#BlogBlitz His Wife's Secret by Susan Willis

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour His Wife's Secret: Why is she punishing me? by Susan Willis.

About the Author
Susan Willis is a published author of four novels and five novellas. She lives in Co-Durham surrounded by a big family and dear friends. Susan works as a food technologist developing new recipes and weaves the different aspects of her job into stories.

Her last two novels are psychological suspense. Readers who have left reviews on amazon love the books because they are realistic with everyday people in situations that can happen.
She has a collection of Fun-Size Tales of Love & Family which are available in Ebook and paperback.

Susan is now writing Cozy Crime Short Reads and incorporating up to date issues of poor mental health in a kidnap scene, the perils of social media, and an intruder on Skype. Nest year she hopes to publish these stories into a collection.

Follow @SusanWillis69, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit susanwillis.co.uk

Buy His Wife's Secret

About the book
When David meets old school-friend, Erin again he falls head over heels in love. He leaves his wife and their sixteen-year-old daughter to marry Erin. But, in a small village people have long memories and they move south for a fresh beginning. Erin’s behaviour starts to change in a very strange way and David wonders if she is punishing him for something he’s done?

Review
Willis doesn't get to the core of the plot until a fair way into the story, so initially it just apears to be a case of a broken family readjusting to the new structure and status quo. The new wife is jealous of the ex-wife and his daughter, and the daughter dislikes the new wife. The new wife Erin hatches a plan to put distance between old and new.

Erin is obsessed with an old diary, which reveals secrets her mother and others kept hidden from her. What she learns doesn't just unsettle her, it sets off a sequence of events that leads to a change in behaviour and the way David views her.

She is already exhibiting certain patterns of behaviour before she starts obsessing about her mother. Jealousy, possessive traits and the need to isolate her husband from everything and everyone he loves and knows.

It's a domestic thriller - the violence creeps into the story slowly and escalates.

There is an element to this story that lifts it slightly into the genre of psychological crime, however the violence and abuse aspect of the story was enough to carry the tale in its entirety. The woman on man premise is a poignant point to make, especially in a society when abuse is still misunderstood and ridiculed, even more so when men are the victims.

The author describes the escalation and lack of comprehension quite well. When does a playful  accepted slap become a slap that is no longer playful. If you've given consent for the first does it automatically mean there is consent for the latter. Why is it still so difficult for society to comprehend that men can be victims and women can be the perpetrators of domestic violence?

Buy His Wife's Secret at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#PublicationDay Deadly Harm by Owen Mullen

It's Publication Day for Deadly Harm by Owen Mullen. It's a domestic noir thriller that tackles difficult topics with the realism and honesty it deserves.

About the Author
Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year and best selling author.

Owen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; he still loves to perform on occasion. His passion for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home in the Greek Islands where Owen writes.

Follow @OwenMullen6 @Bloodhoundbook on Twitter, Follow Owen Mullen on Instagram, on Facebook, on Youtube, Amazon Author page, Goodreads Author page, Bookbub page,
Buy Deadly Harm

About the book
It’s been five years since Mackenzie Darroch was abducted and held captive in a derelict house.
She thought she'd found her way out of the darkness. She was wrong.

When she witnesses a car crash and saves the driver’s life, it sets in motion a chain of events that will alter both their futures.

The two women get involved in a high profile police case and draw the attention of a ruthless reporter. Gina Calvi is convinced Mackenzie is not what she appears and is prepared to do anything to prove it.

Meanwhile, across the city, Kirsty McBride, a young single mother, is persuaded to leave a violent relationship. Her partner, Malkie Boyle a Glasgow hardman, is due to be released from prison. Once back on the street and bent on revenge, Boyle is determined to find the people responsible for stealing his family from him. Can Mackenzie save them or will Boyle get his revenge?

Review
As I mentioned in my review of Mullen's Out of Silence, he has a penchant for tackling the topics of abuse, victimisation and domestic violence, as they pertain to women. Where others mansplain and fail to hit the mark, Mullen approaches said topics from the victim's perspective.

