The Ten Year Affair - Erin Somers

Two parents. Happily married. Just not to each other.

When Cora meets Sam at a baby group in their small town, the chemistry between them is instant and undeniable. But both are happily married, and neither is the type to cheat. So as their lives intertwine and the romantic tension between them heightens, Cora turns to her imagination: in her head, she and Sam pursue their feelings; in reality, they resist.

Yet as the fantasy affair grows ever more intoxicating, it can't help but cast Cora's everyday life - the mushroom problem in the bathroom, her daughter's new fascination with the afterlife, her husband's obsession with podcasts about the history of rope - in a new light. And when the boundaries grow increasingly blurred, she must decide what truly matters.

Razor-sharp, exhilaratingly honest and salted with an irresistible acerbic wit, The Ten Year Affair explores family life, fidelity and the roads not taken, and ultimately asks: do we really want our fantasies to come true?

 

What did I think?

The Ten Year Affair isn't perhaps the type of book I would usually pick up but I rather enjoyed it.  It's brutally honest and surprisingly witty so I found myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions but it has a serious subject at its heart: infidelity.

Although I didn't particularly like any of the characters I think I could understand them.  Cora escapes her mundane life as a wife and mother to a fantasy world where she's having an affair with Sam, a father she met at baby group.  It really made me think about what cheating is.  Are thoughts as bad as actions?

As the story progresses the affair doesn't just continue in Cora's head, it happens in real life but Cora finds that reality isn't a patch on fantasy.  You have to apportion some of the blame to Cora's husband Eliot, who pays very little attention to Cora, and Sam's wife Jules, who is having an affair of her own.  Both couples seem to conveniently forget that they have children though.

I did struggle at times with the 'in the fantasy world' and 'in reality' storyline as I couldn't remember what was happening in each one and it seemed to flick back and forth frequently.  I enjoyed the chapters set during the Covid-19 pandemic as it really highlighted the challenges people faced while forced to spend time with each other.  It is funny reading about people getting used to working from home and I'm sure a lot of people have many funny Zoom stories.

Witty, honest and thought-provoking, The Ten Year Affair is an interesting and entertaining read that is well worth picking up, even if it's just to feel smug about your own relationship.

 

I received a gifted hardback for the Adventures With Words readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Black Loch - Peter May

THE RETURN OF FIN MACLEOD, PETER MAY'S MUCH-LOVED HERO OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING LEWIS TRILOGY.

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh - the Black Loch - on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

 

What did I think?

I love Peter May books but I haven't read the The Lewis Trilogy (yet) so I can say for definite that you can read The Black Loch as a standalone as I absolutely loved it.

Fin Macleod could never have imagined that he would return to the Isle of Lewis under such disturbing circumstances: his son is suspected of murdering a young girl with whom he was having an affair.  A tangled web of deceit and lies leads Fin to unofficially investigate who really murdered Caitlin and he uncovers a link to a long buried secret in his own past.

There's a lot going on in the book and it's clear that Fin has a lot of history on the island but I didn't feel that I was at a disadvantage at all, having not read The Lewis Trilogy.  It has certainly made me want to read the trilogy as soon as possible to revisit these wonderfully drawn characters and the stunning setting.   

What I love about Peter May's books, apart from the fantastic storylines of course, is the level of research and highlighting of unexpectedly thought-provoking subjects.  My heart was breaking as I read about the salmon farm because this part of the story isn't fiction.  I do like to eat salmon but it's certainly made me think more about where it's come from.

Hugely atmospheric, impeccably researched and flawlessly written, The Black Loch is an outstanding twisty mystery that captivated me from start to finish.  Unputdownable and unmissable - very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: The Grass Widow - Vanessa Edwards

Ditched by her married lover Hugh on the day she was made redundant, Leonie plans to make life difficult for Hugh while she searches for a new job. She inveigles her way into his house as a cleaner, intending to plant fake clues to his new liaison for his wife Amanda to find. But instead she discovers real clues to Amanda’s secrets.

