Monday 29 July 2019

BLOG TOUR: Clear My Name - Paula Daly


I was really excited when I saw that the fabulous Paula Daly had a new book coming out but it was fastest fingers first when Emma from damppebbles sent out the blog tour invitation for Clear My Name as all the spots were snapped up within 10 minutes flat.  That's got to be some kind of record, right?  So I must express my thanks to the lovely publishers at Bantam Press/Transworld Digital for not only expanding the tour, but I, along with Feminisia Libros, have the great honour of opening what I'm sure will be a fantastic tour for this brilliant book.



Innocent?

When Carrie was accused of brutally murdering her husband’s lover, she denied it. She denied it when they arrested her, when they put her in front of a jury, and when they sent her to prison.

Now she’s three years into a fifteen-year sentence, away from the daughter she loves and the life she had built. And she is still denying that she is to blame.

Guilty?

Tess Gilroy has devoted her life to righting wrongs. Through her job for Innocence UK, a charity which takes on alleged miscarriages of justice, she works tirelessly to uncover the truth.

But when she is asked to take Carrie’s case, Tess realises that if she is to help this woman, she must risk uncovering the secrets she has struggled a lifetime to hide…


We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.


What did I think?

I have always been a huge fan of Paula Daly's books so I was terribly excited when I heard that she had a new book coming out.  I first came across Paula Daly when I read her second novel, Keep Your Friends Close, in 2015 and I was completely blown away.  Since then I have been eager to read everything that Paula Daly writes so I definitely was not going to miss her sixth novel, Clear My Name.  I also can't wait for the TV adaptation of Deep Water, based on Paula's books, starting in August on ITV.  See! Her books are so good they have made them into TV dramas.

I don't think I've read a book like this, where there has been a murder and the guilty party is already in jail.  Or is she guilty?  Carrie professes her innocence but as we all know, the guilty nearly always say that they're innocent.  This is where the charity Innocence UK and Tess Gilroy comes in as they take on Carrie's case to see whether there has been a miscarriage of justice.  I really loved this storyline as I felt a bit like a super sleuth, examining all of the evidence that had been put before the court and resulted in Carrie's conviction.  I always remind myself that there are two sides to every story but it's actually quite scary to think that a jury can be swayed by the way evidence is portrayed.  It was very thought-provoking to consider how much juries are blinkered by DNA evidence at the scene without perhaps fully taking into account other conflicting evidence.  It was also interesting to read how quickly science progresses; tests that were not available 5 years ago could now prove the innocence of someone wrongly convicted if their case went to appeal.

The whole murder investigation kept me riveted but the additional storyline of Tess Gilroy's mysterious past and her inability to get close to people felt like the cherry on the top.  I loved how she was really miffed to be paired with a young trainee at the beginning but their relationship develops over the course of the book and you see a different side of Tess coming out.  It was like her carefully built emotional brick wall was being slowly dismantled brick by brick and the real Tess would finally be revealed so she could stop running and hiding from her past.

I have to mention a fabulous acronym that Paula Daly invented that completely resonated with me.  We've all heard of FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out, but Carrie describes herself as more of a WINJI - Wish I'd Never Joined In.  I love that!  That is so me and I'm definitely going to steal this one and use it to describe me as even though I rarely join in things, I always regret it when I do.  I would never have thought that being called whingey would have amused me so much.

I could write so much more about this book; the amazing cast of characters and the intriguing storylines but ultimately all you need to know is that Clear My Name is brilliant.  This intriguing and captivating crime thriller is a truly exceptional novel and is one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend; I expect I shall be recommending it for a long time to come yet! 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:


Buy it from:
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Book Depository
Hive
Foyles




About the author:

Paula Daly © Stephen Lea
Paula Daly is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. She has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year award, and her books have been developed for the new ITV television series, Deep Water, starring Anna Friel. She was born in Lancashire and lives in the Lake District with her husband, three children, and whippet Skippy.


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