Format: ARC

While Paris Slept Book Review

Posted May 24, 2022 by louisesr in Review / 0 Comments

While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart
Published by Hachette UK on February 23, 2021
Genres: Historical
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Goodreads

Paris 1944
A young woman's future is torn away in a heartbeat. Herded on to a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left now is hope.

Santa Cruz 1953
Jean-Luc thought he had left it all behind. The scar on his face a small price to pay for surviving the horrors of Nazi Occupation. Now, he has a new life in California, a family. He never expected the past to come knocking on his door.

On a darkened platform, two destinies become entangled. Their choice will change the future in ways neither could have imagined...

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wow. This book was so much more than I expected it to be.

Set during WWII and looking back at it from 1953 later While Paris Slept is told from multiple view points. That of Jean Luc a railroad worker, Charlotte a nurse and Sarah who is Jewish. Towards the end of the story we have a few chapters narrated by Sam, Sarah’s son.

This is a book about just what you will endure for love, how it can see you through the very worst of times.

What struck me throughout this book is the heartache that everyone endures while all trying to do the right thing. There is no “bad guy” in this book, just a group of people who are trying to get through life in the very worst of times and who suffer, no matter what choices they make. Everyone admits to making mistakes but these were done with the best of intentions and it’s only with hindsight that it’s possible to see that an alternative course of action may have worked out better. Your heart goes out to every single one of the main characters as they pay for these mistakes, knowing that their actions have brought them on but knowing that the alternative would have been just as heartbreaking.

Ruth Druart tackles some seriously tough subjects throughout this book, from living in occupied France and being a ‘survival collaborator’, to surviving in Auschwitz, to doing what is best for your child – no matter how much it hurts you. She handles all of these with such sensitivity and has obviously researched extremely thoroughly.

This is a book that will break you heart repeatedly and will stay with you long after you read the last page

About Ruth Druart

Living in Paris for the last thirty years inspired me to write, and my debut novel, While Paris Slept, came out in 2021, followed by The Last Hours in Paris, to be released in July 2022. Both books are set during the occupation of World War II, a time which intrigued me as I imagined the French having to live and work alongside the occupiers.

I love the power of story, and believe that sharing stories from different perspectives and different backgrounds can help us understand the world better. Having studied psychology at Leicester University, I have always been interested in the workings of the mind, and especially in what motivates people. I find people fascinating and love creating my own characters, each one flawed and touching in their own way.

I don’t believe in the single story, and in my books I like to present different perspectives, leaving the reader to make up their own mind as the characters face moral dilemmas and difficult choices. I hope you enjoy reading them.

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Tour: Missing by KL Slater

Posted May 19, 2022 by louisesr in Tour / 1 Comment

Missing Published by Bookouture on 19 May 2022
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 380
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Goodreads

I've known him all my life. I know he has taken my daughter. His mother says she can help me. But she's the last person I can trust...

Samuel lived next door when we were children. We were inseparable. But he didn’t like sharing me with my adored little brother. And one terrible night, he got rid of my brother forever…

Now, years later, he’s free. And my daughter is missing.

I turn on my baby girl’s unicorn nightlight and bury my face in her pillow, my heart breaking. I know Samuel has her – he blames me for ruining his life, and even after all this time, he still doesn’t like to share.

As darkness falls, there’s a knock at my door and I open it to see Samuel’s mother. She says she can help me.

I know I can’t trust her, but I don’t have a choice. With each step I take, my fear grows stronger. Can she help me find my daughter? Or does she know something about what really happened all those years ago? Something that could stop me from saving my baby girl…

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Good Morning!!

Today I’m on the Tour for Missing by KL Slater. At the start of the book we meet Jimmy, his sister Josie and their next door neighbour Samuel. Jimmy and Josie are best friends but Josie has caught the attention of their next door neighbour Samuel, a feeling that isn’t reciprocated. It isn’t long before Jimmy isn’t around any more and Samuel is serving time for his murder (not a spoiler – this is in the synopsis).

We then pick up the story 26 years later, Josie has made a life for herself and her daughter running a cafe in a town about 10 miles away. From here the story is told from multiple versions; Samuel’s and his mum Muriel’s, and primarily Josie’s.

There are a number of twists in here, some I saw coming, some were a complete shock. It was really fast paced, there was always something happening with no pause to get your breath back.

This is a book about facing up to your past, owning your actions and having the strength to say what you thought you wanted may not actually be what is best for you.

