#BlogTour The Hidden by Alison Knight

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Hidden by Alison Knight.

About the Author

Alison Knight has been a legal executive, a registered childminder, a professional fund-raiser and a teacher. She has travelled the world – from spending a year as an exchange student in the US in the 1970s and trekking the Great Wall of China to celebrate her fortieth year and lots of other interesting places in between.

In her mid-forties Alison went to university part-time and gained a first-class degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and an MA in the same subject from Oxford Brookes University, both while still working full-time. Her first book was published a year after she completed her master’s degree.

Alison currently has a trio of novels published by Darkstroke. The first, Mine, is a domestic drama set in 1960s London based on real events in her family. She is the only person who can tell this particular story. Exploring themes of class, ambition and sexual politics, Mine shows how ordinary people can make choices that lead them into extraordinary situations.

The Legacy, a drama set in London in 1969, was inspired by a scene in Mine, and explores how an unexpected legacy can be both a blessing and a curse. The Legacy looks at themes of greed and expectations, and the lengths people will go to when they are desperate.

The Hidden, available from September 2021, is a romantic suspense that picks up the story of one of the characters in The Legacy. Set in Montana in 1973, two wounded, damaged people are forced together, each guarding their secrets. Can they learn to trust each other? And will their nightmares ever end?

Alison teaches creative and life-writing, runs workshops and retreats with Imagine Creative Writing Workshops (www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk) as well as working as a freelance editor. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. She lives in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor. 

Follow @Alison_Knight59 on Twitter,  on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit alisonroseknight.com, 

About the book

Secrets, nightmares, and a big black dog… Montana, 1973. Faye has found sanctuary in a simple cabin in the wilds of the Crazy Mountains in Montana with a dog called Bear. She’s a long way from her old life in England. But she knows that one day her peaceful life could be invaded by her enemies, and she keeps her guard up at all times.

Jeff returns home from Vietnam, a wounded, damaged hero, just weeks after his father’s sudden death. He finds hostile, secretive Faye living in his cabin and refusing to leave. The reading of his father’s will adds another layer of mystery to this woman’s presence.

The tension between them grows as Jeff tries to overcome his nightmares and expose Faye’s scars and secrets. The more he learns about her, the more enigmatic she seems. When her enemies come calling, she needs Jeff to protect her. Can they learn to trust each other? And will Faye ever be safe?

Review

Faye thinks she has finally found a place where no one will come looking for her. A safe haven and a man who is willing to keep her secrets. Until one day a stranger stumbles into her life. Her alarm bells go off and she is ready to protect herself - no matter what.

Jeff is confronted with a stranger who has made herself a little too comfortable in the middle of the life and family he left behind. He wants her gone - if only life were that easy, right?

I found Jeff a hard character to swallow at times. His sexist ways veered into misogyny at times and he was often dismissive and demeaning, which was romanticised, ergo the troubled rugged alpha male with a soft core waiting to be uncovered.

Aside from that it is a story of learning to trust, to love and to open yourself up to new beginnings. Both Faye and Jeff approach this in their individual ways, of course this also means the clash and butt heads along the way.

Much like the previous two books the author focuses on the complexity of family dynamics and relationships. Betrayal, lack of trust, and assembling some sense of safety within their inner and outer lives. It's a story about support, trust and love.

Buy The Hidden at Amazon Uk or Buy at Amazon com. Publisher ‏: ‎darkstroke books pub date 23 Sept. 2021.

#BlogTour The Legacy by Alison Knight

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Legacy: A Blessing and a Curse by Alison Knight.

About the Author

Alison has been a legal executive, a registered child-minder, a professional fund-raiser and a teacher. She has travelled the world – from spending a year as an exchange student in the US in the 1970s and trekking the Great Wall of China to celebrate her fortieth year and lots of other interesting places in between.

In her mid-forties Alison went to university part-time and gained a first-class degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and an MA in the same subject from Oxford Brookes University, both while still working full-time. Her first book was published a year after she completed her master’s degree.

The Legacy is a drama set in 1960s London. Like her previous book, Mine, it explores themes of class, ambition and sexual politics, showing how ordinary people can make choices that lead them into extraordinary situations.

Alison teaches creative and life-writing, runs workshops and retreats with Imagine Creative Writing Workshops (www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk) as well as working as a freelance editor. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. - She lives in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor.

Follow @Alison_Knight59 on Twitter,  on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit alisonroseknight.com, 

About the book

An unexpected inheritance. A web of deceit. A desperate escape. London, 1969.

James has his dreams of an easy life shattered when his aunt disinherits him, leaving her fortune to her god-daughter, Charlotte. He turns to his friend, Percy, to help him reclaim his inheritance – and to pay off his creditors. But when their plans backfire, James becomes the pawn of Percy and his criminal associates.

Charlotte is stunned when she is told of her windfall. After an attempt at cheating her out of her inheritance fails, James tries to intimidate her. But she is stronger than he thinks, having secrets of her own to guard, and sends him away with a bloody nose and no choice but to retreat for now.

Resigned, James and his spoilt, pampered girlfriend, Fliss, Percy’s sister, travel across France on a mission that promises to free James from the criminals for good. But James isn’t convinced he can trust Fliss, so he makes his own plans to start a new life.

Will James be able to get away, or will his past catch up with him? Will Charlotte’s secrets turn the legacy into a curse?

Review

James and Charlotte, nephew and god-daughter of Jane, who is coming towards the end of her life. She decides to change her last will and testament, which changes everything for James and Charlotte. James was expecting to inherit all her money, actually he needs to inherit it all or he is going to be in a world of trouble. Charlotte isn't expecting anything and that explains the world of difference between them.

Greed, pettiness and privilege sets the tone for this story, especially on one side. James is willing to do anything to get what is rightfully his. Charlotte is willing to help James, but his manipulative and frankly dangerous connections and attitude make her more determined to find a peaceful solution. The question is can that really happen?

It's a short read, a novella length story, which was quite interesting because the story was novel length worthy. It's more of a fast-paced shortened and heightened version of the story. Given a bit a fleshing out, more depth and definitely more of a bridge between the last chapter and the rest this could have been full length - what it is, is a good read. It just seems as if the author was keeping herself in check.

It's a pleasant story, a cosy story with a more serious undertone at times, quick but definitely worth a read.

Buy The Legacy at Amazon Uk . Publisher : darkstroke books pub date 4 May 2021. Buy at Amazon com.