#Blogtour All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour All That’s Left unsaid by Tracey Lien.

About the Author

Tracey Lien was born and raised in southwestern Sydney, Australia. She earned her MFA at the University of Kansas and was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. All That’s Left Unsaid is her first novel.

About the book

They claim they saw nothing. She knows they’re lying. 1996 – Cabramatta, Sydney ‘Just let him go.’

Those are words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny – optimistic, guileless Denny – is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, and an indifferent police force.

Returning home for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by her brother’s case. Even though several people were present at Denny’s murder, each bystander claims to have seen nothing, and they are all staying silent.

Determined to uncover the truth, Ky tracks down and questions the witnesses herself. But what she learns goes beyond what happened that fateful night. The silence has always been there, threaded through the generations, and Ky begins to expose the complex traumas weighing on those present the night Denny died. As she peels back the layers of the place that shaped her, she must confront more than the reasons her brother is dead. And once those truths have finally been spoken, how can any of them move on?

Review

Ky doesn’t realise her advice to give her baby brother a little freedom ultimately ends up being one of a few elements that leads to his death. Coping with his tragic death is one thing but trying to understand why the people who watched it happen are unwilling to help bring his killer to justice, is quite another. She can’t let it go.

It’s a spectacular read – nuanced and layered. When you strip away everything and are left with just the crime there is the bystander effect, the string of decisions and coincidences that lead to the event, and the emotional minefield and destruction that is left behind after a violent death.

What surrounds the event is a poignant blueprint of life as a refugee in a society that relegates you to the bottom step, because of race and heritage. The magnitude of the impact of generational trauma and PTSD on those who have lived through it, and the children born to those who have experienced it.

Those experiences determine self-imposed rules, fears, anxiety and in this case even the look away and accept the fate or hand you have been dealt with by life attitude.

I enjoyed the story surrounding the core, and to be fair the actual death is probably the least important element of the premise, which is tragic in itself. A riveting read.

Buy All That’s Left Unsaid at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher‏: ‎HQ pub date 15 Sept. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Harper Collins.

#Blogtour Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

 It’s my turn on the Blogtour Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda.

About the Author

Riku Onda, born in 1964, has been writing fiction since 1991 and has published prolifically since. She has won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, the Japan Booksellers’ Award, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize and the Naoki Prize. Her work has been adapted for film and television.

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight follows on from the success of The Aosawa Murders and is her second work to be translated into English.

About the Translator: Alison Watts is an Australian-born Japanese to English translator and long time resident of Japan. She has wrote the translation of The Aosawa Murders, Aya Goda’s TAO: On the Road and On the Run In Outlaw China and of Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa.

About the book

Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro have decided to be together one last time in their shared flat before parting. Their relationship has broken down after a mountain trek during which their guide died inexplicably. Now each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. 

Who is the murderer and what really happened on the mountain? In the battle of wills between them, the chain of events leading up to this night are gradually revealed in a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end.

Review

The story is set in a flat in Tokyo – a young couple removing all traces of their time their as they prepare to move on as individuals. Aki and Hiro have a complicated bond, one that was once strong and has become brittle and is now broken. 

The events leading to the demise of their relationship seem to be tethered to a trip they took together. A simple mountain trek that has left them both deeply suspicious of each other. The events of that day occur in moments of flashback, memories that are jarred from the deep recesses of their minds, and sudden realisations that perhaps they both never knew the other at all.

Onda has a remarkable talent for creating a captivating read by setting the scene with the bare minimal. Just two people, their heightened emotions, their suspicions, and their strong bond. A bond that takes on a destructive nature – possibly a lethal one.

I find the way this author plots quite fascinating. Giving readers an inch then retreating back into the circle of safety. Is this a goodbye with closure, one where they retain fond memories and part as friends, or will this end with just one of them closing the front door behind them. It’s a short and poignant read.

Buy Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Bitter Lemon Press pub date 16 Jun. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bitter Lemon Press.

#BlogTour The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan.

About the Author

Internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed writer Dervla McTiernan burst onto the writing scene with The Ruin, her crime debut set in Ireland. The Ruin is the first in the detective Cormac Reilly series and has been published in the United States, the UK and Ireland and in New Zealand and Australia, where it was a top ten bestseller.

