Beneath the Fear by Sheila Rawlings #BlogTour

 

"Sam, what's the matter?" I pushed him away, urgently pointing towards the cliff top. My heart was now pounding. As panic consumed me, I began to struggle for breath.

"Up there... there's a man... up there. He keeps following me. I swear... he looks just like Stephen. I know that's impossible... but he does."

Tony followed my gaze up to where I was pointing, but there was nobody there.

Beneath the Fear by Sheila Rawlings is a twisty, atmoshperic psychological thriller set in Cornwall.

Samantha Copeland, a freelance illustrator, is used to getting her own way. Her husband Stephen is trying to finish paintings for his first major exhibition in Oxford, but Sam gives in to one of her "many self-centred whims" and insists that he leaves his artwork and takes her shopping. "I was very proud of him... but right now I wanted to be his only focus of attention". 

What begins as a caprice of a spoilt young woman, ends up as a tragedy. Everything is about to change dramatically, as they pass by the bank and happen upon a botched bank robbery. "In the proverbial blink of an eye, my perfect world fell apart forever. Neither it, not I, would ever be the same again". In the skirmish, Stephen is killed.

Sam is traumatised. Therapy sessions, on which her parents insisted, do not help. Three months after her husband's murder, Sam feels trapped and mentally tortured. "I still could not make sense of his death. All I knew was, despite all my carefully orchestrated plans, the love of my life had been cruelly snatched away and I had no idea what to do about it".

To escape her parents' suffocating love and the attention of the media, Sam escapes to Cornwall, to the cottage where she spent many a happy summer with her family as a child. "For my mother and I, it was simply a beautiful spot for a holiday. Full of fond memories, I felt myself drawn towards it, like a child reaching for a comfort blanket". 

In the small coastal village of Dynnargh she reconnects with her childhood friend Suzy, who appears very welcoming and amiable. Suzy is her godmother's daughter, with whom she hasn't been in touch for many years, but they easily resume their friendship.

Longed-for peace of mind doesn't happen, however. Sam gets a very uncomfortable feeling that she is being watched. She is spooked to see a figure on the clifftops which looks very much like her dead husband. Unsurprisingly, her nights are plagued by the vivid nightmares. 

Suzy doesn't take Sam's fears seriously, hinting that it's all in her mind.

Two men are vying for her attentions: Tony Walker, a journalist who moves into the cottage next door to write a book, and the local handyman Nathan Scott who works on Sam's cottage. They seem to detest each other, and create more tension around. 

Sam thinks of Nathan, "Now there was an enigma. I really had no idea what to make of him. He seemed friendly enough and I enjoyed his company. However, being around him made me feel strangely uneasy.

Finally, my thoughts circled back to Tony. Another person I was unsure of - although that was probably due to him being a journalist. Half of me considered him annoyingly arrogant and over-confident, while the other half found him intriguing and strangely compelling".

Who can Sam trust? Is something sinister happening, or is it all part of her imagination?

Sam who's been indulged by her parents since childhood, is rather immature. Having lost the love of her life, she seems to be detached from reality. During one of her therapy sessions she tells herself, "Finding myself a widow so early in my marriage was definitely not part of my agenda, so I refused to believe it", which sounds flippant and glib. 

Sam is not a very likeable character, but you begin to sympathise with her vulnerability and mental anguish as the story progresses. She has to grow up from a carefree young woman to someone who needs to make tough choices, and ultimately forgive herself.

If you frequent my blog, you might know of my love of books with a Cornish setting. As soon as I saw a promotional email inviting me to take part in the blog tour, I knew I had to read the book. The Cornish setting in this book is not a sunny summery background of many chick lit books. This is a brooding, unforgiving terrain, with treacherous tides and dangerous clifftops. The stark beauty of the non-touristy part of Cornwall sets a perfect background to the sinister tale of murder and stalking.

I didn't find the ending entirely convincing. Without giving any spoilers, I thought that some of the coincidences, while convenient for the plot, were somewhat improbable.

Beneath the Fear is an absorbing thriller, really evocative of the rugged coastline of Cornwall. It kept me flipping the pages right to the end. It is an exploration of the destructive power of guilt, aftereffects of trauma and running away to find inner peace and self-forgiveness.

Purchase Links 

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beneath-Fear-Sheila-Rawlings/dp/B08KMBKNSZ  

US - https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Fear-Sheila-Rawlings/dp/B08KMBKNSZ

Author Bio – 

Sheila Rawlings is an author of adult crime and psychological thrillers, and her debut novel, ‘Truth and Revenge’ was chosen as a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards 2014. ‘Beneath the Fear’ is her second novel.

Born in Bexleyheath, Kent and educated at the prestigious Bexley Technical High School for Girls, Sheila originally trained as a graphic designer at Medway College of Art and Design (now the University of Creative Arts – part of Kent University). After graduating from college with a diploma in visual communication, she worked as a graphic designer for two mail order companies, designing and producing their catalogues. Wanting something more challenging, she then worked for several years as a graphic designer and production manager for a magazine publisher. During that time, she also assisted their PR and marketing department, designing exhibition stands for various clients.

It was while working with journalists she eventually rekindled her childhood love of reading and storytelling, prompting her to write her own novels. Sheila now lives in South London with her husband, Martin.

Social Media Links – 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SheilaRawlings (@SheilaRawlings)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheilaRawlingsAuthor

Instagram: Sheila Rawlings (thrill_writer)

Many thanks to Sheila Rawlings and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

This review is part of the blog tour, please check out the other blog stops.