Meanwhile, fellow cleaners Brenda and Tina also have hidden agendas as they work: Brenda is counting on a spot of blackmail and Tina is looking for financial information to sell to her dodgy brother-in-law.

At the centre of this web is Amanda’s gardener Simon: handsome, ruthless and plausible, with a shady past and lofty ambitions.

A death in an apparent accident arouses Leonie’s suspicions. Can she put aside her animosity towards Amanda and use her impressive – if sometimes unorthodox – investigative skills to find the truth before someone else dies?

 

What did I think?

The Grass Widow is a book that is filled with secrets, blackmail and plans for revenge.  Nobody is who they seem and it it feels like everyone is being played; even the players are being played and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see who would be left standing at the end.

Leonie's life fell apart when her affair with a co-worker ended and she found herself single and out of work.  Leonie is not going to go down without a fight and plans to take Hugh down with her so she poses as a cleaner to get into his house and plant evidence of his infidelity for his wife Amanda to find.  Leonie's conscience gets the better of her when she starts to uncover Amanda's secrets and an unlikely alliance is formed.

Oh this book just keeps on revealing secrets with every turn of the page and the intricately woven plot keeps the reader on their toes.  There is so much going on with every character hiding something and the fast-paced storyline twisted and turned right up to the outstanding conclusion.

Gripping and suspenseful from start to finish, The Grass Widow is an intelligent and unpredictable novel that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Vanessa is a solicitor specialising in EU law who has worked in private practice in London and Brussels and for the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

After taking early retirement from the legal profession she turned her hand to fiction.

She lives in Hampstead and likes wine, walking and music of many sorts. And of course reading and writing.

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BLOG TOUR: Costanza - Rachel Blackmore

Rome, 1636: In the scorched city of Rome, the cobbled streets hum with gossip and sin...

Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famed sculptor and star of Roman society, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.

Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza's reputation is at stake. Meanwhile, Bernini has a dangerous desire: he wants to make Costanza immortal. He vows to possess her not just in body and soul, but also in marble.

When Bernini unveils his sculpture of Costanza, she is exposed as his lover, marking the undoing of their affair - and the beginning of a scandal which will rock Roman society. For Bernini would rather destroy Costanza than let her go.

Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza's story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise...

History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman. This is her story. Costanza is a dizzying, sensual novel that brings to life a feminist icon who has been written out of history. This utterly addictive tale of desire and betrayal is perfect for fans of The Marriage Portrait and The Miniaturist.

 

What did I think?

Costanza is absolutely unmissable for historical fiction fans; it is as stunning inside as out, I mean just look at that beautiful cover!  I had no idea that Costanza Piccolomini was a real historical figure until I read the author's note at the end of the book.  Even more astonishing is that this is Rachel Blackmore's debut novel - brava!

The tantalising prologue haunted me throughout the novel and I couldn't read fast enough to discover whose life was in danger and how it came to be.  So I stepped back into 17th century Rome and devoured every single perfectly crafted word in this stunningly breathtaking novel.  

I was completely riveted as I discovered Costanza's story and my heart went out to her when her marriage didn't turn out quite as she planned.  If circumstances had been different, I think she still would have been attracted to sculptor Bernini but she would have been more reluctant to act upon it.  Bernini takes advantage of Costanza's situation and moulds her into the woman of his dreams.  Of course, he is completely blameless when it all goes wrong as he had been powerless to resist seduction by a temptress!

Magnificent, compelling and powerful, Costanza is an absolute masterpiece filled with passion and betrayal and it evoked such fury in me at the way women were treated and often still are.  I really must applaud Rachel Blackmore for giving Costanza such a strong and powerful voice and writing her back into history where she belongs.  

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Born in Birmingham, Rachel spent her childhood in the Northeast, then the Midlands. She studied history at King's College London, where her fascination for women's history took root. After a brief stint in politics, Rachel built a career in corporate communications. In 2021, she was runner-up in the Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition and won the Irish Writers Centre 2022 Novel Fair. Rachel lives in London with her three teenagers, two cats and one dog.