Dervla spent twelve years working as a lawyer. Following the global financial crisis, she moved to Australia and turned her hand to writing. An avid fan of crime and detective novels from childhood, Dervla wrote a short story, The Roommate, which was shortlisted for the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Competition. She went on to write The Ruin, and a string of other bestsellers. Dervla is a member of the Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers Association, and lives in Perth, Australia, with her husband and two children. Follow @DervlaMcTiernan on Twitter

About the book

First Rule: Make them like you. Second Rule: Make them need you. Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system. They think I’m working hard to impress them. They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row. They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.

Review

There are a few great topics for discussion woven into this psychological thriller. The fact a flawed system still imprisons too many people who are innocent of the crimes they have been convicted of. Decades, life sentences ( I just want to point out that life only means a fraction – fifteen years sometimes) in certain countries, and the death sentence. Imagine spending decades in prison and being completely innocent.

The plot has an Innocence Project at the core. Legal experts, volunteers and loved ones of the incarcerated dedicated to picking individuals with cases layered with the distinct smell of wrongful conviction. Hannah has forcefully wrangled herself into this particular project. She has an agenda, not exactly one that is in line with the organisation in question. How far will she go to execute her plan?

It is a well plotted and written riveting psychological thriller with a legal angle. I’m going to stay tight lipped on a certain aspect that shows itself fairly early on and comes to a nice wicked conclusion at the end. It’s the kind of read that keeps you captivated from the start.

Buy The Murder Rule at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; 12th May 2022 | Hardback | Ebook | Audio | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Harper Collins.

#BlogTour Who’s Lying Now? by Susan Lewis

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Who’s Lying Now? by Susan Lewis.

About the Author

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime, including I Have Something To Tell You, One Minute Later, My Lies, Your Lies and Forgive Me. Susan’s novels have sold over three million copies in the UK alone. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. 

Susan has previously worked as a secretary in news and current affairs before training as a production assistant working on light entertainment and drama. She’s lived in Hollywood and the South of France, but now resides in Gloucestershire with husband James, two stepsons and dog, Mimi. Follow @susanlewisbooks on Twitter

About the book

You think you’re safe. You think you know your neighbours. But can you ever really know who’s telling the truth?

Jeannie Symonds is a force to be reckoned with – an eccentric, award-winning publisher, spending lockdown with her husband in a house near Kesterly-on-Sea. She seems to have it all: a high-flying career, a happy marriage, a niece she adores. – And then one day, she vanishes.

Cara Jakes is a new trainee investigator – young, intelligent and eager to prove herself. When she teams up with detective Andee Lawrence to look into the disappearance, she is determined to find out what has really happened to Jeannie. Cara begins to question the residents of this close-knit community, sure that someone has a secret to hide. – But how can she separate the truth from the lies?

Review

It’s a dark domestic psychological thriller with the cosy contemporary feel of a romance or chic-lit – a very interesting vibe. Think Midsomer Murder, but without the police as main characters and all the characters have skin in the game. Then to make things a little bit more interesting the story moves from past, present, recent past – before, after and during the event.

Jeannie Symonds has it all, husband, house, career and yet her eye likes to roam and she has also made plenty of enemies on her path of success and wealth. Enough enemies for someone to make her disappear perhaps? Or has she just taken herself off for a bit of me-time.

I enjoyed the way this sort of swayed from one end of the genre spectrum to the other, especially from a style perspective. Gossipy Dynasty like relationships with complex familial structures, interrogation and interview techniques that jump from Christie clue solving to methodical calculated moves, only to be thrown off by the erratic choices of certain characters.

Gotta say though, there is this bit at the end in the last few pages. Hmm it had me doubting the entire plot and solution – was that the intention? Just throw a red herring and see if it lands in the frying pan? Or is there more to come. Lewis can be just a tad wicked.

Buy Who’s Lying? Now at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HarperCollins pub date 14 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.

#BlogTour The Quiet People by Paul Cleave

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Quiet People by Paul Cleave.

