Stonechild by Kevin Albin #BlogTour

This was unbelievable. Molly felt light-headed and her stomach tightened as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Reality, everything she had learned in her life, seemed to be slipping away. This cannot be true, but there it was, right before her eyes. The statue was moving.

Stonechild by Kevin Albin combines a fiendishly imaginative fantasy plot with the modern age dilemmas like conservation and preservation of the planet resources.

It is an ordinary day at the Members' Lobby which features the statues of former Prime Ministers. People are milling around, chatting and gossiping, and touching the foot of the statue of Winston Churchill for good luck.

All of a sudden, the statue actually pulls his foot back. Churchill begins to move. He also smokes, drinks his favourite tipple and pontificates, 

"When you erected this statue of me, I became aware of what was here and what was going on around me. I could see and hear things, understand things. I have been doing so, ever since." 

After the initial shock, the Prime Minister seems to be listening attentively to what the statue of the great politician has to say.

"We have been amongst you for centuries," said Churchill. "Not in a physical sense, call us spirits, or an energy source, but something happens to the human soul when it is embodied as a statue or sculpture. It is as though it creates a connection, a link between two worlds. A higher, more informative and advanced world, and here. That link also opens up a telepathic communication...
"You're going to ask why I am here? There will be others like me. Other statues will come to life this morning, to help give you a message.
"The World is coming to an end," he said. "The balance of the natural world, of all things living, has tipped."

Winston's statue is the first one to send the grim message to the citizens of London. Soon, the other London statues come to life. The unprecedented phenomenon sends shock waves across the world.

Molly Hargreaves lives in London with her parents and elder brother. 
She had opted to stay behind with her brother; while Mum and Dad go off to South America as part of their work as conservationists.

Molly is sceptical about the message the statues try to convey, she believes they have a hidden agenda. Why are the statues coming to life? And how to prove that things are not as they seem.

With her parents abroad and her rather irresponsible brother Charlie mostly absent, Molly turns to her parents' old friend.
"Gee-Gee, a long time friend, historian, traveller and an authority on all things weird. He got involved with some people, a sort of society who had some strange beliefs. In the end it cost him his job, his reputation..."

Eccentric Gee-Gee wants to help Molly, but can she truly rely on him? He believes in conspiracy theories and secret societies, "Molly, think of all the books and films you've watched, where there's a secret society working behind the scenes. You might become part of it because it seems interesting, bu they want you to do certain things that you might disagree with. Whenever you try to get away from them, they always catch up with you. Whatever you do, whenever you go, the secret society is always one step behind".

Home-schooled Molly is smart but also precocious. Rather than stay away from the latest scary developments, she jumps into the very middle of things, believing in her abilities to find the clues to the mystery and, eventually, a solution. She is being chased, threatened, captured, imprisoned, and yet, she doesn't give up.

"And why was her life in danger? She was now certain of two things: the statues were up to no good, and she needed help to prove it"

The past has come to life to change the status quo between all living things, explains the statue of Mr Atlee.
Rather ominously, Churchill's statue shows his true side.

"Do you think we have been dead since our deaths?" said Churchill. "We have been here amongst you for a very long time. We have accrued all your knowledge, developed it further and shared it with our collective thought".

"We do not want anyone to come to harm but we have to take control. We could do this forcefully, there are thousands of us in London alone. You cannot harm us. You cannot fight us. We shall not fail or falter".

"This planet wants to survive and we are serious about surviving with it. It's our time now, Prime Minister. The statues are taking over"

Even the statues of people who used to be saving lives during their own lifetime, have acquired sinister traits as the reawakened monuments.

Molly talks to the statue of Edith Cavell who explains,

"We have collective thought and experiences, and with all the centuries of knowledge, learning, understanding, we can achieve more"

"We have evolved and we can add to our numbers simply by building more statues... I am something new. We are the new species".

Among the statues, Molly finds an unexpected ally - Sherlock Holmes. "Of all the statues that had come to life, he was the odd one out. He had never lived. He was fictional, a creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So how did that sit with the reincarnation everyone was talking about?"

Will Molly be able to warn people that things weren't right and prove it? Will everyone have to surrender to the statues? Is there a solution to save London?

Stonechild is a creative vigorous rollercoaster of a read. It is a totally absorbing tale.

