Book Review ~ Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas ~ Penguin UK

 

TITLE - Do Not Disturb

AUTHOR - Claire Douglas

PUBLISHER - Penguin UK

BUY LINK - Click here

SYNOPSIS - 

COULD YOUR DREAM HOME BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?

After what happened in London, Kirsty needs a fresh start with her family. And running a guesthouse in the Welsh mountains sounds idyllic.

But then their first guest arrives.

Selena is the last person Kirsty wants to see. It's seventeen years since she tore everything apart.

Why has she chosen now to walk back into Kirsty's life? Is Selena running from something too? Or is there an even darker reason for her visit?

Because Kirsty knows that once you invite trouble into your home, it can be murder getting rid of it . . .

I thought I was going to be reading a crime novel/thriller, but the first 50% of the book was more like a family saga, with many characters introduced , like Cousin Selena and her Daughter Ruby, Kirsty's Brother Nathan and his Wife Julia. Plus there's the guests in the Bed and Breakfast too. I enjoyed all the family dynamics of this mixed up family. There were many strong characters in the book. The only person I really warmed to was Kirsty, who seemed strong and all things to everybody.

I didn't enjoy the way the chapters were written, with some going backwards and forwards by a week or a month or six days. I didn't see the need for this as it didn't add anything to the story. 

The death I was waiting for finally comes at 51% of the book (I was reading it on my kindle), and the book moves from family saga to crime novel. It did blend between the two "genres" quite well though. The "whodunnit" suspect, kept changing as I read on. There must have been at least 7 suspects. The author delivers the culprit right and the end. One you don't see coming. 

The book deals with many sensitive issues such as suicide, mental illness, marital issues and many other subjects, without spoiling it. 

I did enjoy the book but I found it took a while to get going. I would certainly read more by this author again. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher Penguin UK, for allowing me to read and review this novel 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Claire Douglas always wanted to write novels and, after many years of trying to get published, her dream came true when she won the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award in 2013 with THE SISTERS.

Her subsequent novels LOCAL GIRL MISSING, LAST SEEN ALIVE and DO NOT DISTURB all reached the Sunday Times top ten bestsellers list and are published in over fifteen countries. LOCAL GIRL MISSING was the bestselling crime debut of 2018 in Germany. Her fifth thriller, THEN SHE VANISHES is due for release in Ebook end of June 2019 and in paperback August 2019.

You can find Claire on Twitter at @DougieClaire, instagram as clairedouglasauthor or visit her Facebook page clairedouglasauthor

Book Review ~ The #Roanoke Girls ~ Amy Engel - A compelling read

TITLE - The Roanoke Girls

AUTHOR - Amy Engel

PUBLISHER - @Hodder Books

PAGES - 290

BUY LINK - Amazon UK

SYNOPSIS

Everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl. But you won't when you know the truth...

The Richard and Judy Book Club pick 2017 and the darkly compulsive thriller that will keep you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door and The Girls.

'Utterly gripping' - RICHARD AND JUDY
'A must-have' - SUNDAY EXPRESS
'I loved it' - SARAH HILARY

'Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.'

The girls of the Roanoke family - beautiful, rich, mysterious - seem to have it all. But there's a dark truth about them that's never spoken.

Lane is one of the lucky ones. When she was fifteen, over one long, hot summer at her grandparents' estate in rural Kansas, she found out what it really means to be a Roanoke girl. Lane ran, far and fast. Until eleven years later, when her cousin Allegra goes missing - and Lane has no choice but to go back.

She is a Roanoke girl.

Is she strong enough to escape a second time?

***

I was really looking forward to reading this. Everyone was talking about it on social media, and I'd seen it in the press, as it was a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick for 2017. Thanks to Anne Cater, fellow blogger at Random Things Through My Letterbox, she gave me her copy. 

My Mum had started reading it but found it wasn't her cup of tea, so it was then my turn. It was a great holiday read and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to read it at every spare moment we had.

I loved how the Author had separated each chapter into Then and Now as it made it easy to follow. I also liked how there was a chapter dedicated to each of the Roanoke Girls, so you got to know them and their story. As there were a lot of characters in the book to get to know, this made it a lot less complicated

Initially I wasn't sure what the subject matter was going to be as it Although you could see fairly early on, loosely where this story was going, it didn't prepare you for what was to come. It's a heartbreaking and disturbing story but completely plausible. It handles a very sensitive subject and the Author had written about the matter with great feeling.

 The Author has also done a really good job with the characterisations and there were a variety of personalities. Strong characters, weak characters and many interesting characters. Some you came to love, some you came to hate, and some you came to really despise. 

I haven't read a book in a long time that moved me as much as this one, and I feel that this will stay with me for a long time. 

Thanks again to Anne Cater for letting me have her copy. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Engel is the author of THE BOOK OF IVY young adult series. A former criminal defense attorney, she lives in Missouri with her family. THE ROANOKE GIRLS is her first novel for adults.

Contact Amy Engel on Social Media.

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