About the Author

Paul is an award-winning author who divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where most of his novels are set, and Europe. He has won the New Zealand Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur book festival’s crime novel of the year award in France, and has been shortlisted for the Edgar and the Barry in the US and the Ned Kelly in Australia. 

His books have been translated into over twenty languages. He’s thrown his frisbee in over forty countries, plays tennis badly, golf even worse, and has two cats – which is often two too many.

Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulCleave, and his website: paulcleave.com.

About the book

Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are successful New Zealand crime writers, happily married and topping bestseller lists worldwide. They have been on the promotional circuit for years, joking that no one knows how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living.

So when their challenging seven-year-old son Zach disappears, the police and the public naturally wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been saying all this time… Are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?

Multi-award winning bestseller Paul Cleave returns with an electrifying and chilling thriller about family, public outrage and what a person might be capable of under pressure, that will keep you guessing until the final page…

Review

The plot is tragically cynical in a way. The parents and their need for success becomes an Achilles heel in the disappearance of their young son. Who better to plan the abduction and possible murder of a victim than two people who seem to be experts at plotting crimes?

The suspicion that falls quite quickly on the parents mirrors a similar well known crime. The public are more invested in pointing the finger and shaming them than in the truth. The victim becomes almost secondary to the media frenzy and investigation that ensues.

It’s a dark psychological thriller. The author doesn’t mind crossing the boundaries and making readers feel uncomfortable, surprised and perhaps in part playing up to the kind of fears that lurk below the surface. It’s one thing to throw something outrageous into the general atmosphere, but in reality we don’t rally want certain things to come to fruition.

It’s a tense read with plenty of relatable moments, especially when it comes to parenting and the fears we have for our vulnerable children, but the most frightening thing is when some of those fears come true.

Buy The Quiet People at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books; pub date 25 November 2021 |  Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. At Orenda Books.

#BlogTour Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver

It’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver. It’s a dark read and a cracking one.

About the Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his  sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Will’s latest title published by Orenda Books,

The Beresford was published in July. His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts. Follow @will_carver on Twitter

About the book

When AA meetings make her want to drink more, alcoholic murderess Maeve sets up a group for psychopaths. Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: a functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men.

When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve.

Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control. She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group. But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…

Review

What’s not to enjoy about the refreshing honesty with which Maeve goes about her daily life. The automatic and expected boxes are ticked to keep up appearances, but what happens when the small moments of truth and pleasure threaten to interfere with the way she runs her life. Can she sustain any kind of long-term relationship or friendship without being swallowed up by the darkness she likes to cater to.

I think I enjoyed this book for all the wrong reasons. At the top of that list is the fact the author peels back the layers of the shallow exteriors and presents a very real reality. In fact I wonder what would or will happen if psychopathic or sociopathic traits become an acceptable part of society? 

Next on the list, and I have mentioned this in a review of a book written by a recovering alcoholic who swallowed the scheme whole and shouted it out to the world, is the way Carver takes AA to task. It doesn’t work, and the statistics are very interesting. It divides the addicted into categories, some of which are set-up to fail like some self-fulfilling prophecy. Not because of the addiction per se, but because of the way it is infused with a cult like dependency on a reverence to religion and God. 

Clearly only the door reading you must accept God and faith into your heart or fail automatically, means everyone who steps through another door is on a fast path to failure. It also means blame and guilt for loss of sobriety has an automatic perpetrator, as opposed to having personal accountability or looking at the cause and not the symptom.

And the third point is the logistical aspect of certain victimology, which should probably raise alarm bells about the writer, if I were so inclined, but I’m not. (My next FoM meeting is coming Wednesday at six pm – just saying.) 

If Friends of Maeve groups start to pop up everywhere we all know whose door to knock on, right? Talk about giving people ideas and some direction in their lives. Trust Carver to create the kind of book that people will probably either feel uncomfortable about or not admit to liking it for being a bit more than a crime read. I loved it. It’s deliciously dark. It lacks any kind of societal norm or boundary. Most importantly it speaks softly to the dark side – they might not acknowledge it, but they are listening. It’s a superb read.