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BLOG TOUR: The Affair - Claire Allan

Her heart is thumping now, only just distinguishable from the roar of the water and the wind. This is not safe. She is not safe…

She realises then, only one of them is coming back out alive.

She’s the person I want to be. Sorcha Hannon, survivor of a devastating affair. She’s found the healing and hope I desperately need to find for myself.

And now that Sorcha and I are friends, I am no longer alone. Instead of days hiding away from the world, I have someone to talk to. I feel as if I finally belong.

There’s just one small catch. Sorcha Hannon isn’t just a new friend to me, and she certainly isn’t a stranger. In fact, I know the ins and outs of her life, and her marriage, almost as well as she does. But if she finds out who I really am, I’ll lose everything. Then again, as Sorcha says, no one’s life is really as perfect as it seems… and I should have realised, I’m not the only one with secrets.

What did I think?

As soon as I read the prologue of The Affair I knew I was hooked and I couldn't read fast enough to find out how it all got to this heart-pounding point.

Claire Allan really gets under the readers skin and inside their minds with her fabulous psychological thrillers and The Affair is no exception.  I started off with very little sympathy for Tina as she made her bed by sleeping with a married man and now she's trying to befriend his wife.  Sorcha seemed a little too perfect for me and she almost lives and breathes the perceived perfection of Instagram.  Nobody is that perfect!

As time went on, I started to feel sorry for Tina.  I think Ronan Hannon knew exactly what he was doing when he started his affair with co-worker Tina and when he'd had his fun he couldn't drop her fast enough, leaving her not only devastated but in a very difficult position at work.

Tina wasn't Ronan's first affair and Sorcha has had enough but she has her 'Sisterhood' to support her as she goes through her divorce.  My feelings for Sorcha Hannon ebbed and flowed like the tide; I felt sorry for her as the wronged wife but I struggled to see the real Sorcha beneath her perfect persona.  

Filled with suspense and intrigue, The Affair is quite a nail-biter as nobody is showing their true colours.  I really enjoyed it and think it's well worth a read.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Purchase link: https://mybook.to/theaffairsocial

About the author:

Claire Allan is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers and, in the past, women's fiction.

A former reporter with the Derry Journal, she published eight contemporary women's fiction novels with Poolbeg Press in Ireland before becoming a full time author, and switching genre to 'unleash her darker side'

Her first domestic noir novel, Her Name Was Rose was published by Avon/ HarperCollins in 2018 and was an instant bestseller in several countries. Claire's novels have been translated into multiple languages.

Latterly. Claire worked as a story consultant on series one of the huge successful BBC drama series 'Blue Lights' with Two Cities Productions. She has also written a number of rom-coms under the pen-name Freya Kennedy, and supported Sunday Times Bestseller Serena Terry while she was writing her Mammy Banter titles.

In 2023 Claire signed a multi-book deal with Boldwood Books to write four thrillers as Claire Allan, and three rom-coms as Freya Kennedy, securing her publishing into 2026.

Social Media Links 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClaireAllanAuthor 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaireAllan 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claireallan_author/ 

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/ClaireAllanNews 

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/claire-allan 

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BLOG TOUR: The Sinner - Caroline England

 

EVERY SAINT HAS A PAST

To the unsuspecting eye Dee Stephens has a perfect life as the vicar's wife: a devoted marriage to her charismatic husband Reverend Vincent, an adoring congregation and a beautiful daughter.

EVERY SINNER HAS A FUTURE

But beneath the surface, Dee is suffocating. Vincent is in control, and he knows her every sin. Desperate, Dee escapes into a heady affair with Cal, an old schoolmate.

EVERY CONFESSION HAS A PRICE

But is Cal the saviour she thinks he is? What dark secrets does he harbour? And to what lengths will Vincent go to when he uncovers the truth?

What did I think?