Statues coming to life made me think of Night at the Museum, especially the third film in the series, where they go to the British Museum to see the amazing collection waking up from their thousands-years' old slumber. When my younger son and I visited the Ashmolean the last time, we walked around the Greek and Roman halls and imagined all the statues stirring from their pedestals.

Purchase Link:

https://amzn.to/2BfnoWs

A word puzzle for the readers of Stonechild and with a prize to be drawn on the 10th December, which is Human Rights Day. 

Here is the link with all the details:

https://kevin-albin.com/book-kevin-albin/puzzle-time-for-readers-of-stonechild/

Author Bio – I served 25 years with the police in the UK, eight years of which were with a tactical firearms team. In 2002, I took a career change, and retrained as an International Mountain Leader working across the globe guiding on mountaineering trips and expeditions. 

 

I have led many trips to the jungles of Borneo, my favourite destination, an enchanting place that has sadly seen much deforestation. My trips were based on education and conservation.

In 2011, I won the Bronze in the Wanderlust Magazine World Guide Awards for my work..

 

It was whilst working on a corporate training day in London, when I pictured a statue coming to life to give my clients the answer to the clue they were working on. The rest grew from there. 

My hope is that my writing will continue to spread the word on conservation and protection of all species.

 

I live in France.

 

Social Media Links – 

Facebook https://bit.ly/32TSbnL

Twitter https://twitter.com/KevAlbin

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sukahutan/

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-albin-628673182/

Website https://kevin-albin.com/kevin-albin/

This book review is part of the blog tour for Stonechild.

Many thanks to Kevin Albin and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets

 

In a few days we're having a midterm break. In the good old days, the October break would find us going to the cinema to see the latest releases. Thanks to the lockdown, our local cinema is closed for the unforeseeable future. Some cinemas around the country are still operating, with the additional measures.

If you are lucky to have a cinema open nearby you, there's a new film coming to the big screens on October 23rd - Max Winslow and the House of Secrets (SkipStone Pictures)

Five teens are invited to the home of an eccentric billionaire to compete in a game to win his mansion. The night takes a dark turn when they become trapped in the house and are forced to face off against each other and an evil AI entity who controls everything in the house including their fate.

Starring Sydne Mikelle, Tanner Buchanan, Jason Genao, Emery Kelly, Jade Chynoweth, Tyler Christopher, Anton Starkman, Marina Sirtis, Chad Michael Murray.

Check out where Max Winslow is showing near you here:

https://www.maxwinslowfilm.co.uk/?country=united-kingdom

We've just watched a pre-view online this weekend. The film rating is 12+, but I watched it with my 10-year-old son, and he enjoyed it. 

This is an imaginative morality tale of our times, which would appeal to the pre-teens and younger teens. The message it brings is that the hi-tech could bring both benefits and danger (not an exactly innovative idea, but it still rings true).

It's a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory of the new generation, with the social media obsession and gaming addiction. Five kids from Bentonville high school get the much-coveted tickets to attend an event at the mansion with a promise of a big prize. 

Atticus Virtue (Chad Michael Murray) - even his name is an allusion to the morality-based challenge ahead - is the billionaire who has built a mansion of epic proportions, using the latest technology.

The mansion is "ruled" by the virtual mistress of the house called Haven.

The guests have to solve a series of riddles and puzzles to navigate the mansion. They arrive, full of hope and excitement, to the house, and that's when the story acquires a more sinister aspect.

While Haven is supposed to guide them, she is not an indifferent automated voice. Her challenges turn more and more menacing.

The plot is a bit preachy, but tackles a lot of issues affecting the high school children - bullying, social media and self-identity, pressure to conform, mental health etc. There are even several faith-based clues and Easter eggs included.

Max Winslow is a tech geek, with a high IQ and a lack of social skills. Sydne Mikelle is good at portraying a socially awkward and vulnerable Max, who is nevertheless a strong protagonist.

Her father left the family, when she was very young, and this has stopped her emotional development.

Connor (Tanner Buchanan) is known as a Lacrosse guy in school, but he lives a big lie. He wants to be a musician, yet keeps a pretence to please his parents.

Aiden is an unpleasant bully with an attitude. Sophia is obsessed with selfies and her Insta followers.

Benny has problems with a gaming addiction.

