The Accident by C L Taylor

 

Sue's fifteen-year-old daughter has been in a coma for the past six weeks after being hit by a bus. Everyone thinks it was an unfortunate accident, except Sue. Sue is convinced Charlotte purposefully stepped in front of the bus but can't imagine what would make her daughter do such a thing. When she finds Charlotte's diary, Sue starts to piece together the events, secrets and lies that led to a young girl trying to end her life and she begins to question how well she knew her daughter.

 

After reading Cally Taylor's previous novels, Heaven Can Wait and Home For Christmas, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy The Accident, especially when I started to hear such wonderful praise for the book. While Heaven Can Wait and Home For Christmas are chick lit novels, The Accident is a psychological thriller and I was interested to see how the transition would go. It went very well. The Accident is a brilliantly paced thriller with plenty of twists and turns that prevented me from putting the book down. Instead, I greedily devoured the whole novel in one day and while that meant a very late night, it was worth the zombie-like state the next morning.

 

While Sue starts to gather clues as to what happened to her daughter to make her step in front of the bus, we also discover Sue's past through her diary entries, which grow increasingly chilling. These diary entries give us an insight into Sue's life and explains why she has become the woman she is and I found the diary and the main plot to be as gripping as each other. I was hooked as each twist had me reading on, eager to find out what had happened to Charlotte and was certainly kept on my toes throughout. Sue isn't sure who she can trust anymore, so she is forced to carry out the investigation by herself, but she is determined to uncover the truth, no matter what, which showed incredible strength under the circumstances.

 



I really enjoyed The Accident and I'm looking forward to future publications from this brilliant author.

Book of the Month: April

 

The Dead Wife's Handbook

by

Hannah Beckerman

 

 

 
'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

 

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

I'd heard a lot of great things about The Dead Wife's Handbook, so I was looking forward to getting stuck in myself. I felt an instant connection with Rachel and could feel her heartbreak and frustration as she witnesses the lives of her husband Max and their daughter Ellie continuing without her, first dealing with their loss and then slowly beginning to move on. I was drawn into the lives of Max and Ellie as they coped without Rachel, seeing snippets of their day to day lives from Rachel's limited perspective, and by the end I didn't want to let any of them go. I thought The Dead Wife's Handbook was a poignant but wonderful debut.

 

You can see my full review of The Dead Wife's Handbook here

 

Click here to see all Books of the Month

Out and About

I've been guest posting and answering a few Q&As over the past couple of months. I usually share them over Twitter, but I thought I would share them here too! So here I am, out and about in the blogosphere:

Author Interview on Jera's Jamboree

Elle Field's Writer Wednesday

Guest Post on Debs Daydream in the Potting Shed

Ruth's ode to cheesy pop

My Real Life Proposal on Annabel Scott's blog

A Beginner's Guide To Salad Q&A on Suz Korb's blog 

Q&A on You, Me & the Story

Question Time on Victoria Loves Books

And you can also see more guest posts and Q&As from my Beginner's Guide blog tour. All posts can be found here

Blog Tour: A Place To Call Home

Today I'm pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for A Place To Call Home, with an interview with the author, Carole Matthews.

Can you tell us about your new book?
This is my twenty-fourth novel. Have no idea how that happened! This is a book that I’m very proud of and is the story of Ayesha who escapes from an abusive relationship for the sake of her young daughter, Sabina. They find themselves living in a home of disparate characters but, somehow, manage to find the love and sense of belonging that they crave. When something happens to threaten their safety, Ayesha has to decide how she will protect her daughter - no matter what the cost. It’s sad, happy and, ultimately, uplifting.

What was your inspiration for A Place To Call Home?
I recently visited Sri Lanka and the people and country were so delightful that I thought I might like to base a story there. As it was, I spoke to a number of women who said that it was becoming more common for them to have to leave their villages to make arranged marriages abroad due to the shortages of eligible men. That gave me the kernel of the idea. I also wanted to tell a story about how a ‘family’ can be made up of members who aren’t necessarily blood relatives. I think it’s something that’s becoming more common nowadays.

What has been your greatest experience of being a published writer?
I’ve done some pretty amazing things over the past seventeen years, so there are a lot to choose from. I think being chosen as a book club pick in America has to come high on the list. My fourth novel, For Better, For Worse, was chosen by Kelly Ripa for her book club. It went from no 340,000 on Amazon to number 3 the same afternoon. It then went on to become a USA Today bestseller and was on the New York Times extended list.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write every single day. It’s the only way to develop your voice and to actually get a book finished. Even if you can only do half an hour, make sure that it’s productive time. If you have to book yourself a babysitter or a cleaner to give you some free time then do it. You owe yourself to give your book the best chance.

What was the first book you ever bought yourself?
What an excellent question and, sadly, one that I can’t answer. I have absolutely no idea. How tragic! Though I can remember what the first record I bought was and where I bought it! I have vivid memories of borrowing lots of books as a teenager and having a diet of Jackie Collins, Sidney Sheldon and Harold Robbins. The first book that strongly affected me was Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger, but I don’t think that I bought it for myself. I adore bookshops, but can’t remember which was the first one I went into either. How awful. I shall now have a period of trawling my memories to see if I can recall. In my defence, I’ve done quite a lot since then!

What was the last book you read?
An easier one! I’ve just finished Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is about a woman who is having an extra-marital affair and then something truly awful happens to her. It raised an interesting dilemma. I’ve recommended that we read it at our book group as I think we could have a good old chat around it.

Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently doing the final edits on my Christmas book for this year which is called The Christmas Party. I’ve loved writing this one. It’s funny and sad and I have the best pantomime baddy in the book. It’s also the perfect excuse to eat mince pies in April. 

Giveaway Winners: #FreebieFriday

 

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Giveaway Winner: Chocolate!

 

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The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman

 

 

Rachel was in her mid-thirties when she died suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving behind a grieving husband and their young daughter. It has been a year since Rachel's death and since then, she has been looking down on her family, watching as husband Max and their daughter, Ellie cope without her.

 

I'd been looking forward to reading The Dead Wife's Handbook as I thought it had an interesting concept and I've heard some wonderful things about it - and now I can see why. I thought the book was such an interesting and compelling read, not to mention an emotional journey as both Rachel and her family come to terms with her death. My heart went out to Rachel as she looks on as her family struggle with their grief, unable to comfort them and I could feel her frustration and helplessness, but it was Ellie I felt for most. Ellie is only young and is sometimes confused about the loss of her mother and what lies ahead for her. She was probably my favourite character from the book as I thought was she was a lovely little girl who was battling such horrific grief, often with a maturity beyond her years. Like Rachel, I wanted to scoop her up and give her a big cuddle.

 

As well as Max and Ellie, Rachel's death also impacts on her mum, Celia and best friend Harriet's lives, and we see how the different people from Rachel's life react when she is gone. I really felt for Celia, who had leant on Rachel quite a lot over the years. She still has Ellie, but she doesn't see her as often as she would like and I could understand her developing fears as the book moves along. The book could have been quite depressing as Rachel watches her loved ones continuing without her, but while there are some moving, poignant moments, there are plenty of lovely and uplifting ones too, which made it a great read.

 

I loved Hannah Beckerman's writing style. I was immediately comfortable when I started reading the book and soon felt like I'd known Rachel and her family for a long time. The Dead Wife's Handbook is the kind of book that I wanted to go on and on, so I can see what happens next in their lives.