Tour: The Adoption by Jenna Kernan

Posted May 13, 2022 by louisesr in Tour / 0 Comments

The Adoption by Jenna Kernan
Published by Bookouture on 11 May, 2022
Length: 12 hrs 16 mins
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 407
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Goodreads

Your little girl is all yours… isn’t she?

Dani and her husband Tate’s life together is almost perfect. But Dani is haunted by guilt for causing a terrible car accident that left her unable to have children. She can’t remember why she was driving so fast that day or where she was going. Her therapist says she should try to move on.

So when their application to adopt is accepted, Dani sobs with joy. As perfect little Willow nestles in her arms, Dani looks at Tate’s loving smile and knows he will always provide for his family, no matter what.

When Dani sees a woman staring as she pushes Willow’s stroller around the safe, gated Florida community where they live, she tells herself it’s simply an admiring passer-by. After all, Dani herself used to watch the local moms and wish she was in their shoes.

But when Dani wakes in the night to find Willow’s crib empty, their perfect life becomes a nightmare.

In her frantic distress for her daughter, Dani’s memories of the accident flash through her mind. And with a jolt she realises: everyone around her has been lying about that day.

Will Dani find out the truth before it’s too late for her baby girl?

Or will facing her own dark secrets tear them all apart?

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Today I’m on the Bookouture book tour for The Adoption by Jenna Kernan.

My first thought about this is that the premise is incorrect. The adoption is a very small part of the narrative. It’s not the focus of the book by a long shot. The baby itself doesn’t show up until half way through the book and even then it’s not the main part of the storyline. That being said, I did enjoy the book, just because it wasn’t what I expected doesn’t mean it wasn’t good.

I felt for Dani, she’d been through a lot and it had obviously had a major effect on her, Tate was untrustworthy, I never really felt that Dani was safe with him. He pushed her too hard too fast, I wanted to give him the squint eye.

The start of the book is a lot of scene setting but the last quarter has twist after twist. One of them I was pretty certain of before it was announced, the other had all the hints there, I’d made a note of things I’d noticed that didn’t add up and it still didn’t quite trigger in my mind, a version of it was debated but I never quite managed to get my head around it. I think if the first half of the book was condensed I would have given this another star, but it was well worth the voyage through the first half to get to the more enjoyable second half.

About Jenna Kernan

Publishers Weekly bestselling author Jenna Kernan is a Silver Falchion nominee and winner of the Book Buyers’ Best award. Her new gripping crime thrillers feature a criminal psychologist, and daughter of an infamous female serial killer, facing a series of murders in Florida. Look for A Killer’s Daughter and The Hunted Girls, out now. Jenna is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Mystery Writers and Novelists, Inc. A natural redhead living with her husband on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Jenna has recently increased her sunblock to SPF 50.

Jenna offers a FREE BOOK as a welcome gift to new VIP Readers. Subscribe here: http://littl.ink/GripThriller7

Tour – The Lost Bones by Ruhi Choudhary

Posted May 11, 2022 by louisesr in Review, Tour / 0 Comments

The Lost Bones by Ruhi Choudhary
Series: Mackenzie Price #5
Published by Bookouture on May 9, 2022
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 332
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Goodreads

The woman’s skin was almost transparent. Her light hair darkened at the tips. Her lips were blue and slightly parted. But all Mackenzie could focus on were the eyes. Those arctic eyes that looked glassy like glistening marbles. She could see her own reflection in them staring back at her. The woman looked almost like a carefully crafted doll.

Detective Mackenzie Price knows what makes a killer tick. But when she finds the body of a young woman dumped in the trunk of her car, she knows this case is going to be the most personal and twisted yet.

Looking down at the victim, Mack recognises her instantly: Sophie Fields, the fiancée of Mack’s co-worker who vanished months before. Reeling in shock, Mack keeps one crucial piece of evidence to herself, too horrified to share it: a crumpled piece of paper bearing the words “You’re welcome, Mackenzie.”

As Mack pieces together Sophie’s last known movements, another body is found with a note. This time the victim is Courtney Montenegro, Mack’s childhood bully. As Mack looks at the note it becomes clear that the killer has an unusual MO: they want to protect her at all costs. But why?

The only evidence connecting the victims are identical pieces of material left at both crime scenes. With no other leads, Mack unearths a cold case which may lead her to the killer. Sophie had a sister who disappeared years before. Did she get too close to the truth and pay the ultimate price?

With an obsessive killer still on the loose, Mack knows that she needs to get deep inside their mind to work out who is next on the hit list. Can she get to the killer in time before someone close to her loses their life?

