#BlogTour Never Ever Tell by Kirsty Ferguson

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Never Ever Tell by Kirsty Ferguson.

About the Author
Kirsty Ferguson is a born and bred Australian. She writes crimes and mystery novels. Her stories center around strong women and dark themes that are topical and relevant to today. Kirsty chooses to deconstruct and enthrall her readers with the secrets of any everyday person behind closed doors. She has long been a lover or writing and reading, creating stories from a young age.

Follow @kfergusonauthor on Twitter, Visit kirstyferguson.com, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Never Ever Tell

About the book
She’d do anything for her boy…

Vanessa Sawyer knows all about pain. She’s felt it every day since marrying the boy who fathered her baby in high school. All he’s meant are broken bones, broken heart and broken dreams.  But he also brought her the love of her life. When her son Wren was born, her baby boy was her salvation.

Vanessa watches Wren grow and become a young man she can be proud of. Until one night everything changes, including Wren. One night that her son refuses to speak of. Now Vanessa can’t rest, not until she uncovers the secret that her son has been hiding from her.

Will she find the answers she’s searching for or will her quest for the truth take her to a dark place where all hope is lost? One evil act. One tragedy. Lives destroyed forever.

Review
Vanessa doesn't think giving in to desire will set her life in a direction that changes both her perception of herself and the way others perceive her. The man in her life blames her for choices they both made. He is violent, has no remorse and reluctant to acknowledge his part in their dysfunctional relationship.

The only thing keeping Vanessa going is her young son Wren who learns to protect and lookout for his mother. He becomes her rock and her protector. Vanessa realises that changing her life is the only way to protect them all.

Whilst the part of the plot mentioned in the blurb is the most poignant part of the book it doesn't take up much of it.Those events happen in the last quarter or so of the story. It is undoubtedly the straw that breaks the camels back, a complete eye-opener and it saves the story.

More character depth, differentiation between sub and main plot, and tighter storylines - Ferguson has great ideas, kudos for the twist at the end.

It's a dark story that gets much darker and doesn't really come up for much light to be honest, but then that's sometimes the stark reality of life. Not everyone has a life filled with rainbows, unicorns and happiness in general. Ferguson captures the long term repercussions of living with an abuser - for the victim and any children involved. The waves of abuse cause a ripple effect often only seen many decades later.

Buy Never Ever Tell at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Boldwood Books; pub date 18 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle.

About the Author
Kimberly Belle is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of six novels, including her forthcoming domestic suspense, Stranger in the Lake (June 2020). Her third novel, The Marriage Lie, was a semifinalist in the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Mystery & Thriller, and a #1 e-book bestseller in the UK and Italy. She’s sold rights to her books in a dozen languages as well as film and television options. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Belle divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.

Follow @KimberlySBelle on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit kimberlybellebooks.com, Buy Dear Wife

About the book
Beth Murphy is on the run...

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning--one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing...

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she's taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine's carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that's certain is that someone is lying and the truth won't stay buried for long.

Review
'He robbed me of the ability to trust in others' - truth.
The story begins with the escape of an abused wife. Beth has planned it meticulously. Burner phones, false leads, new identity and despite being able to breathe for the first time in years, she knows it's just the start of a really long process to rebuild her life.

Simultaneously a woman called Sabine goes missing and her husband becomes the focus of the police investigation. Is he the caring, attentive husband he appears to be? Why isn't he that bothered by her disappearance? So many questions, which just makes it all the more interesting.

Who is Beth really? What is her connection to the missing woman. Are they the same woman just at different times during one story? Is Sabine on the run too? These questions and the doubt are actually the details that create this sense of being a passenger without knowing the destination or the driver. The author lets the truth drop bit by bit as the story evolves.

Belle writes a wicked psychological thriller and a tense crime read. What won me over was the authenticity when it came to the domestic abuse aspect of the read, and it's done without gratuitous details.

