Wednesday 12 June 2019

#BlogBlitz The Lynmouth Stories by L.V. Hay


Today I am taking part in the BlogBlitz The Lynmouth Stories by L.V. Hay. It's contemporary fiction with a noirish feel to it.

About the Author
Lucy V Hay is a script editor for film and an author of fiction and non-fiction. Publishing as LV Hay, Lucy’s debut crime novel, The Other Twin, is out now and has been featured in The Sun and Sunday Express Newspaper, plus Heatworld and Closer Magazine. Her second crime novel, Do No Harm, is an ebook bestseller. Her next title is Never Have I Ever for Hodder Books.

Follow @LucyVHayAuthor  on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram,
Visit lucyvhayauthor.com
Buy The Lynmouth Stories

About the book
Beautiful places hide dark secrets ...

Devon's very own crime writer L.V Hay (The Other Twin, Do No Harm) brings forth three new short stories from her dark mind and poison pen:

- For kidnapped Meg and her young son Danny, In Plain Sight, the remote headland above Lynmouth is not a haven, but hell.

- A summer of fun for Catherine in Killing Me Softly becomes a winter of discontent ... and death.

- In Hell And High Water, a last minute holiday for Naomi and baby Tommy  becomes a survival situation ... But that's before the village floods.

All taking place out of season when the majority of tourists have gone home, L.V Hay uses her local knowledge to bring forth dark and claustrophic noir she has come to be known for.

Did You Know ...?

Known as England's 'Little Switzerland', the Devon village of Lynmouth is famous for its Victorian cliff railway, fish n' chips and of course, RD Blackmore's Lorna Doone.

Located on the doorstep of the dramatic Valley of The Rocks and the South West Cliff Path, the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth have inspired many writers, including 19th Century romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who honeymooned there in 1812.
Review
This is a novella length book with three stories based around the Devon village of Lynmouth.

I particularly enjoyed the story of Catherine, Killing Me Softly. It's dark, morbid and has a noirish quality to it. Death is a friend, a foe, a voice and a constant companion. An entity who forces conversation, thoughts and actions. A constant reminder of the lull of a distant peace, silence and an end.

In Plain Sight is a tale of patience and perseverance, despite all the odds being stacked against a woman and her child .About a person who builds the trap and sits quietly until it snaps shut.

Hell and High Water is a story of karma. It's unfortunate that this kind of karma doesn't roll around more often for certain people. For Naomi and her young child it becomes the light at the end of a very dark and long tunnel.

What all three stories have in common is women. Strong women, scared women and damaged women. Living nightmares that are all too normal nowadays. Domestic violence still isn't dealt with in a satisfactory way. There too many women, children and men afraid to leave an abusive partner, because the support system is inadequate and the legal system doesn't punish the perpetrators sufficiently.

The topic of depression is dealt with quite cleverly. In an abstract kind of way, which suggests it lives within the sufferers like a constant nagging voice urging a certain narrative.

It's an intriguing set of short stories. It gives the reader an idea of Hay's writing style and where her imagination takes her. It's contemporary fiction with a noirish feel to it.

Buy The Lynmouth Stories at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Do No Harm by Lucy V. Hay. Read my review of The Other Twin by L.V. Hay.

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