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Best Mistake Ever by Christy McKellen

  This is a new to me author but I am delighted to feature on the celebrations for the latest novel by Christy McKellen , Best Mistake Ever . It was published by Boldwood on 16th January. Some mistakes are worth making Beatrice Donovan would do anything for her identical twin sister. Including stepping into her hotel management job temporarily and pretending to be her - she’s desperate. What could go wrong? A lot apparently! Because her sister Delilah has hugely understated her role – the hotel is at risk of closure and she’s promised she can turn it around. Now Bea has to find a way to fly under the radar, get the job done before anyone notices their switch up. Sounds easy, all Bea has to do is avoid her temporary new boss Jonah. However, that’s a lot harder than she thought. Not only does he have impossibly high standards, he’s also out of this world gorgeous, an ex-rockstar with a chip on his shoulder and he's watching her like a hawk! So Bea uses her charm to keep him fo...
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Keep her Sweet by Helen Fitzgerald #Review #Giveaway

 

Keep Her Sweet  by Helen Fitzgerald is published by Orenda Books on 26th May. I am delighted to be able to participate in the blog tour to celebrate its launch and to offer a great Giveaway- a print copy of the book.  

 Desperate to enjoy their empty nest, Penny and Andeep downsize to the countryside, to forage, upcycle and fall in love again, only to be joined by their two twenty-something daughters, Asha and Camille.

Living on top of each other in a tiny house, with no way to make money, tensions simmer, and as Penny and Andeep focus increasingly on themselves, the girls become isolated, argumentative and violent.

When Asha injures Camille, a family therapist is called in, but she shrugs off the escalating violence between the sisters as a classic case of sibling rivalry … and the stress of the family move. 

But this is not sibling rivalry. The sisters are in far too deep for that.

This is a murder, just waiting to happen…

Chilling, vicious and darkly funny, Keep Her Sweet is not just a tense, sinister psychological thriller, but a startling look at sister relationships and they bonds they share … or shatter.

My Thoughts

 I hesitate to describe this novel as domestic noir, although really I suppose it is, centred as it is on family life. It is just that the families you meet are so dysfunctional, you cannot really say they operate as a family. Told from different perspectives, it has a disjointed and at times confusing feel. The family at the heart of the story consists of Mum, Dad and two daughters. You follow events through the perspectives of Mum and Second-born (Camille) and their family therapist, Joy.  Of these, Camille speaks in the first person.  For the first half of the story, you feel her pain at the hands of her older sister, Asha. Then, events get decidedly sinister.

    You also realise that Joy's own family life is not without challenges which gives her insight into the family's problems. There is dark humour in the story but also disturbing and violent moments. Written in a wholly individual style, it can shock and surprise.  There are also some interesting themes which underpin the story: parenting and sibling dynamics, a rather strange religious fervour and drug taking. At first much of the violence is passive aggressive but be warned, as the story evolves, it becomes anything but!

In short: destructive family dynamics push you to the edge...  

About the Author


Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in both The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.

You can read my review of Worst Case Scenario here.  | Ash Wednesday here
 

You can follow Helen here: Website  |  Twitter

 Book links: Amazon UK 
 
Thanks to Helen Fitzgerald, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books  for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

Check up on the rest of the tour!


Giveaway (UK only)



To win a print copy of Keep Her Sweet, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

 Closing Date is May 18th 2022 and there is one winner.
*Terms and Conditions –UK only.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

 

 

 

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