This type of abuser works hard on their two faces - the public and the private one. This type of abuser has a support network of enablers. Their victims are generally not believed and their characters are maligned as part of the misinformation dissemination process, and as part of the carefully structured physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

The author is an incredibly gifted plotter and storyteller, and delivers a fantastic read.

Buy Dear Wife at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 16 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

Today it's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. It's a poignant tale of oppression and also women's empowerment.

About the Author
Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants. She teaches college English literature in North Carolina, where she lives with her two children. A Woman is No Man is her first novel.

Follow @EtafRum on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit etafrum.com, Buy A Woman is No Man

About the book
Palestine, 1990. Seventeen -year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naive and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children - four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.

Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra's oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda's insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can't help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.

But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path tht leads her to shocking truths about her family - knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.

Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman is No Man is a story of culture and honour, secrets and betrayals, love and violence. It is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and close cultural world, and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect.

Review
Why wasn't this on some of the best book and prize lists of the year in the Uk? It has seriously remained almost invisible, despite winning recognition and accolades in the US. It should be compulsory reading for all girls and women, regardless of their background.

It speaks truth to the lies that are spoken by both men and women defending tradition, culture and religion. Tell us again how you revere women. How they aren't treated like sub-humans and second class citizens. Tell us again how keeping women silent and submissive is simultaneously cementing and honouring their place in society.

I came away a few times from this read, but ultimately when I finished it I was both enraged and saddened.

I think what many of us forget, and that includes the families who put children, and especially girls, in this position, is the difficult position they end up in when they grow up in Western cultures. The two contradicting cultures must be incredibly difficult to navigate at the same time. One culture is steeped in medieval and oppressive traditions and rules, whereas the other culture allows freedom in all areas. How are children and young people supposed to be true to both?

The story begins with Isra, a young Palestinian Arab girl who is married off to a family and moved to Brooklyn. Then we hear the story of her eldest daughter Deya as her grandmother Fareeda starts to pressure her into upholding the family honour and her duties by accepting a suitor.The stories of the two women play out at the same time as Deya discovers the truth about the parents she believes were killed in a car crash.

It's women's fiction and a poignant contemporary read about empowering women in a culture of systemic abuse and oppression. The author gives us a compelling and infuriating look behind closed doors. Girls born and bred to be nothing more than brood-mares, cleaners, cooks and objects of abuse - that's if they are allowed to live at all. No wonder Isra sinks into despair.

I think it's particularly tragic that her love of reading is what ultimately destroys what is left of her hope that there is more out there for her and her daughters other than pressure, oppression and pain.

I loved and hated this book in equal measures. It is an incredibly tragic and beautiful story, but it is also indicative of the systemic abuse and oppression of women in certain cultures.

One last thing - although it pains me to say this - the role other women play in both the oppression and abuse shouldn't be underestimated. Fareeda plays a leading role in this story, as do other mothers, wives, sisters and daughters who condone and contribute to never-ending cycle of oppression. Excusing it by labeling it tradition, culture or part of a devout upbringing is a farce and makes a mockery of any culture that sustains, welcomes and continues to uphold oppressive and abusive behaviour.

It is an excellent read.

Buy A Woman is No Man at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ: Published on 12th December 2019 - Paperback £8.99 - Available in eBook and Audiobook. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Hive.co.uk Buy at Waterstones

#BlogTour A Fool's Circle by Suzanne Seddon

It's my turn on the BlogTour A Fool's Circle by Suzanne Seddon. It's crime fiction with domestic abuse at the forefront of the plot.

About the Author
Suzanne Seddon was born in 1968 in Islington, London. After leaving school she had many interesting jobs, from swimming teacher to air hostess, and was able to travel the globe. Now a single mum to her teenage daughter Poppy-willow, Suzanne spends her days writing and has written several articles for magazines and newspapers.