Buy Psychopaths Anonymous at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Orenda Books pub date 25 Nov. 2021. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orendabooks.

#BlogTour Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

 It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger.

About the Author

Lisa Unger is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author. With books published in thirty languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her latest novel is Last Girl Ghosted.

Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Hammett Prize, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. 

In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family. Follow @lisaunger on Twitter, Visit lisaunger.com

About the book

Think twice before you swipe. – She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love? But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn’t that always what women think—that they’re the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she’s looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she’s not sure whether she’s the predator—or the prey. 

Review

Wren knows she is lucky to have found someone and have such a strong connection with them. Navigating the dating world is a an empty endeavour when it comes to finding true relationships with depth. Everything seems to be on track until one day her love disappears mysteriously without a trace.

Unger creates a dark psychological thriller that shines a light on the new era of engaging, meeting and dating people. Gone are the days where face-to-face was the basis from which the rest grew – or not. Nowadays instant gratification, shallow unrealistic online data and photos are the baseline by which people judge and choose.

It’s a world that allows for the complete annihilation of confidence and self-worth, it’s also the dubious world of the unknown variable. The possible threat that could be lurking in plain sight. The question is how do you identify it? It’s also the world that has eradicated any kind of polite conversation, gesture or honesty. Instead of a quick you’re not my type, there is just nada. Ghosting is the new tactic to signal lack of interest.

The plot is drawn around the this new world and quickly devolves into something darker and more twisted.

Buy Last Girl Ghosted at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HQ Digital; pub date 5 Oct. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour A Good Liar by Amanda Brooke

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Good Liar by Amanda Brooke.

About the Author

Amanda Brooke published her first novel in her mid-forties, having turned to writing as a way of coping with the death of her young son. Her first novel, Yesterday’s Sun, was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, and in the last decade she has continued to write bestselling books with a strong emotional theme and an element of psychological suspense. Follow @AmandaBrookeAB on Twitter, Visit amanda-brooke.com

About the book

When a fire destroys the Empress Theatre, a devastating tragedy unfolds. Amelia’s mother lost her peace of mind forever when she left her daughter alone for a few life-changing moments. The dance school lost their beloved teacher, Hilary, who died saving the lives of her young pupils. Karin lost her memory, and the answers she desperately craves. Claudia lost the one thing that would have made her perfect life complete. 

As local reporter Leanne picks over the embers of that night, what seemed like a straightforward case of negligence becomes something else entirely: somebody is lying – each person has lost something, but one of them has sold their soul…

Review

Leanne has an emotional attachment to the newspaper article she is researching. The first anniversary of a terrible tragedy is quickly approaching and she wants the guilty to be punished. Her editor would rather she concentrate on a mysterious woman who saved a child in the tragedy – was it the last thing she did before being killed?

It’s a tightly paced investigative thriller which is seeped in strong emotions. Trauma, guilt, fear and relief are jumbled together for the people involved, and of course in Leanne’s case there is also a good portion of anger and frustration. The guilt is divided into survivor’s guilt, guilt at perhaps not reacting to the situation in the best way.

I think that aspect of the story is done quite well. None of us know how we will react in an emergency situation, especially in a catastrophe of this magnitude, not until we actually experience it. From a simple traffic accident to a more severe incident, you won’t know if you will be the calm collected, the blithering hysteric or the frozen type. There is nothing wrong with any of those reactions, because the body tends to react before the brain has a chance to register. Sometimes you do something instinctively, much like Amelia’s stranger in the chaos, and manage to save a life.

I really enjoyed it. Brooke manages to draw from a variety of horror scenarios, extract the multiple layers of human reaction and create a compelling story. It’s emotional, honest and a cracking read.

Buy A Good Liar at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; pub date 5th August 2021, Paperback Original, £7.99 – 27th May 2021, Ebook £3.99 and Audio £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Players by Darren O’Sullivan

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Players by Darren O’Sullivan.

About the Author

Darren O’Sullivan is the author of psychological thrillers, Our Little Secret, Close Your Eyes and Closer Than You Thin. He is a graduate f the Faber Academy and his debut novel, Our Little Secret, was a bestseller in four countries. He lives in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire where his days are spent either behind his laptop writing, in front of a group of actors directing theatre or rolling around pretending to be a dinosaur with his young son.

