, Joanna moves into a new house. It … Read More Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara
+ abuse, diary, domestic noir, family, female friendship, fiction, friendship, lies, rape, relationships, review, secrets
Good Husbands by Cate Ray
Three wives, one letter, and an explosive secret that will change everything. He said, she said. Who do you believe? Jessica, Stephanie and Priyanka are complete strangers, but they have one thing in common: they’ve each received a letter accusing their husbands of committing a sexual assault more than two decades prior. Is the accusation true or is there more to the story? It … Read More Good Husbands by Cate Ray