As the story offers a character development, you can argue it is quite didactic, yet it is very entertaining as well. There are impressive visuals, showing the virtual interior of the mansion, and the video game effects. The story if fast-paced and amusing.

With Hallowe'en just round the corner, this spooky film could be enjoyed by the whole family.

Photo diary: week 42, project 366

The week began with an anxious email from Eddie's school to say that one of the younger classes has been closed for two weeks due to Covid. The remaining classes are expected to attend, though I don't see the logic of that, as the siblings of kids who go to the affected class, still go to school, but then I suppose it's tricky to decide where to stop the chain.

I haven't published a single blog post since the last Photo diary, even if I had good intentions. I have started a few blog posts, they just need to be edited.

My blog turned 10 years old last week.

From other non-news, I've watched the whole season of The haunting of Bly Manor. It wasn't as jump-scary as The haunting of Hill House, and rather touching. It's based loosely on The turn of the screw. Creepy children, a vulnerable governess and plenty of ghosts. It was rather uneven. One of the episodes, with the back story of the original ghost of the lady in the lake, was a self-indulgent drivel, going on and on (if you watched it, you know what I mean, that incessant: She slept, she woke, she walked...).

We've spotted this egg on the ground outside the clinic, it must have fallen from the tree. The next day it was gone.

For three weeks in a row I'm posting a flower in a bottle from The Blue Boar, sorry, I know it's a lazy snapping, but I'm usually so knackered after the weekend, that I have no energy or enthusiasm to find any new subjects. And I do treat myself to a latte first thing in the morning, after I accompany Eddie to school.

Last week my husband has found out that one of the secondary schools in town is offering tours (not just the virtual tour), he booked an only available session left for Eddie and me to visit on Tuesday after school. We had an hour to kill, but rather than go home, went to the book shop and Costa for a little snack. While talking to his father on WhatsApp, Eddie did a screenshot of our heads.

Visiting the school and talking to the teacher who took us around was very helpful. We couldn't go inside the school, but it's a pretty big campus, with many buildings, sports and art facilities, and a great library. The original school dates back to 1660. We were able to have a peek through the windows and ask questions about the school. 

I wish the other school also offered the similar tour, to help make up our minds.

The last episode of GBBO saw the contestants baking brownies. I believe that brownies don't need one zillion fancy ingredients. If anything, too many ingredients in the brownie dough spoil the texture and flavour. Eddie and I watched the episode together, and the next day I baked a batch of salted caramel brownies. They are so lovely, still warm, with a bit of whipped cream and some fresh berries.

It was a chilly morning, when I walked with my ninja to school.

If my shopping bag is not too heavy, I like to walk back home through the flood fields and cross the bridge over the Windrush. It is so peaceful there, with lots of birds and other wild life.

Photos from 5 years before have popped up among my Facebook memories, including a series of images from taking part in Grana Padano Top Chef blogger competition. 

I can't believe it's being five years. I was crowned the winner. I remember how reluctant I was to go to London in the first place, as I am not confident travelling on my own. My family and friends had to push me to go. It was such a fabulous event, we had to cook three dishes in a set amount of time, and our food was judged by the celebrity Italian chef Francesco Mazzei.

It was a huge surprise for me to be chosen a winner, as I'm not Masterchefy at all.

I still keep in touch with Federica from Pasta Bites, who posts mouth-watering photos on Instagram.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Photo diary: week 41, project 366

I'm feeling deflated, like an old balloon, which is still holding its shape but is not exactly flying enthusiastically. There are no particular triggers, just the uncertainty of it all.

Sasha's annual review is looming by the end of this month, and we haven't had much of a progress since the last meeting. We don't have a respite sorted out for him, as none of the places we inquired into operate at the moment, so we can't even go and visit them. We visited a couple of places back in January, but then everything has stopped working. We need to find a place for him to attend next year, as it's the last year at the current school.

And we urgently need to apply for the secondary school's place for Eddie, and of course, with only the virtual tours available it's not easy to decide which school would be best for our son. 

One school has a good academic rating, but on the parents' grapevine it is known as having had big issues with bullying in the past years. The other school (my preference) is less academic. Both are about the same distance from our house.

All these decisions which will affect my boys' future really unsettle me.

My photos from the last week are rather lacklustre, I was snapping without any zeal.