Growing up, Suzanne witnessed mental and physical abuse within her own family which strongly influenced her when she wrote her first play, A Fool’s Circle, when she attended the famous Anna Scher Theatre. Suzanne, however, was not content to leave it there and decided to go ahead and transform her play into a novel.

Not one to shy away from exciting challenges, she also wrote, acted, directed, cast and produced a trailer for the book around her hometown in Islington with the support of local businesses, who recognised the drive and importance of Suzanne and her work.

Suzanne is a passionate writer and she is determined to be heard so that the issue of domestic abuse is raised amongst the public's consciousness, empowering others to speak out. She wants those who suffer at the hands of another to have their voices heard, loud and clear.

Follow @suzseddon on Twitter

Buy A Fool's Circle

About the book
Kate Sanders has suffered many years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her abusive husband Alan, and convinces herself that she is only holding the family together for the sake of her eight-year-old daughter. If it wasn’t for her best friend Jill Reynolds, she would have taken the suicide option a long time ago.

As she desperately seeks a way to escape, she is contacted by a solicitor. Kate’s old aunt has died and she has been left a small fortune. For the first time, she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. She dreams of a fresh start, a new home, a new life. What Kate doesn’t know is that Jill and Alan have their own secrets, and are both desperate to get their hands on her money.

Kate soon finds herself falling for the charms of Jonathon Jacobs in what she believes to be fate finally intervening and offering her a second chance, unaware that each move he makes has been directed, orchestrated and well-rehearsed as he begs her to leave her husband Alan.
But is it all too late, as she finds herself in the frame for murder.

Review
Kate is the victim of domestic abuse. The behaviour of her husband has spiralled from small things to a constant barrage of abuse on a daily basis. She has convinced herself that staying with her husband is better for their daughter, but the truth is she is just too frightened to leave him.

Things take a turn for the worse when an opportunity for freedom arises, however Kate hasn't taken into account just how vindictive her husband can be and that she can't trust the people around her. Sometimes there is a fine line between someone being a friend or an frenemy.

The author mentions her inspiration for this story in the acknowledgements. Being a witness to physical and mental abuse has made her more determined to be an advocate for domestic violence.

The experience of witnessing abuse isn't the same as being a victim of abuse, it does however leave a lasting impression on that person. The repercussions of being in such a toxic environment can last a lifetime and often needs therapeutic intervention. It can taint the way a person interacts with difficult situations and treats the people around them. Unfortunately the abused and those who have witnessed the abuse as children, a small number of them sometimes – not always, go on to be abusers themselves. There is however a strong correlation between children who have experienced abuse and go on to experience further abuse as adults.

The novel has been adapted from the play, also written by Seddon, which probably explains the awkward dialogue and repetitive use of names in said dialogue. It lacks smooth linguistic transfers or continuance and could do with a good edit.

It's crime fiction with domestic abuse at the forefront of the plot. It's all about how Kate tries to sever the destructive ties between herself and her husband, and protect her young daughter at the same time.

Buy A Fool's Circle at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wallace Publishing; pub date 17 Mar. 2019. Buy on Amazon com.

#BlogTour Nowhere Girls by Teuta Metra

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Nowhere Girls by Teuta Metra. It's a story about loyalty, friendship and strength in a world of gender inequality, abuse and harassment. It questions the boundaries of female friendships and what constitutes a real friendship.

About the Author
Now a fiction writer, Teuta Metra's experience as an Albanian journalist has made her an expert on the struggles of women from her country. Author, journalist and teacher, Teuta now lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two sons.

Follow @Teuta_Metra on Twitter,
Visit teutametra.com/
Buy Nowhere Girls

About the book
Friends Alba and Sara could not be more different. While Alba is forcing her way into the upper echelons of Albanian’s richest and most powerful, Sara is working more than one job as a struggling journalist. Both desperate to escape their corrupt country, they're quickly dragged into a sordid world of politics and lies.

