The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh #Review
A woman with a dark past...
Helen Appleby just wants a quiet life. Recently released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner, she's trying to forget her past mistakes – all of them - to rebuild her life and move on.
When she decides to open a bookshop, she’s certain this is the perfect new start. Here, amongst the quiet shelves of her shop and between the covers of her books, she can hide away from the real world and begin again. The world of books the perfect place to find happiness - even if it is all lies.
But the past can never stay hidden…
As she settles into life as an apparently timid bookseller, it seems that someone is determined to sabotage Helen's new life and ruin everything she's built.
But Helen has killed once before. And to protect her future, she could be willing to kill again...
Don't miss another page-turning, nail-biting read from the queen of psychological thrillers, Valerie Keogh! Perfect for fans of J.A. Baker, Keri Beevis and Nina Manning.
My Thoughts
Every so often I like to read a psychological thriller and with this title, I had to plunge in. In fact, Helen's new job as a Bookseller and her Book Shop dominates the story. The creaks and bangs in the building add to the atmosphere and the shop offers her the chance of a new future with a sense of menace lurking in the background.
There is a variety of characters who either help or hinder Helen in setting up her new venture. Her probation officer seems to have a malevolence that she cannot understand and she see-saws between acting like a best friend and being ultra officious. Helen senses that she could be going back to prison if she does not toe the line. There are reminders of Helen's previous life in the house she returns to and we know from her thoughts that she can still have murderous and paranoid thoughts.
In setting up the shop, Helen meets different customers who all seem difficult to deal with. You are left double guessing on their motivation as well as that of the brothers who live next door. Lastly Helen has a complicated relationship with her sister who reminds her of her difficult childhood yet who on the surface seems genuinely to want to help her to settle into a new life.
This is a story full of unreliable characters which keeps you on edge and second guessing everyone. If you want a tense read with all the action taking place in the mind, this is the one.
In short: edgy reading in a domestic setting
About the Author
Valerie Keogh is the best-selling author of The Nurse. She lives in Wiltshire with her husband and a huge black cat, Fatty Arbuckle. She grew up reading Agatha Christie and initially wrote crime novels - she now writes psychological thrillers.
The Little Lies was shortlisted for the Crime Fiction Lovers Award 2021
Valerie has a BA in English and an MA in American Literature.
She is currently published with Boldwood Books.
You can follow Valerie here:
Facebook: @valeriekeoghnovels
Twitter: @ValerieKeogh1
Instagram: @ValerieKeogh2
Thanks toValerie Keogh, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
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