Last Sunday Eddie has spotted the big poster for Star Wars Pandora across the street. I don't have a Pandora bracelet, but we still went to look at the latest beads closer. 

My Monday treat, a cup of latte in the morning after I accompanied Eddie to school.

We had rain on and off most days in the last week. It was sunny and raining at the same time, when we walked home from school on Tuesday. 

We watched the GBBO in the evening, and that was all the excitement for the day. The right person was voted off, even if he was amusing. I don't know if we keep watching until the end, I don't find this year's crew particularly inspiring. I suppose, once you watched one season, it's pretty much the same, with the same stale jokes and innuendoes.

The mornings are getting chillier and chillier, and the bright berries of holly make you think of Christmas ahead. 

I met up with my friend for a good old chinwag at Costa, and I had my first gingerbread latte of the season. I did ask for half of the amount of syrup, as it's often way too sweet.

Red and blue are an inspiring combination of colours. The leaves are carpeting the lawns and roads.

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree... (Emily Brontë)

It was the 50th anniversary of Jean Giono's death on the 9th of October, and my husband suggested that we should watch The Horseman on the Roof. I watched this film when it was first out in 1995, and loved it then. It's set in the times of the cholera epidemic of 1832. Juliette Binoche is simply stunning in this film, and Olivier Martinez is an eye candy. You can find the whole film on YouTube.

I've read the book many years ago, and watching the film made me want to re-read it. It also made me think just how beautiful the French language is, and what a shame I don't read or speak it any longer. I studied French at the University, and was able to read quite fluently, albeit abridged books, but now, I am like Mr Bean, only capable of saying Oui.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Photo diary: weeks 39 & 40, project 366

I tend to write a Photo diary post on a Sunday, but last Sunday I spent in bed, with a fever and a headache. I didn't have a cough, so don't think it was the dreaded virus, but it took me several days to recover properly, hence the mix of photos - some taken by me, old ones and snapped by my family.

These two weeks were not exactly eventful, or memorable. 

We finished reading Wizards of Once Book 4 (I'm still reeling from the revelation of who the narrator is, it so doesn't make sense). 

I began reading The Cuckoo's Calling. I know I'm late to the party, as the book no.5 in the series was just published, but I watched the TV series Strike and decided to read the novels. I don't mind that I know the plot, I'm just enjoying the dynamics of the relationship and intelligent writing.

I often pass by this old stone building next to the bridge, and it always makes me wonder just how damp it must be indoors. Saying that, I'd love to see what it looks like inside. Its roof is also a resting platform for white doves.

A quick cup of coffee in the Blue Boar before errands in town. This simple floral arrangement by the window looked elegant and pretty.

I was running to collect Eddie from school, and have spotted this rather sinister-looking cloud, with the sun in the place of the eye. It made me think of a gigantic Minotaur. 

My friend Jen took me to the Burford garden centre by car. I haven't visited it since early March, and was surprised at the crowds. We could hardly find a place to park, it was packed full indoors. 

I needed some hay for the storage of apples, but couldn't find any. 

In the end I got a bag of tulip bulbs and a couple of flower pots. Seeing the rows of tables with tulip bulbs made me think of my Mum, who loves gardening. She always buys tulips for my garden, and every spring they bloom like greetings from her. This year I'll just have to pretend that we bought the bulbs together.

There was an outdoor sculpture exhibition, and I loved this mermaid. This artwork by Martin Cash is called Just Another Refugee.

My brother sent me this snap taken on the walk in the park by WhatsApp. 

The queues to the supermarkets are almost back to the size of the beginning of the lockdown. And the toilet paper aisle is suspiciously low on choice. It was a miserable wet day, and I think waiting in the cold has contributed to me feeling unwell the next days.

I felt utterly rubbish last Sunday, and wasn't in the mood to take any photos. 

My brother has scanned several old photos for me. This black and white photo was taken, when we were visiting my grandparents. They lived in the middle of nowhere, literally, in the last but one house at the end of the village, surrounded by the wild steppes. As my grandfather was a forest ranger, they kept a horse.

That's my Mum holding the reins, my younger brother is sitting right behind me, I'm not looking in the camera, and two others kids are the next door neighbour and the daughter of the man who took the photos. He was working on the film set in the vicinity, and visiting my Grandma to buy fresh milk (she kept cows). 