When tragedy strikes their friend Ina, the two women must come together to save her little boy. Can they put away their troubles and secure a better future for the child? Or will their past catch up with them?

Nowhere Girls is a thrilling tale of love, lies and the lengths a woman will go to for freedom.

Review
There are some really powerful and significant emotions one can feel throughout the book and it doesn't come from the characters per se. It emanates from the author through her words. The feelings of anger, frustration at the injustice and the overall desire for change.

The rage, and to me it certainly felt like rage, is directed at the way women are treated in her native country, Albania. To be fair, although the focus is on three friends from Albania in this story, I believe the author feels the same about the way women are treated everywhere.

That and the ineptitude of the way society deals with domestic abuse are the underlying sub-plots in this story about friendship and loyalty between three women. How we are still completely incapable to sufficiently help the victims of domestic abuse in a fast, safe and satisfactory manner. The number of annual deaths due to domestic violence are shocking, the statistics on violent attacks shamefully high and that is without the amount of unreported incidents.

The stories of Alba, Sara and Ina are interwoven in a strange way. Sometimes the connections are based on need rather than the desire to enjoy time with a friend. Alba really appears to be guilty of this, although I found Sara a lot more ruthless than Alba at times. The two women battle with ambition and making their place in their world.

Ina and her story seems to take place in the background, and yet for me it was the one which felt more important to me. How meeting the wrong guy puts her on the path of pain, sorrow and destruction. Sara can see him for what he is, but Ina is drawn into a dangerous web of abuse.

I think Metra should focus all her emotions and write about her anger, frustration and the changes she would like to see for girls and women in her country and around the world. Forget the side stories or the fictional aspect even. The book and publishing world is all about women's empowerment at the moment.

It's a story about loyalty, friendship and strength in a world of gender inequality, abuse and harassment. It questions the boundaries of female friendships and what constitutes a real friendship.

Buy Nowhere Girls at Amazon Uk (paperback) or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy Kindle edition at Amazon Uk, Buy at Amazon com

#BlogTour Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward

Let's kick off this BlogTour for Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward. It's a tense, realistic and emotionally charged read. It will make you question who the real villain is in this situation.

About the Author
Jacqueline Ward is a Chartered Psychologist and scientist working in high hazard safety. She holds a PhD which explored the stories we use in everyday life to construct our identities, and in 2013 received an MBE for services to vulnerable people. She lives in Oldham with her partner and their dog.

Follow @JacquiAnnC  @CorvusBooks on Twitter
Visit jacquelineward.co.uk
Buy Perfect Ten

About the book
An explosive debut thriller about one woman's search for revenge - and the dangerous chain of events she sets in motion...

Caroline Atkinson is powerless and angry. She has lost more than most - her marriage, her reputation, her children.  Then one day, she receives an unusual delivery: lost luggage belonging to the very man who is responsible, her estranged husband Jack.

In a leather holdall, Caroline unearths a dark secret, one that finally confirms her worst suspicions. Jack has kept a detailed diary of all his affairs; every name, every meeting, every lie is recorded. He even marks the women out of ten.

Caroline decides it's time to even the score. She will make this man pay, even if it means risking everything...

Review
Caroline is a compulsive hoarder, has a drinking problem and has lost her children to her ex due to her mental instability. At least that's what he would like you to believe, but then again Caroline is willing to go to really crazy lengths to get revenge on Jack and his perfect partners.

Throughout the story the reader is never quite sure whether Caroline is a complete fruitcase and fits the criteria for her own psychopathy test or whether her ex is the actual threat. That in itself is the actual dilemma, especially in real life scenarios. In a he said, she said situation the more convincing liar is the one who is believed.

At a certain point in the story there is no clear distinction between Caroline and Jack, which is the whole point of or rather the moral of the story. Neither of them are doing what is best for their children, while they are consumed with hate and revenge for each other. Regardless of who started what and who was at fault first, they have both become right-fighters and fight to be right instead of fighting for what is right for their two children. A tale as old as time when it comes to divorce and separation.

