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Brooke meets a man and his son lost on the beach, and offers them her holiday home. But as she returns to her own nearby house, she finds flames licking through her beloved possessions and destroying her artworks which threatens her livelihood. Could Brooke have been deliberately targeted and why?

The New Family is a psychological thriller with danger and secrets lurking beneath the surface.

The book is written in two timelines: Brooke in 2019 and Christina 18 months earlier. Brooke is struggling to cope with her grief after the death of her mother. Christina is risking her perfect family by having an affair. How are the two timelines connected?

Brooke has suspicions about who is responsible for the fire and questions whether she was intended to be inside the burning building. She has a mysterious past and the name Lewis crops up and seems to be haunting her. Meanwhile Oliver and Finley have appeared from nowhere and need somewhere to live. Where have they come from and are they alone? How do these strands connect with Christina and her former lover who won’t let go?

The writing of the book is engaging and I found myself equally immersed in both timelines. The chapters alternate between Brooke and Christina so we get to undertsand their situations and feel a connection with them. Both women are vulnerable and flawed but this makes them feel more authentically human. There were plenty of questions raised as the plot develops and the tension mounts especially as the book races towards a shocking conclusion (suspend disbelief and just enjoy!)

The New Family in an entertaining and intriguing psychological thriller. I have previously reviewed The Accusation and The Argument by Victoria Jenkins.

MEDIA PACK

Book: The New Family

Author: Victoria Jenkins

Pub Day: Nov 16th 2021

Buy Links: 

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09H7MZ83Ysocial 

Apple: http://ow.ly/AMib50GhJtR 

Kobo: http://ow.ly/MpKn50GhJs6 

Google: http://ow.ly/n4du50GhJCS 

About the Book: 

Can you really trust the family next door?

Brooke is delighted when Oliver decides to rent her old family home with his three-year-old son Finley. Finally someone to bring happiness to the rundown house across the street. They seem like the perfect tenants, but Brooke is a little unnerved when they move in with just a single bag between them. Where are their belongings?

When Brooke asks Oliver about his past, he quickly changes the subject. Her best friend tells her to leave it, after all Brooke has been through enough trauma in her life. But Brooke can’t shake off the feeling that something isn’t right. Why aren’t her new tenants’ names listed anywhere online?

Then Brooke arrives home to find orange flames dancing in the upstairs windows. As her whole life goes up in smoke, she is convinced it wasn’t an accident. And when she finds Finley drawing a picture of an angry burning house with terror in his eyes, her blood runs cold. What is Finley so frightened of? And why does Oliver snatch the drawing away the moment he sees it?

Brooke is convinced Finley is in serious danger, but given her past, she’s not sure anyone will believe her. Is Brooke ready to face up to her own demons to save the little boy? And when the truth is finally revealed, who is really the one in danger?

The New Family is an addictive psychological thriller with a twist you won’t see coming, perfect for fans of The Wife, The Silent Patient and Lisa Jewell.

Author Bio and Social Media 

TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with suicide, drug addiction and child cruelty

Beth is running around after her four children after school when she gets a phone call she will never forget. Her husband is in hospital having attempted to take his own life…

Her Silent Husband is an emotional novel about an uneasy and unpleasant domestic situation.

Beth thought she had the perfect family but the facade crumbles as Drew tries to hang himself. His sister Gemma is an addict. The fourth child they wanted to complete their famiy has Down Syndrome. The pressure has become immense and the couple barely have time for each other any more.

I felt a real mixture of emotions as I read this book. The book is written from Beth and Gemma’s first person perspectives and I found myself in tune with both lead characters equally. Part of me felt angry at Beth for her selfishness and taking Drew for granted. Another part of me was also annoyed for Gemma trying to make amends when she has been a source of worry to her family. Drew also received my anger at his choice to end his life. My sympathies were aroused by the lack of communication and the obvious distress and desperation the characters experience.

However, things are not straightforward. Secrets have been looming in the background which are gradually revealed as events in the book unfold. About a third of the way through, we get an insight into both Beth and Drew’s childhoods which goes a long way to explaining their adult behaviour and significantly increased my sympathy towards these characters.

Her Silent Husband is an emotive novel about the danger of being unappreciative of what we have and taking loved ones for granted. I have previously reviewed One Last Second and My Only Child by Sam Vickery.

Book Description:

Author Bio:

Sam Vickery is an English author who loves gritty, emotional stories that can make you sob. As a child, she was forever getting in trouble for being caught with her nose in a book, and these days are no different. She lives on the south coast of England with her husband, two children and a cat that thinks it’s a dog.

https://www.facebook.com/SamVickeryWrites/

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/301fmgq

Germany, 1942 and Annegret Huber arrives at her country home to recover from the grief at the deaths of her parents and brothers. Except Annegret really died in a bombing and her identity was taken by their Jewish servant Margarete…

From The Dark We Rise is the sequel to A Light In The Window which I have reviewed previously. The plot follows on directly from the last book but there is enough information to catch up if you haven’t read it.

There is a huge tension in the book as Margarete struggles to maintain the pretence that she is not a Jew but a wealthy woman with Nazi sympathies. This is heightened when she discovers a munitions factory that she owns is using and mistreating workers from concentration camps. She is determined to save as many people as possible but is she risking too much?

Margarete needs to work relentlessly to keep her true identity secret and hide the truth from those the real Annegret mistreated in the past. This contrasts with a softness towards her maid Dora and concentration camp escapee Lena. However a young Annegret made an enemy of Oliver who works on the estate and he is detemined to get revenge for being treated unkindly in the past and this is threatening to Margarete’s safety.

I like the way that the author conveys the brutality of the Nazi regime with a degree of separation. However, the spectre of death and fear is ever-present for Margarete. This creates a dark tone within the novel yet the light of Margarete’s choice to survive and save others twinkles with hope. Some of the information such as Lena’s experiences are told unflinchingly in contrast with the Nazis’ dismissal of their treatment of the persecuted.

From The Dark We Rise is an often tense but hugely gripping historical novel. I eagerly await the next book in the series. I have previously reviewed Not Without My Sister by Marion Kummerow.

From The Dark We Rise book description:

Author Bio:

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.

Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

https://kummerow.info/

https://www.facebook.com/AutorinKummerow/

https://www.instagram.com/marionkummerow/

https://twitter.com/MarionKummerow

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3qxcVNE

Apple: https://apple.co/3BFLwfE

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3zBnMYl

Google: https://bit.ly/3x4FFgG

Audio Links:

UK: zpr.io/yqwQGLPUBS7L
US: zpr.io/YffwSDT3ujfa

Listen to a sample here:
https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/from-the-dark-we-rise-by-marion-kummerow-narrated-by-stephanie-cannon