Follow @darrensully on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Amazon,

About the book

In this game it’s kill or be killed. A stranger has you cornered. They call themselves The Host. You are forced to play their game. In it one person can live and the other must die.

You are the next player. You have a choice to make. This is a game where nobody wins…

Review

This is the evolution of anonymity on the net. The sad thing is the majority will bay for blood and engage, especially if it isn’t their life on the line. Fight club – the non-voluntary kind. Pitted against each other, what do you do? Do you commit the heinous to save many or keep your morality and send everyone to their graves.

Someone is playing an evil, murderous game with innocent people. Watching them destroy each other on command of a completely anonymous stranger. What is the endgame here? How many people have to die?

How quick people are to give up all their power, especially if someone or something they love is threatened. How fast they are willing to cross the boundaries and ignore their impulse control. What would you do? 

It’s dark. Of course it is – it’s O’Sullivan. I think he enjoys putting the worst of us on paper. Thinking up the kind of scenarios that will force readers to think about the choices they would make if they ended up in these twisted scenarios. The truth is everyone is capable, it just depends on the circumstance.

Temptation or pressure, life or death, regardless of who you are there will always be the moment when you have to make a choice. Do you kill, be killed or do you make a decision the host least expects? It’s a read that teeters on the edge of insanity and control. Like I said it’s an O’Sullivan.

Buy The Players at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : HQ pub date 13 May 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Source by Sarah Sultoon

It really is a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for The Source by Sarah Sultoon. 

‘A hugely anticipated debut thriller from former CNN international news executive Sarah Sultoon. Inspired by Sarah’s own time in the newsroom, The Source follows a young TV journalist who is forced to revisit her past when she’s thrust into a sex-trafficking investigation in her hometown. TV rights have already been sold to Lime Pictures, with Jo Spain writing the screenplay.’

About the Author

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs.

As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television. When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if…

Follow @SultoonSarah on Twitter

About the book

1996. Essex. Thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Carly lives in a disenfranchised town dominated by a military base, struggling to care for her baby sister while her mum sleeps off another binge. When her squaddie brother brings food and treats, and offers an exclusive invitation to army parties, things start to look a little less bleak…

2006. London. Junior TV newsroom journalist Marie has spent six months exposing a gang of sex traffickers, but everything is derailed when New Scotland Yard announces the re-opening of Operation Andromeda, the notorious investigation into allegations of sex abuse at an army base a decade earlier.

As the lives of these two characters intertwine around a single, defining event, a series of utterly chilling experiences is revealed, sparking a nail-biting race to find the truth… and justice.

A tense, startling and unforgettable thriller, The Source is a story about survival, about hopes and dreams, about power, abuse and resilience.

Review

Carly is a thirteen-year-old who has become the substitute mommy to her baby sister, because her mother is a lush and her older brother doesn’t care enough to help. He is too invested in his military career, to the point of being willing to do anything to keep his position.

Carly, who is overwhelmed and vulnerable, is slowly drawn into situations that seem innocent on the surface and yet are far more insidious than she realises. All Carly really cares about is keeping her sister alive and safe, which is her Achilles heel.

In the present we meet journalist Marie, who has spent a lot of time investigating a sex trafficking ring. The two characters have more in common than they realise. One driven by trauma and fear, and the other by the need to save victims.

I am always cautious when a book gets a lot of hype and I like to find out for myself if it lives up to it – well it does and did. It’s a cracking read. As readers pivot from past to present and back, from Marie and Carly and back again, you just can’t help but become invested in their stories.

It’s simultaneously a deeply disturbing image of our society, how the vulnerable are targeted and become invisible victims. Their perpetrators hide in plain sight and are often never brought to justice. Unfortunately this story isn’t fiction drawn out of thin air – for the majority it is truth and features one of the most despicable, prevalent and profitable crimes the modern world faces.

Kudos to Sultoon for the absolutely engaging, heart wrenching and brutally honest read.

Buy The Source at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda: pub date 15 April 2021. Paperback Original – £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orenda.