The Sinner is absolutely riveting.  It is filled with secrets, lies and deception so it is just the kind of book I love: a book that's difficult to put down and impossible to predict.

Dee is a very interesting main character; she really dislikes her role as vicar's wife, almost as much as she dislikes her mother-in-law.  The fractious relationship between the two women was beautifully described by Caroline England and I could totally see why Dee felt the need to escape into Cal's arms.  It's really difficult to talk about the plot without releasing any spoilers, so that's all I'm saying about it.

From the front cover design to the writing inside, The Sinner is completely flawless.  I was captivated from start to finish by both the intriguing characters and the compelling plot.  I absolutely raced through it as I just had to wring out every last secret hidden within the pages.

I've read a few Caroline England books over the years and The Sinner is definitely one of her best, although the others are all brilliant too.  I really wasn't expecting some of the twists and turns, and there are a lot of them, which will surprise and delight thriller fans.  The Sinner is a hugely enjoyable novel and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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Little Deadly Secrets - Pamela Crane

Mackenzie, Robin, and Lily have been inseparable forever, sharing life's ups and downs and growing even closer as the years have gone by. They know everything about each other. Or so they believe.

Nothing could come between these three best friends . . .

Except for a betrayal.

Nothing could turn them against each other . . .

Except for a terrible past mistake.

Nothing could tear them apart . . .

Except for murder.

What did I think?

I love books filled with secrets and I don't think Pamela Crane could have crammed any more in to her brilliant new novel, Little Deadly Secrets.  It's so addictive that I simply couldn't put this book down.

With three friends who are so much part of each others' lives, the storyline reminded me a little of the TV show Desperate Housewives but Little Deadly Secrets is so much darker.  These friends think they know everything about each other but they are wrong.  One knows where the bodies are buried and one has their eye on another's husband in this gripping book that positively sizzles with tension.

I absolutely loved digging into each life and unearthing all of their secrets; it's so entertaining and suspenseful that I couldn't read fast enough.  The bonds of this friendship are really being stretched to the limit but when the chips are down, they always come through for each other.

The plot is intriguing and sharp and the characters are so well-drawn and vivid that they almost leap out from the page; I could totally see this book being made into a film or mini-series.  

This is only the second Pamela Crane book I have read, although I have a few more in my collection, so I'm definitely bumping them up my queue now.  Little Deadly Secrets is absolutely brilliant; it's fast-paced, addictive and hugely entertaining.  I loved it!

Thank you to the author for providing an ARC for me to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Only Human - Diane Chandler

 

Every betrayal has a consequence... One family... one summer... one woman...

Anna Bond is floundering. Tiger mum to tricky teen Sophie, now slipping through her fingers, and loyal wife to big sociable Ollie, whom she no longer trusts, what does she do next with her life? Once a confident career woman, after so many years at home and the school gate, Anna now finds her mind is chattering and her soul is searching - for what matters. Then Jack walks into their lives. Sophie’s first boyfriend is a breath of fresh air for the whole family, and Anna gradually discovers new purpose for herself. But when deceit creeps in, tensions surface, and she finds herself propelled through a tangled web of secrets and lies towards a devastating climax.

What did I think?

Now and again a book comes along that is so special you want to shout about it from the rooftops; Only Human is that book for me.  So here I am up on the roof trying to find the words to review this utterly breathtaking novel.  I absolutely adored Diane Chandler's novel, Moondance, so I couldn't wait to read what she wrote next.  Only Human is a sublime read from beginning to end and I have never been so engrossed in a book outside of the crime genre.

From the first page the reader is launched into the midst of a Bond family drama: Anna has just discovered that her husband, Ollie, is having an affair.  Wanting to keep Ollie's indiscretion hidden from their daughter, Sophie, they attempt to maintain a united front.  Beneath the surface though, Anna is in turmoil and she searches for a way to find herself again.  I feared that the sticking plaster they put over their marriage would come unstuck at some point as once the trust is gone, it's so difficult to get it back.