And just wanted to say, we didn't all ride in such a big company, it was simply a photo shoot. 

My Mum looks so beautiful. I think I must be 13-14 years old in this picture? That makes my Mum about 37-38 years old.

I spent Monday in bed as well, weak and running temperature. My husband had to take Eddie to the dentist after school, and then they popped to McDonalds for a takeaway meal, which they happily ate in my husband's office.

On Tuesday I accompanied Eddie to school, and did a quick shopping at Waitrose. These eerie mannequin's hands behind the sale sign in the window caught my eye.

Another cloud shape, on the way to school, which made me think of dinosaurs or lizards.

This photo of yellow gloves was actually taken a year ago, when my Mum was still staying with us and working in the garden (try to stop her!).  She travelled home a couple of days later, and it's a year, since we last saw each other. I really miss her. 

Who knows when we'll be able to hug each other. I do talk to her every day on the phone, but it's not the same, is it?!

I'm beginning to look around the shops for Christmas gifts ideas. Eddie's a big fan of Star Wars, and he also has quite a collection of Funko Pop toys. I might get this Luke Skywalker with Yoda for him.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Children: The Ten Worlds Book One by Bjørn Larssen

There was a time when I believed myself to be the Goddess of vengeance. I didn't seem to have it in me now though. The frosty fire waiting inside me didn't feel like vengeance. It was all-consuming, like the destiny of the Nine when the prophecy came to pass.

Children by Bjørn Larssen is the first instalment in The Ten Worlds series (released 3 October, 2020). This adult epic fantasy novel is a gripping and original re-telling and re-imagining of the Norse myths. The compelling narrative, the imagination and emotion will blow you away.

When I first heard of the concept of this novel, I thought to myself: Yay, a Magnus Chase story for the grown-ups. Emphasis on "grown-ups"! 
Larssen takes the well-known Norse myths, and breathes a new life into the centuries'-old stories. He creates an intelligent, intoxicating, beautiful tale of love, sacrifice, betrayal and desire for revenge.

The narrative follows lives of two main protagonists - Maya and Magni. They are so different, yet have one thing in common - they are mere pawns to their parents' agenda.

Maya has been raised by Freya and Freyr, Goddess of Love and God of Sex. She believes she has failed all her foster-parents' expectations of her. Deemed a disappointment, she transfers this unkindness towards herself. She is torn between her determination to prove herself to Freya and thus possibly gain her affection, and her desire for revenge.

We first meet Maya in Jötunheim, helping to steal Thor's hammer Mjölnir, the powerful weapon and symbol of dominance. Since early years Maya's been told that she is a human child, adopted by the Gods. Her magical talents include crystal magic and shifting.

The act of stealing Mjölnir is fraught with danger and will bring devastating consequences to all sides involved.
Maya is overawed: "The onslaught of power felt like a sudden kick in the belly, so brutal that even the man recoiled. Thor's hammer hated me, it hated being here, away from its owner."

She works for King Thrymr, while being a kind of "sleeper agent", trying to gain his trust and collect information. She is not sure what her mission is, but knows she is a potential asset.

"I was the King's sorceress. I'd spent the last twelve winters building my position in court, guarding it, ensuring that nobody could replace me. They called me the witch, feared and hated my magic, believing me to have God-like powers."

If you know your Norse myths, King Thrymr has stolen Thor's hammer to extort the Gods to marry Freya.
"To him or anybody else with no magical powers this hammer would look commonplace, a chunk of darkened iron, the handle too short to comfortably use. Those people wouldn't feel the resistance and the power I was wrestling, until they tried to touch the hammer."

Now that Maya has fulfilled her mission, she is no longer useful to the king. He has plans of rape and murder on his mind.
While escaping King Thrymr's brutal advances, running away from the castle, Maya accidentally meets Magni. He's the spitting image of his father.
"You're the son of Thor. Why would you be hiding?"
"Don't call me that. I'm just Magni. A blacksmith."

Magni is a compelling character. He knows he's Thor's son, but he doesn't want to be like him. In his eyes, his father represents everything he detests - power and violence. And Magni doesn't want to kill anyone, he's a gentle soul. All he wants is to be a blacksmith and look after his mother. Unfortunately, the Gods and people have other plans for him, pushing him to the breaking point.

