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Love Lies and Family Ties by Florence Keeling #Review

  Today I am featuring Love, Lies and Family Ties  by Florence Keelin.  Some years ago, I was lucky enough to feature Florence Keeling on my blog and you can read her answers to my questions here . A heartwarming, feel good romantic comedy. ‘I absolutely adored this book. It gave me all the feels! A charming read full of warmth and heart.’ ***** Kim the Bookworm   Bea Winters is in desperate need of a fresh start. Being bullied at work is not her idea of fun and she longs to follow her dream of becoming a published author. When an advert appears in her local paper to work in a publishing house in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale, it sounds too good to be true. She strikes up an instant friendship with gorgeous aspiring author, Eddie Richards and her dashing millionaire boss Scott Summers. But all isn’t as it seems in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale. How does the local clairvoyant know her name? Who does the little black dog that keeps appearing belong to a...

Hands Up by Stephen Clark #Review

Following on from the recent Meet the Author post featuring Stephen Clark, I am delighted to be reviewing his recently published novel, Hands UpHands Up was published  on September 28th 2019 by WiDo Publishing.

Hands Up follows three protagonists from different worlds who are on a collision course after a deadly police shooting spins their lives into chaos. 

Officer Ryan Quinn, a rookie raised in a family of cops, is on the fast track to detective until he fatally shoots an unarmed black teen. Now, with his career, reputation and freedom on the line, he embarks on a quest for redemption that forces him to confront his fears and biases, and choose between conscience or silence.

Jake Wakefield, an emotionally damaged college student who lives in one of the city's worst neighborhoods, knows the chances of getting an indictment against the cop who killed her brother are slim. But when she learns there's more to the story than the official police account, she grows determined, even desperate, to find out what really happened and get revenge by any means necessary.

Kelly Randolph, who returns to his hometown broke and broken after abandoning his family 10 years earlier, seeks forgiveness while mourning the death of his son. But after he's thrust into the spotlight as the face of the protest movement, his disavowed criminal past resurfaces and threatens to derail the family's pursuit of justice.  

My Thoughts

The most striking part of this crime thriller is its structure. It alternates between the different protagonists but only one is told through the first person. Ryan, the rookie policeman who is accused of shooting an unarmed, black teenager who has been pulled over for a traffic offence, is at the centre of a complicated web of relationships. You realise early on, that he has unresolved issues from his past which he has to face up to. Racial stereotyping, racism, police corruption, gang culture are all in the mix, as are more personal feelings around abandonment, grief and loss. Social issues and self harm are also highlighted. 

    You are introduced to life in Philadelphia which seems to divide down racial lines. Deprivation and loss characterise some people's lives. As the characters' stories become linked, you are not quite sure who is going to emerge from the investigations unscathed. Of course, the answer is most probably no one! Written in a clear style, the characters are well drawn and credible. 

In short: different worlds collide 


About the Author

Stephen Clark is a former award-winning journalist who served as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and as a politics editor for the Washington, D.C. bureau of FoxNews.com. Stephen grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and now lives in North Jersey with his wife and two kids.

You can follow Stephen here:  Twitter  |  Website  |  Facebook 

Book links: Amazon UK   |  Amazon US |  Goodreads

Thanks to Stephen for a copy of the book.


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