July 25

Now You See Her – Heidi Perks

Charlotte is looking after her best friend’s daughter the day she disappears. She thought the little girl was playing with her own children. She swears she only took her eyes off them for a second.

Now, Charlotte must do the unthinkable: tell her best friend Harriet that her only child is missing. The child she was meant to be watching.

Devastated, Harriet can no longer bear to see Charlotte. No one could expect her to trust her friend again.
Only now she needs to. Because two weeks later Harriet and Charlotte are both being questioned separately by the police. And secrets are about to surface.

Someone is hiding the truth about what really happened to Alice.

 

My thanks to Rachel at Penguin RandomHouse for my review copy and the chance to join the tour.

 

As a parent of young children I do find that stories about missing kids will raise my anxiety levels. Therefore reading Now You See Her caused some discomfort as I shared the anguish of a family learning that their daughter has disappeared from the school fete.

The subsequent police investigation into events leading up to the incident and the story of the two families at the heart of the book is skillfully crafted by Heidi Perks to put the reader through emotional turmoil.

Using a then/now narrative the reader is taken into the homes of Harriet and Charlotte and the curtain is lifted on their lives so we can all see the unspoken truths which have been kept off radar.

The tricky part of reviewing this book is that to discuss or reveal too much of his the story unfolds just means a review becomes a spoiler. That’s not happening here.  Suffice to say that Now You See Her is a slick domestic thriller, part police investigation, which will delight fans of unsettling family dramas.

 

Now You See Her is available in digital and paperback format – you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-You-See-Her-compulsive-ebook/dp/B076VWD8SF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532456580&sr=8-1&keywords=heidi+perks

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September 1

Beyond The Sea – Melissa Bailey

Beyond The SeaOne summer’s day, Freya’s husband and son vanish at sea.

A year on, and struggling to cope, Freya returns to the lighthouse-keeper’s cottage on a remote Hebridean island, where she and her family spent so many happy times.

Haunted by visions of her old life, Freya’s dreams are dark and disturbed. And when a stranger, Daniel, is washed ashore during a storm, they turn even more menacing.

As dream and reality start to merge, Daniel seems to be following Freya’s every move. What does he want from her and is he everything he seems to be?

Is her mind playing tricks? Or is the danger that she senses very real?

 

Beyond The Sea is a tale of loss set in one of the remotest outreaches of the wilds of Scotland. It will transport the reader to a beautiful wilderness where lead character, Freya, is on a personal journey to rebuild her life after the loss of her husband and son 12 months earlier.

Freya’s family were lost at sea off the Hebridean coast, she has not returned to the family home since her husband’s boat failed to return from a trip out on the ocean. We are quickly made aware that Freya has not coped well with her grief and has relied heavily upon her sister in the intervening months. Now, one year on, she is facing the ghosts of her past and coming home.

‘Home’ is amongst the remote Hebridean Islands off the Scottish coast. Melissa Bailey portrays the beautiful isolation and the closeness of the island communities wonderfully. It is impossible not to feel for Freya as she ventures back into the life she once embraced and see how friends respond to her return.

But there is a depth to Beyond The Sea which brings through the sense of history and location. Stories within stories – there are tales of the sea, legends of the area, history of lighthouses and the letters of a sailor which have been recovered after over 400 years and are interspersed through the book. I loved the myths and legends that Melissa Bailey has interwoven into Freya’s story and, despite my desire to find out what was happening to Freya, I also wanted more of the folklore – an extra treat as I read.

I am always keen to ensure I avoid spoilers so I cannot share too much about how Beyond The Sea plays out. Suffice to say I found the story captivating, tragic and fascinating – an enriching read and one that I highly recommend.

 

Beyond The Sea is published by Arrow and is available in paperback and digital format.
You can order the book through Amazon here:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099584956?keywords=beyond%20the%20sea%20melissa%20bailey&qid=1440970840&ref_=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1&s=books&sr=1-1

Also available from Waterstones here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/beyond-the-sea/melissa-bailey/9780099584957

 

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