After the fall of the King Thrymr's town, Magni is taken to Midgard and left to fend for himself. He's mistaken for Thor, and people want to use, control and abuse him. He's tormented by the violence surrounding him.
"I didn't know yet that from now on every night would be like this. That I would straddle the past and the present, be constantly tired every morning and welcome it, just so that I wouldn't have to dream. I didn't know the dreams, unsatisfied, would chase me into the daylight".

Thus, sleep-deprived and in a mental anguish, Magni exists in a twilight world. And then Maya comes into his life again, and he imagines he's now got a purpose.

Magni and Maya find their way to Ásgard. It is supposed to be a happy place, a paradise. Only the Gods are self-absorbed and indifferent to the fate of humans and jötuns.

Odin is not an omnipotent, wise father of the Gods and humankind, but more of a vainglorious head of the dysfunctional family.
"The sun was setting, golden and red, over the edge of a quiet world where humans murdered each other all the time to please Odin the Slayer".

Maya longed to be in Ásgard, but once there, she realises that she views it differently now:
"I used to think of Ásgard as my home, but it was just a place I was allowed to be in. Nothing here was up to me. Gods remained Gods and kings remained kings precisely because they had everything and didn't have to share. If Idunn were to make peoples forever young and Eir- to help with their ailments, they might begin to see themselves as equal to the Gods. They could start getting ideas..."

We meet all the "usual suspects" - Thor, Freya, Odin, Idunn, Sif, Fenris, and of course, Loki. They are all memorable, intriguing characters.

The scene when Thor and Loki arrive to King Thrymr's court, dressed up as a bride and a bridesmaid are a testament to the author's great talent of storytelling. You know how this story ends, yet you read the retelling with a bated breath.

"Loki. Nobody else would have come up with this. Playing a cruel, elaborate, and, frankly, hilarious prank on someone who saw Loki as his best friend".

Loki is a true God of mischief. He's also wicked and dangerous. Amusingly enough, he describes himself to Maya, "I am an intellectual, a delicate creature that would never hurt a fly. My specialities are wit, wisdom, and advice. And I happen to have some advice for you".

He clearly thinks very highly of himself. In one of his disguises, he says, "Loki is wise, witty, dangerous. He is the best of shifters, my dear by, he could even turn into a fly and watch you from afar. You should never feel safe, for Loki's wit is second to none. Hmm, possibly second to Odin's, but with an emphasis on "possibly" if you know what I'm saying".

Freya knows just how dangerous he is, yet she almost gives her seal of approval to his power. She says, "Did you know that Loki is neither of the Aesir nor Vanir? Nobody knows where he came from, possibly even he doesn't know. He represents chaos and destruction, but he is much more complicated than that. Destruction can be a good thing, like when a forest burns and is replaced by a fertile field, but while you are in that burning forest you don't think about how much better it is going to become one day".

The birth of Sleipnir is a heart-stopping tale. Without giving any spoilers, for me this was one of the most powerfully told sub-plots in the book, and as a woman, I appreciate the fierce, raging intensity of the narrative, the conflicting emotions, the many-layered feelings.

Larssen is a worthy successor to Snorri Sturluson.


I started reading Children, and then realised I need to go to the original source to refresh my memory of the Norse gods from the creation to the end of the world.

Children is the edge-of-the-seat reading, brutal, unsettling, visceral and very clever. Some of the scenes of carnage and violence will stay with you for a long time, but the Norse myths themselves are full of gore and savagery.

It's a sweeping fantasy, that leaves you hungry for the next book in the series.

Many thanks to Bjørn Larssen for my copy of the book, and a happy publication day!

The Lie She Told by Catherine Yaffe

She wanted to slam the brakes on this rollercoaster ride she had unwittingly boarded with her son. Everything she thought she knew, everything she had believed in had been tipped on its axis and if she wasn't careful even the tiniest piece of control would escape her grasp.

The Lie She Told by Catherine Yaffe is a domestic noir/psychological thriller/dark realism fusion.
It is slowly unravelling a bleak tale about lies, survival, domestic violence, and choices we make.

Kate Ward is on the run from her abusive ex. Living in the remote Scottish Highlands under Witness Protection, she is re-building her life, having uprooted her son and herself to find a peaceful life.
She works for Jack Bruce, the owner of the only café in Garrloch, a Lochside village in the Scottish Highlands.

