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Trigger warning: this book review deals with suicide and domestic abuse.

One Halloween, two friends are on their way home from a party and see a dummy hanging outside a house. Laughing about, they head over and discover the dummy is actually their friend Julia.

Suicide.

An ugly word. A terrible word. A terrible legacy for those left behind.

The story then picks up with Julia’s mother Claire, desperately trying to make sense of her loss and explore what could have driven Julia to such devastating action. Whilst clearing Julia’s university room, she finds a box of letters showing how love became betrayal.

Claire needs to find out what could have been so awful that her daughter would feel that taking her own life was the only option left.

Meanwhile, her family are falling apart. Claire’s ex husband returns: he never reconciled with Julia due to her revulsion at the way he physically and emotionally abused Claire during their marriage. Her new husband is drinking to take away the pain. Her sons are turning to their dad, avoiding the family home as much as possible.

As suggested by the tagline and blurb, there is a major twist and I did see it coming but this didn’t lessen the impact. In fact, it ramped up the expectation as I waited and waited to see if I would be proved right and how the author would resolve the narrative threads.

This was a truly gripping book and I loved it from start to finish.

My Daughter’s Secret by Nicole Trope

AMZ: https://geni.us/B07LH821DJSocial
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My baby girl, I’ll never forget you – your smile, your laugh, the way your hair sparkles in the sun. I cannot comprehend this pain. I cannot breathe through it.

For Claire, life as she knows it is over. And after the death of her daughter, Julia, she is searching for answers. Stumbling upon a pile of letters, hidden under Julia’s bed in an old, battered shoebox, she feels closer to her daughter than ever before. They tell her that Julia was happy, that she was thriving at university, that she was in love.

But as the letters go on, Claire starts to feel uneasy at something hidden between the lines. Even as she grieves, she must prepare to face a shocking discovery. Because Julia was hiding a terrible secret – and when it’s uncovered, it will make Claire question everything she thought she knew about her daughter…

An emotional and gripping page-turner that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Lisa Wingate and Jodi Picoult will love this moving and poignant tale that is full of shocking twists.

About the author

Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. Her second novel, Three Hours Late, was voted one of Fifty Books you can’t put down in 2013 and her third novel, The Secrets in Silence, was The Australian Woman’s Weekly Book of the month for June 2014.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children

https://www.facebook.com/NicoleTrope/

https://twitter.com/nicoletrope

I described Graham Smith’s previous book The Silent Dead as exquisite and this sequel does not disappoint at all!

We pick up a new case for DC Beth Young and her colleagues when a woman is found murdered and violated. The team quickly establish a link with 3 previous murders that had not been solved.

However, the perpetrator has gone to great lengths to incriminate the mayor in this latest murder. Derek Forster is a man who is charming and powerful and Beth is convinced that he must have made some dangerous enemies. She grows close to him as he offers to set up a charity to support rape victims.

As well as the police procedure and the mayor’s viewpoint, we also see the perspectives of the killer and his next victim which makes both sides of the plot more human and ramps up the anticipation.

There is a big twist at the end, just as the team think the case is concluded but I won’t give away details and spoil the surprise!

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t as graphic as the last book although the clinical detail of the injuries is unpleaseant but, as with the previous book, it is factual rather than gratuitous.

Beth continues to develop as a police officer and negotiate her relationships with her senior colleagues. She is a fab character, passionate and dedicated. She is also driven to find the men who injured her with a bottle and destroyed her modelling career. In this book she finds one of them…

Title:                  A Body in the Lakes      

Author:     GRAHAM SMITH   

Publication Day: March 15^th 2019

Buy Links :

https://geni.us/B07M9BG4V3Social

Description:

The woman’s limbs were so thin; the skin on her arms as translucent as tracing paper. Around her neck lay a faint string of purple bruises. In one so frail, darker, angrier marks might be expected but Beth knew the bruising would have stopped the moment her heart stopped beating.

When a walker finds the body of a woman by the shores of Lake Ullswater, the police are put on high alert. Felicia Evans was known to be a tough character, but who would have strangled her?

Detective Beth Young quickly spots the links to three cold cases. Three women strangled and discarded in the stunning, wild hills of the Lake District.

As Beth begins tracking down witnesses, the team receives an anonymous letter claiming the charming mayor of Carlisle is behind the murders. There’s pressure from the top to clear his name. But Beth is determined to find the truth no matter whose feathers she ruffles in the process.

Beth knows the clock is ticking. The killer is hunting again. And it’s down to her to find who’s responsible before another woman becomes his prey…

A gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller from bestselling author Graham Smith, perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, LJ Ross, and J.R. Ellis. 

Author Bio:

Graham Smith is the bestselling author of four explosive crime thrillers in the Jake Boulder series, Watching the Bodies, The Kindred Killers, Past Echoes and Die Cold. Watching the Bodies spent over two weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart and Amazon CA charts. Graham is also the author of the popular DI Harry Evans series and has collections of short stories and novellas. His latest novel with Bookouture is set in Cumbria and the Lake District, featuring DC Beth Young.

He is the proud father of a young son. As a time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer for the well-respected review site Crimesquad.com since 2010.

When not working, his time is spent reading, writing and playing games with his son. He enjoys socialising and spending time with friends and family.

Author Social Media Links:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor/

TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972

WEBSITE: https://grahamsmithauthor.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5446655.Graham_Smith?from_search=true

Isla seems to have it all. A carefree life as a housewife with a rich husband.

Beth lives on the council estate on the other side of the street. Her boyfriend has lost his job and pays her little attention.

The two women are brought together by the hit and run of a man late at night. An unlikely friendship develops. But both women are keeping secrets…

This is a deeply troubling and uncomfortable book but that’s what makes it a good read! It is powerful and shocking as well as emotive and beautiful.

The relationship between the two women is brittle due to the secrets that separate them and create a distance that cannot be overcome. However, both women have hope for a better future, a shared one.

I’ll admit the ending didn’t suit me personally. I couldn’t really understand the link between Kyle and Jake that is hinted at throughout the book so I didn’t find the explanation of the ending particularly credible. I would love to know what happened after the epilogue!

Despite this, The Girl Across the Street is a fabulous book that will make you feel concerned, angry, hopeful for the main female characters. The tension is wonderfully built up and the fear for the women leads to a sense of dread and anticipation which is completely gripping through thev whole book.

Title: The  Girl Across the Street    

Author:  Vikki Patis

Publication Day: March 8^th 2019

Buy Links:    

https://geni.us/B07L8H8KMGSocial

Description:

You’re hiding a secret that only she can see.

Her name is Beth. She came into my life when I needed her the most. We lead very different lives, but she’s the only person who understands me.

She was the only other witness to the terrible accident on the street between our homes. The only person who saw the cracks in my perfect life before I had the chance to cover them up.

It’s been so long since I’ve had a friend. Someone to talk to, to listen to, to laugh and dream with.

Beth would never do anything to hurt me.

She only wants what’s best for me, for my marriage.

Doesn’t she?

An unputdownable psychological suspense thriller that will grip you until the very last page. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Couple Next Door.

Author Bio:

Vikki Patis is an author and blogger, as well as an avid reader and book reviewer. When she isn’t working as a Regulatory Affairs Manager, she can usually be found drinking tea, baking cakes, or taking walks in the Hertfordshire countryside. She lives with her partner and two cats.

Social Media Links:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/vikkipatis/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PatisVikki

WEBSITE: https://vikkipatis.com/