The focus shifts from their marital problems when Sophie gets her first boyfriend.  Jack is welcomed into the Bond's home and becomes one of the family, but teenage love doesn't last forever.  It is often said that women are attracted to men who are like their father, and Jack may be more like Ollie than Sophie realises.  You really feel the mother daughter bond being stretched to the limit when Anna tries to speak to Sophie about Jack.

As if Anna doesn't have enough going on, she volunteers at Old Friends where she meets the most wonderful octogenarian, Fred.  Oh Fred is such a marvelous character, he's like everyone's favourite Grandad and it's so heartbreaking to see his health decline.  Diane Chandler's beautiful words paint such a poignant picture of Fred and shows how we try to turn a blind eye and pretend everything is fine rather than admit that our loved ones are failing.

Only Human is an outstanding novel of a family in turmoil filled with so much betrayal, revenge and drama that I could hear the dramatic EastEnders drum beats in my head as pivotal moments played out on the page.  Diane Chandler writes from the heart and tells such a marvellous story of human nature that I experienced a wealth of emotions whilst reading.  

From humour (I'll never be able to look at an M&S carrier bag without laughing) to heartbreak, Only Human is an exceptional book and one I will never forget.  I could read it again right now, I enjoyed it so much.  Only Human is a book that deserves so much more than 5 stars to really show how awesome it is; I can't recommend it highly enough.  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Diane Chandler worked first as a political lobbyist in Brussels. Then at the European Commission, where she managed overseas aid programmes in Ukraine just after the fall of communism. Ukraine became the subject for her prize-winning first novel. Diane lives in west London and is available for interviews, events and feature-writing commissions. She is the presenter of the Chiswick Buzz TV Book Club – Words With Wine in W4.

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BLOG TOUR: The Babysitter - Phoebe Morgan

On the hottest day of the year, Caroline Harvey is found dead in Suffolk. Her body is left draped over a cot – but the baby she was looking after is missing.  

Hundreds of miles away, Siobhan Dillon is on a luxurious family holiday in France when her husband, Callum, is arrested by French police on suspicion of murder.

As Siobhan’s perfect family is torn apart by the media in the nation’s frantic search for the missing baby, she desperately tries to piece together how Callum knew Caroline.

What happened that night? Was Caroline as innocent as she seemed – or was she hiding a secret of her own?

What did I think?

I love a book filled with secrets and The Babysitter is absolutely bursting at the seams with them.  There's a murder, a missing child and more secrets than you can shake a stick at, making this such a gripping and addictive book that you won't want to put down for a second.  I even felt like I didn't want to blink in case I missed something.

Ipswich is left reeling when Caroline Harvey is found dead in her apartment with no sign of her friend's baby who she was looking after.  The parents of the missing child give local TV executive Callum Dillon's name to the police and he becomes their prime suspect.  Callum is on holiday in France with his family when the police turn up to arrest him and take him back to Ipswich for questioning.  Everything points to Callum murdering Caroline then calmly jetting off on holiday, but why did he do it and what happened to the baby?

With flashbacks to before the murder and present day, The Babysitter sets a blistering pace that ensures the reader will be turning the pages as fast as possible until all of its dark and delicious secrets are revealed.  There are some amazing heart-stopping moments that left me breathless and gasping with shock but my eyes insisted on greedily devouring every single word without giving me the chance to pause.

I love the mixed media that Phoebe Morgan has included in her story; the police interview transcripts and tweets really give an extra dimension to the story making it feel very realistic.  Weirdly, I wasn't that keen on the characters but I think that's kind of the point: Callum is completely detestable and Siobhan just likes to bury her head in the sand to avoid problems with her husband and daughter.  Caroline's story is perhaps the saddest one I have ever read and I was surprised how empathetic I felt towards her.

The Babysitter is incredibly gripping and addictive with such a clever jaw-dropping plot that you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up.  Make sure you clear your schedule and find a nice quiet place to read as you won't want to be disturbed once you start The Babysitter.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




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All the Good Things - Clare Fisher

What if you did a very bad thing... but that wasn't the end of the story?

