It's my turn on the BlogTour Fragile by Sarah Hilary.
Sarah Hilary’s debut Someone Else’s Skin won the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year, was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and The Observer’s Book of the Month. In the US, it was a Silver Falchion and Macavity Award finalist. No Other Darkness, the second in the series, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. The sixth in her DI Marnie Rome series Never Be Broken is out now. Her short stories have won the Cheshire Prize for Literature, the Fish Criminally Short Histories Prize, and the SENSE prize.
Fragile is her first standalone novel. Sarah is one of the Killer Women, a crime writing collective supporting diversity, innovation and inclusion in their industry.
Follow @sarah_hilary on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit sarahhilary.com
About the book
A modern Gothic thriller from an award-winning and critically acclaimed author - a REBECCA for our times.
Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperate to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong. So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands. But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for…
It's a compelling psychological thriller that revolves around the inadequacies of a care system and forgotten children that fall through the loopholes. The damaged individuals that venture into society and often leave a mark behind, and sometimes not a good one.
Throughout the story the reader wonders whether Nell is damaged and fragile or is she damaged beyond repair and capable of manipulating the fragility of others. Victim? Or a victim who is beyond redemption? Or is she just someone who really wants to be loved and needed - then again she could be all of the aforementioned.
I love it when an established author reinvents their own wheel. If this was my first excursion with Hilary I would be noting her down as one to watch, however having read and experienced her writing previously I have to say she has been curtailing herself. This not only shows a real depth, darkness and ability to create multi-layered characters - it is also taking it up a notch from a writing perspective.
I have to say kudos for the last chapter. It does two things in a way, it reveals the two-faced doll and simultaneously gives credence to the plot and character that goes before it. I hope this isn't the last time Hilary delves into the dark side, she certainly seems comfortable there.
Buy Fragile at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Pan MacMillan; pub date 10th June 2021 – £14.99 HB. Buy at Amazon com.
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