From personal experience I can tell you that if the intelligent well-educated Caroline plays nice then she has no hope of keeping her children, because when you are dealing with a manipulative abuser with psychopathic tendencies, playing nice and being therapeutically correct just doesn't cut it. If your ex is a two-faced individual, who has a charming side for the outside world and a ruthless abusive one for you, then the majority of people will want to believe he is mister nice guy, as opposed to the nightmare he really is.

Friends don't want to be involved, and yet take sides anyway. People who know the truth brush it aside for a more convenient and pleasant narrative. Family members protect and enable the abuser. The only way to win against a person like that is to play dirty too. You have to leave your morals and good intentions at the front door.

You know what the best and most ironic thing about this book is? The title. Perfect Ten is the Holy Grail of imaginary perfection, and just so we are clear the grass isn't greener on the other side - it's still just plain old green.

Ward is an expert at keeping her readers on their toes in this potent tale of revenge, obsession, control and abuse. She makes it easy to comprehend how an abuse victim is unable to recognise the abuse and to fall into the trap of a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially when the victim is subjected to repeated messages about her supposed mental ill-health, her inability to be a good mother and her lack of self-worth.

It's a tense and frustrating reminder of the injustice many victims experience in situations like this, and how many abusers can convince everyone around them that they are the victims instead. You have to be your own army, because trust me when the going gets tough you'll find your so-called friends were never friends in the first place. I think the author wants us to think about that the next time we pass judgement too quickly or decide sitting on the bench is better than supporting someone in genuine need of a helping hand.

I enjoyed the read, because it rang a lot of bells for me and despite it seeming far-fetched, dramatic and wee bit like a television drama, I can assure you this is the unfortunate reality for many in abusive relationships. Kudos to Ward for highlighting the more manipulative, controlling and psychological side of abuse.

Buy Perfect Ten at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Corvus Books

Watching Edie by Camilla Way

One of the most interesting elements of this story is the fact the author hasn't created a black or white situation.

There are many shades of grey, and in this case those shades relate directly to whether the characters are good guys or bad guys. The truth is, there is no clear answer to that question.

The reader feels sympathy with Edie, because of the hard situation she finds herself in. She is a single woman, who is about to become a single mother. When the baby does eventually arrive she is overwhelmed and clearly needs a friend.

Heather seems like the great alternative to a support system, despite the troubled past she and Edie share. Seems like the perfect solution. Edie needs help and Heather wants to help. Does she really want to help though?

Heather has a tendency to stalk, get violent and blackout. She is creepy and clearly unstable. Would you want her to take care of your newborn baby?

Throughout the book Edie has flashbacks to a time when she and Heather were friends and also to some terrible event that ended said friendship.

What it comes down to is who you think is guilty of the greater crime or wrong-doing. There are things that are unforgivable or so inhumane that they leave a deep dark stain on anyone involved in them. Some wrongs can never be righted.

Watching Edie will make you question everything and everyone. It is a nicely paced and well-developed psychological thriller, and despite the fact the reader can probably guess the traumatic secret the two of them are hiding, it is still a compelling read.

Buy Watching Edie at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott

Abbott’s writing is maturing like a fine wine. The plotting is very meticulous and well thought out. The story takes the reader along the entire perimeter with a twist in the path there and a barrier in the plot there. In the end all the threads link together to create the entire jigsaw puzzle.

The author has a keen understanding of the mind, behaviour patterns, thought processes and personality of a stalker, who evolves into a controlling abusive partner.

He seems like the perfect husband and the adoring father to outsiders. Inside the life of his victims it is an entirely different story.  Robert is controlling, obsessive and almost compulsive in his need to dictate the behaviour of his loved ones.

Olivia, like many others in those types of domestic abuse situations, doesn’t comprehend at first that Robert is actually being abusive. Her opinion changes when he decides to teach her the one lesson most likely to frighten her into a lifetime of submission.