A completely gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat, this addictive crime thriller is perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Today is my stop on the Bookouture tour for The Lost Bones by Ruhi Choudhary. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as I agreed to read it before I realised that it was the 5th book in a series and I prefer to read a series in order, however, I felt that this worked well as a standalone and I didn’t think that I was missing anything within the story by not having all the background.

The book opens with Mackenzie “Mack” Price returning from a run and finding the body of her colleagues fiancee in the boot of her car, as the body count keeps increasing it becomes apparent that the murderer is choosing people with a relationship to Mack. With cryptic messages being left for her, the town turning against her and the people in power all in a secret club Mack and Nick have got their work cut out for them.

I loved Sully, the boss who needs something to do with his hands in order to think. Every scene he’s in there’s a different hobby taking place in his hands. I found this really unique – and it’s not often that there’s a unique character in books any more!

I thought I knew how it was going to end, who the bad guy was going to be. I was certain, as we approached the end – yes!! I was right! Feelings of smugness followed. I kept on reading. Two pages later.. doh! I was wrong, everything was turned on it’s head again. I love it when a book can do this to you.

I’ve already downloaded the first book in the series to start reading all of the others.

The whole series is available on Kindle Unlimited.

About Ruhi Choudhary

Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thriller.

She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.

She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!

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The Birdcage by Eve Chase

Posted May 4, 2022 by louisesr in Review / 0 Comments

The Birdcage by Eve Chase
Published by Michael Joseph, Penguin UK on April 28, 2022
Genres: Historical, Thriller
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
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Goodreads

Some secrets need to be set free . . .

Twenty years after their last visit, half-sisters Lauren, Kat and Flore are summoned to Rock Point: the beautiful and windswept cliff house where they sat for their father's most famous painting, Girls and Birdcage.

But what should be a joyous return is darkened by memories of the catastrophic events of a summer twenty years before.

Because when the sisters arrive, it is clear that someone is determined not to let the past lie.

Someone who is watching their every move.

Who remembers the girls in the painting, and what they did . . .

Set on the rugged Cornish coast, The Birdcage is a twisty, spellbinding novel with unforgettable characters who must piece together their family's darkest secrets.
________

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Today is my stop on the tour for The Birdcage by Eve Chase, released on 28th April. I read The Glass House last year and I absolutely loved it so I was really excited when Michael Joseph invited me to be a part of this tour.

Eve Chase’s writing is absolutely beautiful, the way she weaves her story so that two separate timelines converge perfectly is just stunning.

We know from the start that something happened in the Summer of 1999, something that changed the lives of the three sisters Flora, Kat and Lauren forever. We know that although all half sisters, Flora and Kat were close but they were detached from Lauren, who only appeared in their lives when she was nine. Lauren isn’t on her own though, the housekeepers daughter Gemma, is a similar age to her and they get along well. Flora and Kat know what happened at the time of the solar eclipse, they were responsible, Lauren was a victim, but of what we are still to learn.

The tag line for this novel is “some stories need to be set free”, each of the girls is weighed down by secrets. For Kat and Flora it is secrets about what actually happened back in 1999. Today, all of the girls have secrets about what is going on in their lives. Why is Flora not answering the calls from her husband, why are a legal team constantly calling Kat, why is Lauren hiding the letters that she is writing to her friend?

Truth relies on perspective. It’s relative. If you live a life of pure, sheer truth, it’d be blinding, untenable, and every family would kill one another over Sunday lunch.

At the centre of all of this is Rock Point, the family home, the other characters that live there and the landscape itself. This novel honestly couldn’t be set anywhere other than Cornwall for it to have the same windswept impact. The house itself is imposing and gothic, although slightly neglected it is still grand.

And Flora can hear a slow drumbeat, which isn’t the waves, or her heart, but seems to be coming from the house itself, as if it were a sentient being.

Rock Point is home to the girls eccentric painter father, Charlie, and his parents in 1999, although they are no longer present in 2019. His father doesn’t play a major role in the novel but his mother, grandmother to the girls is ever present, as his her parrot, who is able to mimic people at the most inopportune moments. The parrot actually has a surprisingly central role in the novel, seeming to know exactly what is happening and what to say to cause the most disruption. The girls are desperate for their fathers love and affection, his attention. But he lives life on his own terms, not really paying any heed to the consequences of his actions. Hiding his own lies from all of them throughout the novel.

But Charlie Finch is not most people. He’s a Finch. He’s an artist. He has an ability to detach from his subjects, to see human beings as arrangements of form and flesh in space, volume and light a technical challenge to be solved.