Twenty-one year old Beth is in prison. The thing she did is so bad she doesn't deserve ever to feel good again.

But her counsellor, Erika, won't give up on her. She asks Beth to make a list of all the good things in her life. So Beth starts to write down her story, from sharing silences with Foster Dad No. 1, to flirting in the Odeon on Orange Wednesdays, to the very first time she sniffed her baby's head.

But at the end of her story, Beth must confront the bad thing.

What is the truth hiding behind her crime? And does anyone - even a 100% bad person - deserve a chance to be good?

What did I think?

I've had All the Good Things on my TBR for far too long and I only picked it up by chance when I was looking for a book thin enough to fit in my bag for a long train journey.  I expected to read a handful of chapters then gaze out of the train window at the scenery whizzing by, but as soon as I picked up this book I was lost.  It's just as well the train terminated at my destination or I would have ended up somewhere completely unexpected as I turned the final page of this book.

The whole premise is breathtakingly simple as Beth, an inmate in a prison, lists all of the good things that have happened to her in her life.  Now, this might seem like an easy task to you or me, but to someone like Beth with her tragic life she has to dig a bit deeper to list her good things.  Always hovering in the background, as we read Beth's story, is the bad thing she has done.  It's not difficult to guess what it is, but as I got to know Beth, I hoped with all my heart that I was wrong.

Clare Fisher is a magnificent storyteller, creating a terribly flawed but completely believable character in Beth who I very easily began to care about.  I felt so emotionally involved in the ups and downs of Beth's story that I dreaded getting to the part that landed her in prison.  As if she could read my mind, Clare Fisher sprinkled a glimmer of hope and forgiveness into the story to help me cope with this awful but inevitable revelation.

I am completely flabbergasted that this is a debut novel; the writing is so polished and accomplished and Clare Fisher manages to make you feel everything that the main character of Beth is feeling.  It surprised me how emotional I found this book, although I didn't cry I felt as if I was experiencing all of Beth's emotions with her.  The characterisation is so multidimensional that Beth jumps from the page and she stayed with me long after I turned the final page.  All the Good Things is a completely stunning and entirely flawless debut.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Too Far - Jason Starr

One night. One date. What have you got to lose?

Jack Harper isn’t a bad man, but he’s stuck in a loveless marriage with a mediocre job just trying to keep sober. The only good thing in his life is his son. When an old college friend introduces him to a new extramarital dating website, he tentatively reaches out to find a distraction from his misery. But when he goes to meet up with his steamy online date, he quickly realises it was a dire choice.

Soon, Jack finds himself desperately trying to prove his innocence for crimes he did not commit, and the life he once had – unhappy as it was – is nothing but a dream. Now, he’s living his worst nightmare. . .

Gripping and packed with shocking twists and turns, this intense psychological thriller plays with a basic anxiety we all harbour: What if one reckless decision could ruin your life forever?

What did I think?

I wasn't sure that I was going to like Too Far from the opening pages, as the world of real estate is not something that interests me, but I'm so pleased that it didn't put me off as there's an absolutely gripping story to discover within the pages of this thrilling book.  I absolutely raced through it and, although I had some suspicions, I loved the way the story played out.  The writing is so visual that I wouldn't be surprised to see this story on our tv screens at some point.

I actually really liked the character of Jack; I felt as if he was just going through the motions of life.  Doing a job in real estate that he hates and with a marriage that is barely holding together, I don't know how he managed to stay sober.  When he meets up with an old friend whose life seems illicit and exciting, Jack doesn't see the harm in logging on to an website for married people to hook up.  He doesn't plan to register but when he gets a message from a woman who seems to be made for him, he can't resist.  The moment he inputs his credit card details, wheels are set in motion that could see him lose everything he ever held dear and there's nothing as dangerous as a man who has nothing left to lose.

