Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to publisher Bookouture for my spot on this Blog Tour.

Sue Watson has done it again!! A delectable domestic thriller that had me rubbing my hands in glee at the havoc that Ella, the new bride, created in the life of the Taylors. The author sure knew how to create the cyclonic winds that ripped through the pages of this book. Wicked, wicked!!

Ella had newly married Jamie, the younger son of Joy and Bob Taylor. Clare was married to Dan, the elder son and also the one with roving eyes and hands. The vacation in Italy was their last chance to bond and put their marriage on track. Uff!! How she could bear to be with an infidel husband was beyond me.

Having read many books by this author, I was cackling in glee at the way the dynamics of this group of Taylors were shown. They were simply so pretentious. They liked nothing to change their delicate balance. And entered Ella. The author managed to get the tone of the book changed with her entry. There was something hypnotizing in that, knowing there would be a crash and lives would be ruined. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.

I loved loved, loved Ella. I loved how witchy (substitute with a B) the author had made her to be!! She was like a wicked rat who threw that family of cats off their kilter. I loved seeing them scurrying, trying to please her, toppling each other and hurrying to prevent secrets from coming out. What fun!!

The pages turned steadily, I could guess Ella’s secret, right at the beginning as the author had peppered the prose with subtle clues. I loved how I tried to read between the lines to get to them. What I didn’t expect was the repercussions of getting the family into frenzy – DEATH!! Wouldn’t you love such a family?

Ella was so evil that she made my insides quiver, her darts of poisonous arrows found their mark. The barbs were fantastic in the dialogues. The ending was most unexpected. Sheesh I should have guessed it. But what can I say, Sue Watson had hidden it in plain sight…

A fantastic domestic noir, actually it was simply a thriller which thrilled my innards. And after a long, long time, a delicious breakfast read.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

‘You don’t think Jamie and I have secrets, do you? No, we tell each other everything.’ She smiled. ‘Including your dirty little secret. So, thinking about it, maybe it’s time to start being nice to me?’

THE WIFE: Clare is ready for a break. It’s been a tough year and now she wants to put her feet up. Arriving at the Italian villa for their summer holiday, she decides it’s high time her husband and his family did some of the work. After all, her husband owes her…

THE HUSBAND: Even though Dan had his head turned by someone else, he’s realised the error of his ways. He’s here now, and he says it’s for keeps. Clare can trust him, can’t she? At least he’ll have his brother there, to keep him in line…

THE BROTHER: Jamie is the prodigal child, back in the family fold again, after years of travelling abroad. But when he gets to the villa, he’s not alone. He’s brought a wife, someone none of them have met before.

THE SISTER-IN-LAW: Ella is everything Clare isn’t. Glamorous. Young. Influential. But she knows a secret about Clare. Something that has the power to break the whole family apart.

And there’s someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure that this deep secret never comes to the surface.

Publication Date: 30th April 2020