Kudos to the author for picking a hot topic and crime, that happens all too frequently in our society nowadays, when a parent takes the worst revenge ever. Something so viciously wicked that it is hard to fathom.

The cat and mouse game between the wife and husband is drawn out like a laborious chess game. A game that seems to have nothing more than a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

Seemingly arbitrary there is a sub-plot with the male lead detective and a burglary. That happens to be the neatly constructed storyline for the next book featuring Tom.

Without revealing the extremely well planned ending, I just want to say that although the reader slowly figures out where it is all going, the trip to get to that place is a very good read.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Buy Sleep Tight at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Read the following by Rachel Abbott: Read And So It Begins, Read The Back Road, Read Nowhere Child, Read Stranger Child, Read Come a Little Closer or Read Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

It happens behind many closed doors, regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality or economic standing for that matter. Physical, verbal and psychological abuse.

The insidious nature of abuse goes hand in hand with secrecy and lies. One partner is adept at pretending to be something they are not and the other partner is often too scared to speak up.

Not speaking up ends up being the Achilles Heel of the abused, because when they do finally speak out they are often not believed.

They are faced with questions like: Why didn't you tell anyone?, Why didn't you leave? and Why would you let someone treat you that way? A lot of fingers point in the direction of the abused, as opposed to the abuser.

Grace keeps up the pretence for her own safety and for her sister Millie. Jack keeps Grace tethered like horse or a dancing bear, the only respite being an evening of entertainment with guests now and again. He knows exactly who to use as leverage, when it comes to getting Grace to do what he wants.

During the conversations the reader or I often wondered why the guests, especially the women, didn't find anything odd or disturbing. I know I would find that type of close and claustrophobic relationship worrying.

Kudos to the author for the last two pages, it was an excellent way to end the story. Paris combines the reality of hidden abuse with a psychological thriller, and the end result is quite a good read.

Buy Behind Closed Doors at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read The Breakdown by B.A. Paris.

Read Bring Me Back

Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

This was my first Lisa Gardner and it certainly won't be my last. She really knows how to keep the story compelling to the very end.

Nicky is haunted by a girl called Vero. The two of them have conversations with each other all the time, or do they? Is it reality, a call from her subconscious or perhaps just hallucinations due to the complications of Nicky's traumatic brain injury?

Nicky comes to the attention of the local police when she is found hailing help by the side of the road and her car is found at the bottom of a ravine. At the scene of the accident she screams for Vero, so the hunt is on for the missing child.

When the police come up empty-handed they start to question not only the accident, they also question Nicky's sanity. Something just doesn't ring quite right for Wyatt and he starts taking a closer look at the husband, especially because Nicky has had multiple serious accidents in the last few months.

I really enjoyed the way Gardner kept the question about the identities very fluid throughout the book. Nothing is certain, and the reader is always second guessing who she might be. You automatically feel sympathy for Vero the child and Nicky the adult, regardless of whether they are in the past or present. For the victims of the abuse and the adult, who lives in sheer terror of the truth. Her own truth is so devastating she is literally falling apart bit by bit.

Although this is a Tessa Leoni mystery/case she doesn't really play a major role in this story. More like the sidekick to Wyatt. The two of them do get a wee bit closer, but overall she plays more of a secondary part in the book.
I have to admit it kept me riveted till the end.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson

Pete seems to be the exact opposite of what people expect from a social worker, both from a physical perspective and most certainly based on his lifestyle choices.

Alcohol, drugs and violent altercations. The relationship between his ex and their daughter is a shambles. His own family is a superb example of lack of communication and a lifetime of recriminations.

Doesn't exactly seem like the type to solve the problems of children or teens in dire need of help, and yet he does become the single lifeline of many.

Mary seems like such a breath of fresh air in the beginning, perhaps even a chance or a new beginning for Pete. Her childhood and past creates a void between them.

