The Fake Date by Lynda Stacey
Published by Choc Lit/Ruby Fiction
Publication Date 18th September 2018
412 pages
Genre: Crime, Mystery & Thrillers
My thanks to Rachel Gilbey of @rararesources and the publisher Ruby Fiction for the advance copy of this book, and the invitation to be part of the promotional tour. All views are unbiased and my own.
Book Description:
Nine hours and eleven minutes …That’s how long it’s been since Ella Hope was beaten to within an inch of life and left for dead.
She lies, unable to move and praying for somebody to find her, as she counts down the minutes and wonders who could have hated her so much to have hurt her so badly.
Was it the man she went on a date with the previous evening, the man linked to the deaths of two other women? Or somebody else, somebody who wants her out of the picture so much they’re willing to kill?
Whoever it is, they will pay. All Ella has to do first is survive …
She lies, unable to move and praying for somebody to find her, as she counts down the minutes and wonders who could have hated her so much to have hurt her so badly.
Was it the man she went on a date with the previous evening, the man linked to the deaths of two other women? Or somebody else, somebody who wants her out of the picture so much they’re willing to kill?
Whoever it is, they will pay. All Ella has to do first is survive …
My Review:
Ella Hope lies beaten and broken in the mud, counting the seconds and minutes to try to make herself focus and stay awake, desperately trying to figure out who had done this to her and why. Luckily for Ella an early morning dog walker stumbles across her and calls for help. The chapter ends with the thoughts of her attacker, who admits it's not the first time they have left someone for dead.
The remainder of the book deals with how Ella convalesces and the people who support her through the healing process. Best friend and police officer Sarah is on hand with food and the occasional bottle of fizz on their girls nights in; fence-hopping neighbour Will who is determined to help Ella through the horrors she has suffered and who is beginning to hope they could possibly be more than friends if and when Ella is ready. On the flip side are the people who might not have Ella's best interests at heart. Gym owner Rick Greaves, who Ella spent the evening with on a date the night she was attacked, who she is convinced is the guilty man yet fiercely denies any involvement. Rick's devious former brother in law Tim who used to have a financial interest in the gym before he needed bailing out and rescuing from financial ruin by Rick. And the socially inept Bobby, the farmer who works the fields opposite Ella's home who appears to take more than a healthy interest in Ella and spooks her on more than one occasion. With a few other lesser characters drip fed into the mix the cast isn't too big to deal with yet sufficient to give you plenty of options for the perpetrator.
I really enjoyed the writing style in this book and went through the emotions of the healing process with Ella along the way. The clues are there for the reader to pick up on but they are so subtly mentioned they will have you kicking yourself at the end. I had 2 possible suspects in my head as the story ticked along - it seemed too easy to jump to the obvious conclusion as Ella had. There are some great characters in this book, each with their own background story which gives them added depth and personality. I also liked the fact that misunderstandings between certain members of the cast were dealt with but was a little disappointed at one aspect of the climax of the book as I thought the characters could have helped each other deal with their issues later on (I'm finding it difficult not to give too much away here!).
A great read which had me glued to the sofa for a whole afternoon to find out whodunnit and why.
About the Author:
She is currently the Sales Director of a stationery, office supplies and office furniture company in Doncaster, where she has worked for the past 25 years. Prior to this she’d also been a nurse, a model, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor … and yes, she was crazy enough to dive in the sea with sharks, without a cage.
Following a car accident in 2008, Lynda was left with limited mobility in her right arm. Unable to dive or teach anymore, she turned to her love of writing, a hobby she’d followed avidly since being a teenager.
Her own life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots, along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.
Lynda joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2014 under the umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel House of Secrets won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star competition.
She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her ‘hero at home husband’, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyndastaceyauthor
This sounds sooo good.
ReplyDeleteKeeps you guessing the whole way through
ReplyDelete