This is the follow-up to In Harm's Way, which also features DS Geddes and Mackenzie. The story starts with two women burying a body then the reader gets swooped up into the world Mackenzie  inhabits now. She runs a refuge for abused women. Geddes gets in touch with her to try and convince a young woman to leave her abusive husband, which is where the story actually does start. 

I have to be honest I got so wrapped up in the story that I completely forgot about anyone burying a body. (The story does return to that moment)

Fear lives on...

No truer words can be spoken when it comes to domestic violence. Even if someone does manage to extricate themselves from a domestic violence situation it doesn't mean the fear magically disappears. It doesn't, partly because victims comprehend the very harsh and real fact that society and the rule of law has not built in enough measures to keep victims safe. That is just the stone cold truth.

The reality of escaping is a financial and emotional imbalance created by society and the perpetrator. The victim can only be safe if they leave everything behind and start afresh. It sounds so easy to anyone not in that situation. It isn't, and it is part of the reason victims find it so hard to leave. There isn't sufficient support to stay safe or start anew.

It's a domestic noir thriller that tackles difficult topics with the realism and honesty it deserves. Just one more thing, I have to give a shout out to my favourite character, Grandpa Boyle. Don't ever mess with his Liquorice Allsorts - ever.

Buy Deadly Harm at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bloodhound Books; pub date 15 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Out of Silence by Owen Mullen

#BlogTour Signs in the Rearview Mirror: Leaving A Toxic Relationship Behind by Kelly Smith

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Signs in the Rearview Mirror by Kelly Smith. It's an autobiographical account of her struggle to recognise and extract herself from an abusive relationship.

About the Author
Boston born and raised, Kelly now makes her home in Austin with her three sons and one amazing Giant Schnauzer Bullseye. Kelly has written for Huffington Post, blogs at Thoughts Becoming Words, and hosts a podcast, Lets Get Wicked Deep.

Follow @kellys_author @sunnydaypub on Twitter
Connect with Kelly Marie Smith, Author on Facebook
Visit thoughtsbecomingwords.com
Buy Signs in the Rearview Mirror

About the book
What kind of person ends up in a toxic relationship? And why does she stay? This searingly honest novel answers both those questions head-on. Coming out of a failing marriage, Kelly turns to Gabe out of fear of being alone. Her gradual slide into danger is at once terrifying and inevitable, and the steps she takes to get out of it will both inspire and offer hope.

Review
This is the story of Kelly Smith. It's an autobiographical account of her experiences in an abusive relationship, but it is also in a way an attempt to apologise for her own failings in her relationships.

It is incredibly hard to admit to your own mistakes or wrong paths taken in your life. Smith does so to a certain extent, but there is either an attempt to shield or a refusal to dive too deeply. I can understand both of those reasons. It's hard enough to share your mistakes with the world without opening up your soul,so complete strangers can have a good look around.

Shame, blame and guilt walk hand in hand with fear, anger and a sense of powerlessness when you end up in an abusive relationship, especially when you involve children in such a dangerous situation. You can't take back the impressions, the experiences or indeed the impactof experiencing or being around abuse has on a young mind. It's important to note, and the author does at the very beginning of this book, that this is the story from her perspective. Her children will have a completely different view on her choices and why she chose Gabe over her safety and their safety over and over again.

Abusive relationships are hard for outsiders to understand. There are a lot of misconceptions about why the abused stays and also the level of support there is depending on where you live.

I think it is very important to note that the author acknowledges, albeit in a less focused way, her own abusive behaviour towards her first husband. The way she treats the people she loves/loved is through her own frame of references. Her own references were determined by the volatile and loveless relationship with her own mother, and her father the alcoholic.

On a side note it's interesting that Smith holds fonder memories of the abusive drunk, and is more antagonistic towards the mother who lived with the abusive drunk. Has she inadvertently reproduced a scenario where she gives her children reason to dislike her choices, her narcissistic tendencies and indeed is herself the volatile verbally abusive person she saw in her own mother.

