Over her eighteen-year writing career, Louise Voss has had eleven novels published – five solo and six co-written with Mark Edwards: a combination of psychological thrillers, police procedurals and
contemporary fiction – and sold over 350,000 books. Louise has an MA (Dist) in Creative Writing and also works as a literary consultant and mentor for writers at www.thewritingcoach.co.uk. She lives in South-West London and is a proud member of two female crimewriting collectives, The Slice Girls and Killer Women.
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Visit vossandedwards.com
About the book
Nail-bitingly modern domestic noir. A tense, Hitchcockian psychological thriller Louise Voss returns with her darkest, most chilling, novel yet…
Lynn Naismith gave up the job she loved when she married Ed, the love of her life, but it was worth it for the happy years they enjoyed together. Now, ten years on, Ed has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and things start to happen; things more sinister than lost keys and missing words. As some memories are forgotten, others, long buried, begin to surface … and Lynn’s perfect world begins to crumble. But is it Ed’s mind playing tricks, or hers…?
Review
I figured the core of the plot out in the first few chapters, not because it's predictable more so based on the premise of just how insidious the author could possibly be. Let's just say, Voss doesn't disappoint.
Let me also start out by saying how annoyingly naive I found Lynn, especially considering her prior training and career. She is also a hypocrite of the highest order, and I would go so far as to place a fair piece of blame squarely on her shoulders. Towards the end there seems to be no difference between Ed and Lynn.
When her husband is diagnosed with an illness, which is already chipping away at his memories and his personality, Lynn is both devastated and worried for her future. Watching your loved one fade away into a jumble of paranoia, fear, anger and confusion is incredibly frightening. Add the fact that your husband was never cleared of allegedly making his first wife disappear, and then you have a whole other layer of despair and danger.
I enjoyed the way Voss took one of the most frightening illnesses a person and family can be confronted with and turned it into a crime, indeed can I call it the weapon of choice. According to predicted statistics dementia is possibly one of the most worrying pending health epidemics. It is nothing less than a stroke of genius to use it as a crime premise, and certainly even more so when none of the characters are entirely sure what they are confronted with.
Louise Voss clearly has the mind of a master criminal and plots accordingly, so readers are in for quite a ride with The Old You. It is a labyrinth of secrets, unforgivable betrayal and murderous intent. At times I think even the criminal isn't entirely sure who the real culprit is. Prepare to be surprised at the sheer audacity of the crimes.
Buy The Old You at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Orenda Books Visit: orendabooks.co.uk
Paperback edition Kindle edition
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