While the girls are at Rock Point their father has asked them to sit for a painting, his most important, his daughters with a bird cage. His artwork, and particularly this painting are so important to the now, providing symbology of Charlie’s life. A birdcage is often used in both art and literature (think of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings) as it symbolises loss of freedom, the flighty bird being caged and oppression of women. This is reflected in the storyline, we have 3 very different girls, each one being held within their gilded cage for different reasons. Flora by her family life, Kat by her business and Lauren by the past.

I had already guessed some of what was to come toward the end of this novel, but that didn’t take away from it at all. The joy was in the path to the end. The end was just the perfect wrap up of everything, it led exactly where it needed to and tied up things that had happened right at the start that I’d forgotten about.

Eve Chase is now an auto-buy author for me.

About Eve Chase

I’m an author who writes rich suspenseful novels about families – dysfunctional, passionate – and the sort of explosive secrets that can rip them apart. I write stories that I’d love to read. Mysteries. Page-turners. Worlds you can lose yourself in. Reading time is so precious: I try to make my books worthy of that sweet spot.

My office is a garden studio/shed. There are roses outside. I live in Oxford with my three children, husband, and a ridiculously hairy golden retriever, Harry.

Do say hello. Wave! Tweet me! I love hearing from readers.

The Serial Killers Girl Mini Review

Posted April 28, 2022 by louisesr in Review / 1 Comment

The Serial Killer's Girl Published by Boldwood Books Ltd on 27/04/2022
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 285
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
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Goodreads

Lexi Jakes thought she could run from her past.

But when her biological mother is found dead, strangled with a red silk scarf and holding a chess piece, Lexi knows that her worst nightmare has come true. Because the murder has all the hallmarks of her own serial killer father, renown strangler Peter Graves.

Now with her own precious daughter’s life in danger, Lexi will do anything to keep her child safe…she is her father’s daughter after all.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I thought this book showed great potential, the premise was really good but I felt it was let down by the execution. I was looking for a book that had me on the edge of my seat and I just didn’t think that this quite managed to pull it off.

Lexi is the daughter of a serial killer. Following his arrest she was taken into care and changed her name. Now her mother has been killed in a copycat attack.

Nobody knows who she is. But Lexi is worried, that she or her daughter might be next.

I felt that the suspense was lacking in this, there was too much story around Lexi’s relationship with her husband and not enough excitement.

The Perfect Holiday Mini Review

Posted April 28, 2022 by louisesr in Review / 1 Comment

The Perfect Holiday by T. J. Emerson
Published by Boldwood Books Ltd on April 20, 2022
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 331
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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Goodreads

Perfect for fans of T.M. Logan's The Catch and The Couple at No. 9 by Claire Douglas.

'This taut, elegant thriller thrums with dark menace and dread. I couldn’t look away' Kate Riordan, bestselling author of The Heatwave

Olivia and Julian are enjoying lazy days in their Spanish villa, a well deserved break from their busy lives. Especially for Julian, who after a lifetime as a carer was thrust into the public eye following the tragic murder of his first wife.

The languid heat and peace of the villa is broken only by clifftop walks, sun drenched lunches and cooling swims. Until a chance encounter with Gabriel - an attractive man, many years their junior - changes everything.

Soon their idyllic break turns into a dangerous, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. Will any of them get out alive?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This is a dual timeline novel, set now (which is “after”) and “before”. In the before timeline we have Julian who is caring for his wife after she’s been paralysed in a car accident. Now/After, he is on holiday with his second wife, Olivia.

I find it difficult to enjoy a book when I really don’t like the main characters, and I really didn’t like Julian, he has no redeeming features. I also wasn’t a fan of Gabriel (although that’s intentional from the authors pov, I can’t imagine anyone would like him). There was potential for Olivia to be a decent enough character but she was never allowed to reach her potential, she was almost secondary to the narrative, a part of the setting rather than an actual person.

This is another example of a domestic thriller, which I never find thrilling. I always love the idea from the synopsis and then find that they fall short.

About T. J. Emerson

Before writing fiction, she worked in theatre and community arts. As well as acting, she ran drama workshops in healthcare settings, focusing on adults with mental health issues. Her short stories have been widely published in anthologies and literary magazines, and her feature writing has appeared in Stella magazine, Woman’s Own and The Sydney Morning Herald. Her first psychological thriller, She Chose Me, was published by Legend Press in 2018.
She has a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Edinburgh and works as a literary consultant and writing tutor. She is also the Creative Director of The Bridge Awards, a philanthropic organisation that provides micro-funding for art and community projects.