What must it be like to know that the inevitability of your past is always chasing you. Always being present and at the forefront of people's minds, ergo they judge before they have taken the time to get to know her.

Saying that, is someone who has fallen prey to the system of social care and been dropped into the black hole of Forgotten, able to be anything other than their past?

If you have seen, done, or have had every imaginable and unimaginable cruelty done to you, is there a way of ever leaving that behind? When I say behind I mean trying not to let it guide the future, at least not in a negative way.

Curtis is the perfect example of a child on his way into the same type of black hole in the very much overextended social services system. His behaviour is typical of one that has been abused. He is over-sexualized, has a tendency towards unpredictable and violent behaviour. He ends up where Pete knows he will become a lost cause, just another statistic on the path to destruction.

Pete becomes so frustrated at one point that he actually steps into the group of non trustworthy people in the boy's life. The one person Curtis has accepted as a type of anchor in tumultuous seas starts to look more like a dinghy with a hole.

The irony of the story is of course the fate of Pete's daughter. Her life becomes a sequence of predictable events, the type of events that follow in the tread of neglectful parents. Pete swings between worry and forgetting her existence, and he completely ignores her plea for help.

So whilst he is fully prepared to go to the ends of the earth for the children of others his own becomes disappears into the system and out of his life altogether. The reader finds themselves with a conundrum. Is Pete a hero or is he the abuser? How can he bend the rules and go to such extensive lengths to save one
family and facilitate the destruction of his own?

I do so enjoy the type of story that ends up shining the light on the perfect imperfection of human nature.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, courtesy of Random House UK, Cornerstone.

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf

Everyone makes mistakes, accidents happen and no single person goes through life without making at least one really bad choice.

Is one mistake, one small lapse in good judgement, a reflection on our personality, our parenting style or perhaps even the state of our mental health? That is exactly what this  book is about, someone making the type of mistake you can never quite recover from.

A hard-working stressed out mother, who loves her children and treats them well, becomes the focus of a child neglect/abuse investigation. The moral parameter swings like Poe’s Pendulum,  from guilt to innocence.

Has Ellen become one of the heartbreaking cases she tends to? As a social worker she sees the very bottom of the soulless pit of violence, abuse, pain, hatred and despair. It is her job to rescue children and women from these desperate situations.

Not that rescue is always possible or an option. More often than not the victims of abuse, especially children, are returned straight back to the family home.

Ellen is diligent to a fault. She leaves no stone unturned to help the people allocated to her case-load. Leaves as fast as possible when she gets an emergency call from one of her flock. In fact she is so intent on saving humanity that her family often seems to come second to everyone else.

Then there comes the day when her priorities cause an accident of such epic proportions that her whole life, career, marriage and all her close relationships come close to being destroyed.

I really enjoyed the way the author showed the reality of the flip-side of social work and a social workers life. Being the sounding board for people in need and only having the ability to help them in a marginally small way, can really cause havoc in the minds of the people in that particular career branch. It is also the reason for the high number of burnt out individuals in social work.

The pain and frustration of knowing you just can’t save them all, despite all the good intentions you might have. Some of them are going to die, spend their lives in a continuous vicious cycle of violence and neglect. Knowing all that and acknowledging the lack of power you have over being able to change the outcome and futures of these children is enough to drive any person round the bend. Or at least to drive them to a point of complete overload.

This story takes a look at how quickly a person or parent can end up being just another statistic. Going from one end of the parent scale to the other, from good to so-called bad parent. Going  from being the saviour or helper to being the abuser.

All it takes is one small moment of not paying attention, a few seconds out of sight and out of mind or a few seconds of being preoccupied by something or someone else.

A great read that takes a close look at boundaries between abuse, neglect and accidents. Sometimes it is hard to know where to draw the line, and more often than not the benefit of the doubt is given to the wrong person and to the detriment of a child or victim.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley