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The Widow's Vow by Rachel Brimble #Review #PublicationDay

  Today's historical fiction takes us to Victorian England and Bath. Published by Boldwood  today on December 16th, A Widow's Vow is the first in the Ladies of Carson Street saga series by Rachel Brimble.   From grieving widow... 1851. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling. To a new life as a madam. Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she'll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she's determined to spare the girls she sa...

Bone by Bone by Sanjida Kay

Bone by Bone is a psychological thriller which succeeds in creating a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere. It is centred on a mother and daughter, Laura and Autumn who have recently moved to Bristol. Autumn is the victim of bullying by an older boy at the school. In trying to intervene, Laura sets off a chain of events which turns the whole community, children, adults and the establishment against her and isolates Laura further. 

    It is easy to empathise with Laura and Autumn and we are given events from both their perspectives, alternatively. As the suspense is built up, we see Laura becoming cut off from all the usual safety nets until she seems to have no one there to support her. Just as her daughter is bullied by the other children, we see her being bullied by the adults around her. 

    The novel is written in a realistic style which draws the reader in to the situation. The climax of the story stretches the tension to breaking point. In all, I found this debut novel eminently readable, a real page turner in fact.

In short: a dark thriller set in an everyday situation. 

I received a copy of the book in advance of publication by the publishers,Corvus,  in exchange for an honest review. 

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