Erin Kelly – Steph's Book Blog

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Erin Kelly will be one of the authors who are appearing at First Monday Crime in December. This event always looks interesting, sadly something I will probably never be able to go to with the distance involved but for those who can the details are
https://www.firstmondaycrime.com/december-panelists

About The Book

You can’t keep the secret.
You can’t tell the truth.
You can’t escape the past…

Marianne was seventeen when she fled her home, her family, her boyfriend Jesse and the body they buried.

Now, forced to return, she can feel the past closing around her. And Jesse, who never forgave her for leaving, is finally threatening to expose the truth.

Marianne will do anything to protect the life she’s built; the husband and daughter who must never know. Even if it means turning to her worst enemy…

But Marianne may not know the whole story – and she isn’t the only one with secrets they’d kill to keep.

Moving back through time to reveal twists you’ll never see coming, STONE MOTHERS is the gripping new suspense novel from the bestselling author of HE SAID/SHE SAID.

My Review

When I started Stone Mothers I wasn’t sure what to expect. Erin Kelly always manages to give the reader something different. What I got was a novel based around an asylum in Suffolk. It was one of those books that could have been set anywhere. The old asylums/hospitals were in many towns and their closures would have had the same impact that the closure of Nazareth had on the local community.
It takes a while to get to the horror of what happened in the asylum. The novel was one I struggled to put down at times but this part I was incapable of tearing myself away. Even the name is enough to send shivers down your spine. More so, because I had strong feelings that much of it was based on the truth. This is hard reading, it makes your blood go cold but it’s mesmerising. It’s something that I will be thinking about for some time.And, when you think about it, it’s not that long ago that people were treated this way.
It’s only a small part, other parts renew your trust in family and loved ones. It shows you not to be critical without knowing all the facts. Like I did, I admit that I was quick to pass judgement on certain characters and acts committed.
There is something that should stop me having a book from 2019 in my top ten books from 2018 but it’s hard to miss this one out. It is a book I need to buy for family members, because they told me tales from what they saw from working in a hospital that used to be an asylum.
I can not recommend this book enough. It’s a fantastic story but there is also so much to learn from it.

About the Book

In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack.
She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, four lives change forever.
Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear.
And while Laura knows she was right to speak out, she also knows that you can never see the whole picture: something is always hidden… something she never could have guessed.

My Review

He Said, She Said is one of the best books that I have read this year.
Told by two different people over a period of fifteen years it focuses on Laura and Kit who are witnesses to an attack at a festival to celebrate the eclipse. When Laura makes an error of judgement at the trial she is afraid of the consequences. But she doesn’t expect to be still living in fear years later. Beth, the young woman who was attacked is very much a part of their lives but they are not comfortable with her being so close to them. Laura’s story covers the way she has suffered since the trial and how she has kept it secret but Kit’s shows a more selfish side and how he has done things that places them in more danger.
I love a book with more than one narrator that also covers more than one period in time and I should imagine that it is difficult to do. Erin Kelly though has done it very well. There is a lot of drama and tension all the way through the book and both Laura and Kit have really suffered since the eclipse. At times, I felt very tense while reading and when it switched narrator I couldn’t wait to return to see what happened next.
The court scenes were the most convincing that I have read. A very convincing villain who maintained his innocence, a ruthless lawyer who had no sympathy at all for a victim. It was also, just as terrifying as I imagine it to be on a witness stand.
This is only the second book I have read by this author and I’m looking forward to reading more by her.
Erin Kelly will be appearing at First Monday Crime on the 6th March. This looks like a very interesting evening and details can be found here

With thanks to the publisher for the copy via NetGalley.