Jack is a good, decent man.

"He had sensed that Kate was looking for security and, having no children of his own, he had taken both her and Joe under his wing. With his guiding hand he had helped them settle into the rhythm of Highland life and now they were an integral part of the small community."

He admires Kate, and doesn't pry into her private life. "She was a determined young woman who clearly adored her son. He didn't know what had happened in Kate's past, and it wasn't really any of his business."

Kate is friendly, but keeps herself to herself. There are too many secrets that she wants to keep hidden.

"Kate herself couldn't confide in him [Jack] about her innermost thoughts and feelings, and she didn't dare strike up a friendship with any of the Gairloch community for fear they would want to know about her past..."

Life goes on undisturbed, until Kate meets Ryan.

Ryan is the blast from the past. He arrives in the spring, and quickly gains Kate's trust, despite being her ex-husband's mate.
Ryan is the black sheep of the family. The villagers don't seem to like him either.
But Kate believes in second chances, and allows Ryan to worm into their lives with ease, becoming dependent on his help as the childminder for Joe.

And it's ever so easy to gain a young child's trust.

"Joe liked Ryan a lot. He was good fun, had taught him all sorts of new games, and was always showing him new places to play, places that mum would definitely not let him go."

Very soon Ryan becomes "an intrinsic part of their lives that she couldn't remember a time without him".

Kate naively believes that "his heart was always in the right place". Ryan is aware of all Kate's secrets, he knows what she did to escape the abusive relationship, and he has an agenda of his own. 

And just like that, Kate allows Ryan to become part of the "family". She is not capable to step back or see the relationship for what it is. Her low self-esteem prevents her from taking stock of a bigger picture.

She loves Joe, "he was her life, her reason for being, the reason she had to break the cycle and escape the nightmare. She would have risked anything, everything, to create the happy life they now had." And yet she doesn't see how she endangers her own child, or how controlling and manipulative her new partner is.

The new world she has so carefully re-built, is beginning to break apart, with devastating consequences. The time is coming for Kate to face up to the lie she told.

The Lie She Told deals with such dark issues as the domestic violence, its psychological and emotional consequences, isolation, trauma and low confidence. 

The main character left me exasperated.
The story is not unrealistic at all, sadly there are too many women who bring dangerous partners in the lives of their children.

On what planet is it OK to trust a man with a criminal past, who took part in the armed robbery and asked you to hide the gun, especially if he was a friend of your abusive ex, and you're in the Witness Protection scheme?!
Wouldn't you contact the police about the "accidental" meeting with such a person? And why would you entrust him to look after your child as an unpaid babysitter?

If you're charitable, you might call the main character naïve. In real terms, Kate is irresponsible and reckless, whatever she has told herself about protecting her son at any cost.

It is also true that some women who escape one abusive relationship, move onto another relationship which is not better than the one they have left behind.

Ryan is cynical about their relationship. "He couldn't believe how easy it had been to win her over. He figured that living in relative isolation for two years would do that to any woman. She'd been starved of affection and he'd had her eating out of the palm of his hand".

For him it's one big game, "he doesn't care it was people's lives that he was playing with".

This is a tense and punchy story, packed with shock twists.

Potential triggers: domestic violence, coercive control, physical abuse.

Purchase Links

UK –https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lie-She-Told-peaceful-destroy-ebook/dp/B08BPJCV77

US - https://www.amazon.com/Lie-She-Told-peaceful-destroy-ebook/dp/B08BPJCV77

Author Bio –

Catherine Yaffe is a former freelance journalist, magazine editor and digital marketing agency owner. Catherine has previously written non-fiction books on Digital Marketing before following her passion for writing crime novels full time.

The Lie She Told is the first in a series of books that challenge the status quo of relationships and makes the reader question how well you know those around you.

Catherine lives in West Yorkshire with her husband Mark and their 2 cats Jenson & Button (she’s also a F1 fan!)

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @catherineyaffe

https://www.facebook.com/CatherineYaffeAuthor

Instagram @cat_yaffe_author

www.catherineyaffe.co.uk

This post is part of the blog tour for The Lie She Told.
Many thanks to Catherine Yaffe and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!