The author talks a lot about the how and why of ending up in a relationship with Gabe has been steered by her own sense of insecurity and lack of self-worth. For me this is closure. The end of this chapter in her life, and in a way the written word may make it more real and definitive for her. Kudos to the author for finally extracting herself from an abusive and damaging relationship, and for trying to comprehend the damage it caused. The most important thing is acknowledging and then being strong enough to cut the ties that bind.

I think it is commendable to try and break the cycle. To try and change the habits of a lifetime and to try and move forward. None of it is a guarantee that your loved ones will forgive or forget, but perhaps everyone can find a way forward.

The author needed to see the cycle to be able to break out of it and I hope she continues to search and grow from her epiphanies. It's an honest read, albeit a hard one at times.

Buy Signs in the Rearview Mirror at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Buy Signs in the Rearview Mirror at Amazon com
Paperback version Kindle version
Publisher: Sunny Day Publishing, Pub. date: April 2018

The Disappearance by Annabel Kantaria

I can't for the life of me put my finger on which writing style or book this reminds me of. There are no real surprises.

It is more like sitting in the garden on a warm summer day and watching the water in the nearby river flow past. Comfortable and cosy.

Throughout the book there seems to be a disconnect between Audrey and the two children. Obviously they lack a blood bond, but after at least 4 decades you would think the three of them would have some kind of close connection.

In the end I think Audrey decides she has done her duty and it is time for someone else to do theirs. Instead of being at the mercy of John and Alex she decides to take matters into her own hands. Her choice and her decision.

It must be really frustrating when adult children or relatives decide you are too old and doddery to make your own decisions. In this case it seems to be more about how much they are going to profit from putting Audrey into a care facility.

I would have liked to have seen a little more emphasis on the domestic violence aspect of the book. It was simmering under the surface, and there seemed to be a brief view into the life behind closed doors, but we go from that to his death.

Has the domestic violence influenced the way John and Alex treat Audrey, despite the both of them not having any memory of abuse?

It's a strange one, however I did feel relief for Audrey at the end. A sort of weird satisfaction on her behalf.              

Buy The Disappearance at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

The Accident by C.L.Taylor

It might just be me, but I thought the husband Brian was a complete tosser. He wasn’t supportive,  he was condescending and in his own way abusive. When you make someone feel small, insignificant or make them feel as if they are losing their mind then that counts as emotional abuse in my book.

Brian is fully aware of her past, and instead of understanding her fears, flashbacks and insecurities he treats her as if she belongs in the loony bin. Her daughter is in a coma does he expect her to dance an Irish jig and throw a party? It is only natural for Sue to be emotionally distraught.

Sue knows deep down inside that something just isn’t right and she is determined to follow the niggling feeling of doubt all the way to the truth, whether the truth is good or bad. Everyone is so busy dismissing her gut instincts that no person is actually looking for the reason Charlotte chose to do what she did.

At the same time Sue experiences something nearly all parents of teenagers go through, realizing that their child has secrets from them and is in the process of building a path of independence, which ultimately usually leads to them leaving the nest. Finding out that your child not only has secrets is one thing; however finding out that those secrets might be endangering their life is another matter entirely.

I don’t think Sue understands how her past relationships have influenced her behaviour towards life and the people she loves. Her anxiety, fears and paranoia have been projected on to her daughter, ergo resulting in the daughter hiding things from her parents.

The Accident is actually a very realistic account of the repercussions of abuse even years after the abuse  has taken place. It is often always an underlying issue for those that have experienced it and can affect all future relationships and dynamics.

The story also sheds light on the fact that some abusers, especially in domestic abuse cases, never give up. Some of them perceive the abused to be their possession and will persevere in their destructive tactics till the bitter end. Often that end means death to the abused.

Society still doesn’t take that threat seriously enough, which statistics clearly show. If anything this story is a great way to enhance the fact that society, government, law enforcement and we the people should be doing more to help stop the abusers.

Far too often someone out there says ‘I think he (or she) is going to kill me one day’ and far too often that person is or was right. We need to listen to them before and not after the fact, when it is too late to save them.

Buy The Accident at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read The Fear by C.L. Taylor

Read The Lie by C.L. Taylor