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No Less The Devil Book Review

Posted April 28, 2022 by louisesr in Review / 1 Comment

No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride
Published by Bantam Press on 28/04/2022
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 466
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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Goodreads

It's been seventeen months since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim and Operation Maypole is still no nearer to catching him. The media is whipping up a storm, the top brass are demanding results, but the investigation is sinking fast.

Now isn't the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn't have much choice. When Benedict Strachan was just eleven, he hunted down and killed a homeless man. No one's ever figured out why Benedict did it, but now, after sixteen years, he's back on the streets again - battered, frightened, convinced a shadowy 'They' are out to get him, and begging Lucy for help.

It sounds like paranoia, but what if he's right? What if he really is caught up in something bigger and darker than Lucy's ever dealt with before? What if the Bloodsmith isn't the only monster out there? And what's going to happen when Lucy goes after them?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

For my birthday last year my daughter bought me The Coffin Makers Garden, my first Stuart MacBride book, and I absolutely loved it. Since then I’ve started to work through his back list so when I saw he had a new novel available I was really excited. This excitement continued for the first 3/4 of the book. I absolutely love MacBride’s dry sarcastic wit. I usually listen to his books on Audio as the inclusion of the songs from the radio is pure comedy genius – it has caused me to laugh out loud while wandering the food aisle of M&S, meaning I have received a number of strange looks (especially since my earbuds are usually hidden by my hair.

Anyway, back to the book. My first disappointment was that this is an Oldcastle novel but it doesn’t follow on from the other Oldcastle books, there is no Ash Henderson and no Alice McDonald – Dr McFruitloop (one of my most favourite characters EVER).

We have a few threads going on here – crazy posh kids murdering homeless dude, the Bloodsmith murdering people, removing organs and writing in their blood, DS Lucy McVeigh being terrorised by a stalker while struggling with PTSD plus there is a recently released child killer who is convinced that someone “they” is out to get him and so he needs protection. It was sometimes difficult to keep up with all of the different threads that were going on and I did need to concentrate.

And then we hit the twist. We all know that with any good thriller there’ll be a twist, and this was no exception, I didn’t see this one coming – and I didn’t like it. I felt like the ending kind of let down the rest of the book.

It kind of reminds me of Stephen King’s The Stand, it’s a really long book and then you get to the end and go WTF just happened. I’m not happy with that. Now granted, the hand of God didn’t come down and wipe out Oldcastle but still, it would have got 4.5 or 5 stars with a stronger ending.

About Stuart MacBride

The life and times of a bearded write-ist.

Stuart MacBride was born in Dumbarton — which is Glasgow as far as he’s concerned — moving up to Aberdeen at the tender age of two, when fashions were questionable. Nothing much happened for years and years and years: learned to play the recorder, then forgot how when they changed from little coloured dots to proper musical notes (why the hell couldn’t they have taught us the notes in the first bloody place? I could have been performing my earth-shattering rendition of ‘Three Blind Mice’ at the Albert Hall by now!); appeared in some bizarre World War Two musical production; did my best to avoid eating haggis and generally ran about the place a lot.

Next up was an elongated spell in Westhill — a small suburb seven miles west of Aberdeen — where I embarked upon a mediocre academic career, hindered by a complete inability to spell and an attention span the length of a gnat’s doodad.

And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place.

But university and I did not see eye to eye, so off I went to work offshore. Like many all-male environments, working offshore was the intellectual equivalent of Animal House, only without the clever bits. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea… and did I mention the swearing? But it was more money than I’d seen in my life! There’s something about being handed a wadge of cash as you clamber off the minibus from the heliport, having spent the last two weeks offshore and the last two hours in an orange, rubber romper suit / body bag, then blowing most of it in the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen. And being young enough to get away without a hangover.

Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small ‘a’), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living.

It was about this time I fell into bad company — a blonde from Fife who conned me into marrying her — and started producing websites for a friend’s fledgling Internet company. From there it was a roller coaster ride (in that it made a lot of people feel decidedly unwell) from web designer to web manager, lead programmer, team lead and other assorted technical bollocks with three different companies, eventually ending up as a project manager for a global IT company.

But there was always the writing (well, that’s not true, the writing only started two chapters above this one). I fell victim to that most dreadful of things: peer pressure. Two friends were writing novels and I thought, ‘why not? I could do that’.

Took a few years though…

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