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'Tis the (damn) Season by Fiona Gibson #Review

  Festive reads continue with Fiona Gibson's 'Tis the (damn) Season, published by Boldwood Books.   This year, their families can deck the bloody halls themselves... Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape: the fiance with the obnoxious family; the son’s new girlfriend who is taking over their home; the family who take their mother for granted all year round… Will the friends make it home before Christmas day? And if they do, can they really go back to their old lives?
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Do No Harm by Lucy V Hay ** Blog Tour Review**


 What a delight it is to take my turn on the Orenda blog tour to celebrate Lucy V Hay's latest novel. I thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel, The Other Twin, and to give you a flavour of Do No Harm, it is described as 

'Fatal Attraction for the modern age.'.


 

If I can’t have you … nobody can


After leaving her marriage to jealous, possessive oncologist Maxwell, Lily and her six-year-old son have a second chance at happiness with headteacher Sebastian. Kind but vulnerable, Sebastian is the polar opposite of Maxwell, and the perfect match for Lily. After a whirlwind romance, they marry, and that’s when things start to go wrong…

Maxwell returns to the scene, determined to win back his family, and events soon spiral out of control. Lily and Sebastian find themselves not only fighting for their relationship, but also their lives… 

Chilling, dark and terrifying, Do No Harm is a taut psychological thriller and a study of obsession, with a killer twist that you will never see coming.

My Thoughts

When I started this novel, I knew that I was in for a good read if Lucy's debut thriller was anything to go by, but I wasn't quite prepared for how many twists and turns there would be in the book. It seems deceptively simple at the beginning but chapter by chapter, my theories about what was going on multiplied.  It all makes for a satisfying story with a killer surprise at the end. 

    There are three voices in the story: Lily's, told in the first person, Sebastian's in the third person and a mysterious third voice, who drops in clues and red herrings as to what is afoot. I like the way the complicated and ultimately suspenseful story is set against such an ordinary slice of Middle England, with its school events and suburban parks. It feels as if it could happen to anyone. 

In short: a psychological thriller which will stretch your nerves to the end.
 
About the Author


Lucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers via her Bang2write consultancy. She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin (2015), both starring Danny Dyer. Lucy is also head reader for the London Screenwriters' Festival and has written two non-fiction books, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays, plus its follow-up Drama Screenplays. Her critically acclaimed debut thriller The Other Twin was published in 2017. She lives in Devon with her husband, three children, six cats and five African Land Snails.  

You can follow Lucy here:  Website     |  Twitter  |  Facebook
                                          |  Goodreads

Book link: Amazon UK 

Thanks to Lucy V Hay, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 
Catch up with the rest of the tour!

 
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