Tag: Harlequin

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The Watcher by Ross Armstrong.

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About the Book

Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours.
Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat.
But can Lily really trust everything she sees?

My Review

The Watcher was definitely be one of the strangest books that I have read during 2016. Lily lives in an upmarket flat that is across the road from a block of flats that is being demolished to make way for more luxury accommodation. She is a keen birdwatcher and spends a lot of time looking for birds and spying on her neighbours from her home. This occupies her time whilst her husband Aiden is busy writing his novel and barely communicating.
When she witnesses an assault in another flat she decides to investigate and goes across to the building site where there are a few groups of people who are refusing to leave their homes and are squatting in the flats whilst they are demolished around them. The consequences of this has a huge impact on her life.
Told from Lily’s point of view throughout its like you are reading a journal where she is talking to somebody but the reader doesn’t know who. She becomes more obsessed and at times less likeable although she did make me laugh.
It was strange to read, I could visualise all the new luxury flats in colour along with their wealthy owners and the mainly empty properties with its handful of occupants in black and white. I also thought I knew what was going to happen but I was completely wrong. After about two thirds of the novel something was revealed that was completely unexpected and left me dumbfounded. Thankfully it was a twist that worked very well and left me wanting to read it again.
A very clever storyline, and a well written debut novel.
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.

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Tell Me No Lies by Lisa Hall – Blog Tour Review.

 

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About the Book

Don’t. Trust. Anyone.

It was supposed to be a fresh start.

A chance to forget the past and embrace the future.

But can you ever really start again?

Or does the past follow you wherever you go

My Review

Steph and Mark Gordon are settling into a new home in an attempt to rebuild their marriage after he had an affair. Steph has had her problems, a traumatic event in her teens, post-natal depression, the affair and her best friend now lives in America.
Mark works away a lot of the time and she becomes good friends with two neighbours Lila and Lawrence. But she is under pressure, Mark is away in the build up to Christmas, she is pregnant and being hassled by a very unlikeable woman to join the PTA. And then more worryingly, items start to appear on her doorstep, personal items disappear and she has a general feeling that somebody has been in her house.
I loved Lisa’s first novel so jumped at the chance to read an advance copy of her follow up. I found it very gripping and at times felt extremely edgy. I thought I could see what was happening but when more was revealed about Steph’s problems in the past I became more uncertain. I had a lot of sympathy for her, it must be an awful situation to be in. Events were happening that she couldn’t explain and nobody including her husband, mother and friends believed her.
The ending was totally unexpected. Everything I thought would happen didn’t and I felt bewildered and flabbergasted by how events turned out even though it was believable. I found myself tapping the kindle to turn over the page, thinking NO this can’t be happening!!
Its very intimidating, scary and made me feel quite paranoid.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.

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Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra- Blog Tour Review.

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Today I am delighted to take part in the blog tour for Only Daughter that was released yesterday.

About the Book

In this chilling psychological thriller, one woman’s dark past becomes another’s deadly future.

In 2003, sixteen-year-old Rebecca Winter disappeared.

She’d been enjoying her teenage summer break: working at a fast food restaurant, crushing on an older boy and shoplifting with her best friend. Mysteriously ominous things began to happen―blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched―though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come.

Eleven years later she is replaced.

A young woman, desperate after being arrested, claims to be the decade-missing Bec.

Soon the imposter is living Bec’s life. Sleeping in her bed. Hugging her mother and father. Learning her best friends’ names. Playing with her twin brothers.

But Bec’s welcoming family and enthusiastic friends are not quite as they seem. As the imposter dodges the detective investigating her case, she begins to delve into the life of the real Bec Winter―and soon realizes that whoever took Bec is still at large, and that she is in imminent danger.

My Review

Only Daughter was a much more sinister novel than I expected
The story takes place in two different times, when Bec disappears in 2003 and in 2014 when a woman claiming to be her is arrested for shoplifting. Each chapter shows a little more from each woman’s story and the danger that they are in.
The story concerning the younger Bec is particularly intriguing. She has a good relationship with her best friend but often feels invisible at home. She is excited about her coming birthday, hoping that Luke her work colleague will ask her to go out on a date. But she is also unsettled by certain things, a feeling of being watched and a fear that the bush fires are too close.
You have no idea of the woman who is impersonating Bec’s real identity, not even her name or the reasons why she is hiding. She refuses to help the police with their enquiries about the abduction or see hypnotists etc, knowing that she won’t be able to fool them.
I enjoyed this novel. As with a lot of books that are set over a couple of different times or individual’s accounts it always switched at a crucial point. There was a threat present through all of the novel especially when the shocking truth about what happened in 2003 was revealed. Definitely a chilling storyline that I did find quite upsetting.
I did like both Becs. The younger one was a mixed up teen who wanted to keep everybody happy, especially her younger brothers. The older one knew that what she was doing was wrong but she wanted to be a good daughter/ sister to the family she claimed was hers. I thought the ending was great, especially after what was revealed towards the end.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received and for the opportunity to take part in the blog tour.

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