I'm sure many of us have dabbled in online dating (for singles though, not married people), there really is nothing as exciting as making that connection with someone who feels just right for you.  Then you hear the horror stories of catfishing, where people pretend to be somebody they're not, and you wonder if the person you are connecting with really is too good to be true.  It's a real minefield, as Jack found out in this book, and I really loved the way the author showed the two sides of the online dating coin.

Too Far is a very current thriller in this day and age of online dating; it's a gripping, fast-paced page-turner that I thoroughly enjoyed.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Jason Starr is the international bestselling author of many crime novels and thrillers and his books have been published in over a dozen languages. Many of his books are in development for film and TV. Starr's bestselling crime novels include Cold Caller, Nothing Personal, Fake ID, Hard Feelings, Tough Luck and Twisted City, followed by Lights Out, The Follower, Panic Attack, Savage Lane and his latest novel, Too Far. He is one of only a handful of authors who have won the Anthony Award for mystery fiction multiple times. He was born in Brooklyn and lives in Manhattan.

Links:

www.noexit.co.uk

https://twitter.com/noexitpress

https://twitter.com/JasonStarrBooks

http://jasonstarr.com/

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BLOG TOUR: My Husband's Lies - Caroline England

Do you really know your friends?

On the afternoon of Nick and Lisa’s wedding, their close friend is found poised on a hotel window ledge, ready to jump.

As the shock hits their friendship group, they soon realise that none of them are being as honest with themselves – or with each other – as they think.

And there are secrets lurking that could destroy everything.

Tense, disturbing and clever, My Husband’s Lies is a breath-taking read, perfect for fans of Lucy Clarke and Erin Kelly.

What did I think?

Wow!  This book is SO good.  It's my first Caroline England book but I did buy a copy of her debut, Beneath the Skin, a little while ago; I just haven't had the chance to read it yet.  I will be remedying that shortly if My Husband's Lies is anything to go by.  One thing I would say before reading it is to write down the names of the characters as the four couples are introduced in quick succession so it would be easy to forget who was who.

There is a 'blip' on Nick and Lisa's wedding day in the form of one of their guests balanced precariously on a window ledge.  I felt like I was in a cartoon as my eyes popped out of my head - what a cracking start.  As we find out more about this group of friends, we can perhaps make sense of the window ledge scene but there is more to this story than first meets the eye.

Dan, Will, Nick and Jen are friends from school who have stuck together through the years as part of the renowned A Team.  Boy, do they have some secrets between them and we get to examine their lives through a microscope thanks to the fantastic story created by Caroline England.  Jen was always the honorary boy of the group but as they grew up and each of the boys fell in love with her, one of them captured her heart.  That's all over now that Jen is happily married, isn't it?  Dan is about to become a father but he feels an attraction that he can't resist and it isn't his partner, Geri, who is causing his heart to race.  After a throw away comment at his wedding, Nick uncovers a family secret that could become an obsession and destroy his marriage to Lisa before it even begins.  Will, in my opinion, is the linchpin of the group but a job offer could see him jetting off to the Caribbean and fracturing the A-Team as we know and love it...or is there a threat to the group from another source?  This is the point where you would hear the dramatic drum beats of the Eastenders theme tune.

My Husband's Lies is a soap opera in a book.  At first I thought it was like Friends but then it became apparent that so much drama likened it to Cold Feet with the almost 'who shot JR' tension of Dallas.  I was surprisingly emotional towards the end as I had come to think of the group as my own friends and I was quite tearful at the thought of the group being split by the Atlantic Ocean.  Then BOOM! Caroline England played her ace and I gasped out loud and sat open mouthed as I read the final scenes.  If this had been a play, I would have stood and applauded whilst exclaiming 'bravo'!

Dark, gripping and utterly, utterly compelling you will struggle to tear your eyes away from the pages of My Husband's Lies.  With a few husbands to choose from, which one is lying?  Or is it all of them?  An absolutely brilliant book; I was captivated from first page to last.

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

My rating:

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