Today it is my absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Trailing Spouse by Jo Furniss. It's a slow burning read that lets the reader become almost comfortable and complacent in the exotic aura of the surroundings.
After spending a decade as a broadcast journalist for the BBC, Jo Furniss gave up the glamour of night shifts to become a freelance writer and serial expatriate. Originally from the UK, she lived in Switzerland and Cameroon, and currently resides with her family in Singapore.
As a journalist, Jo has worked for numerous online outlets and magazines, including Monocle, The Economist, Business Traveller, Expat Living (Singapore) and Swiss News. Jo has also edited books for a Nobel Laureate and the Palace of the Sultan of Brunei. She has a Distinction in MA Professional Writing from Falmouth University. In 2015 she founded www.SWAGlit.com—an online literary magazine for writers in Singapore.
All the Little Children is Jo’s debut novel and she is working on a second domestic thriller to be released in 2018.
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Buy The Trailing Spouse
About the book
Do you really want to know the truth?
Amanda Bonham moved halfway around the world to be with the man she loves. Although expat life in Singapore can be difficult, Edward Bonham is a dream husband and a doting father to his teenage daughter, Josie.
But when their maid dies in an apparent suicide—and Amanda discovers the woman was pregnant and hiding a stash of drugs prescribed to Edward—she can’t help but wonder if her perfect husband has a fatal flaw. And if he can’t resist temptation under their own roof, what does he get up to when he travels?
Camille Kemble also has questions for Edward. Recently returned to Singapore, Camille is determined to resolve a family mystery. Amid a jumble of faded childhood memories, she keeps seeing Edward’s handsome face. And she wants to know why.
For one woman, the search for answers threatens everything she has. For another, it’s the key to all she lost. Both will follow his trail of secrets into the darkness to find the truth.
The paths and stories of two women collide in this thriller. The common denominator between Amanda and Camille is Amanda's husband Edward. The man Amanda knows as a loving single parent and supposedly caring husband appears to be hiding a double-life. Is he hiding a more sinister side to his personality or is Amanda just paranoid, because their live-in maid took her life in the most horrific manner.
Camille is trying to solve the disappearance of her parents, which happened over a decade ago. She uses the death of the maid to connect with the man she thinks she remembers in relation to her parents. Does he have any answers for her or is he just another dead end?
One of the elements I enjoyed in this story was the situation of ex-pats (expatriate - a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than their native country) and their dependants. It takes one to know one, so some of the situations and dialogues had me nodding along the way. I know a lot of ex-pats who don't realise why it is important to integrate in their country of residence, as opposed to pretending they are still part of some 'jewel in the crown' and living in their little Britain away from home.
Although I will say that there are behaviours and attitudes more specific to certain countries, especially Asia. There is almost an inbred sense of colonialism, an attitude of superiority and of first class human beings living among the inferior. That attitude speaks to the way the ex-pats treat the natives who work for them, often treated no better than slaves or unwilling captives.
Furniss presents a slow burning read that lets the reader become almost comfortable and complacent in the exotic aura of the surroundings, despite the crispy white starched collar feel of the characters. The truth lurks in the background and is easy to ascertain if you read between the lines. If you don't then it will probably bite you in the butt while you are looking in the wrong direction.
It's more of a subtle read, like the salt on your margarita glass, you don't taste the salt until you have tasted the sugary sweet of the drink. A thriller, I agree, and yet it is so much more than that.
Buy The Trailing Spouse at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pub. date: 14 August 2018
Thanks so much for this Blog Tour support Cheryl x
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