Sunday 9 June 2019

A Face In The Crowd by Kerry Wilkinson @Bookouture @nholten40 #AfaceInTheCrowd #NetGalley

A Face In the Crowd by Kerry Wilkinson
Published by Bookouture
Published 6th June 2019
Genre: Psychological Thriller
295 pages

Book Description:

Lucy gets the same bus every day.

She hopes to get a seat to herself, tries to avoid eye contact, and, if she’s really lucky, reads a chapter of her book.

But it’s a Friday – and the bus is always crammed at the end of the week. Personal space doesn’t exist. She keeps her elbows close and clings to a pole at every juddering stop.

When she gets off, something feels different.

An envelope stuffed with thousands of pounds is in her bag.

Is it the answer to her prayers, or the beginning of a nightmare?

Because, in the end, everything has a price.

A compulsive read that will have you absolutely hooked and reading late into the night.

My Review:

Lucy's life changed for the worse the day her fiancĂ©e Ben died tragically in a train accident 5 years ago.  They had been full of hopes and dreams, homeowners with plans of great things.  After his death Lucy discovered that Ben had spent all their savings and racked up huge debts which she has been left to pay off now he's gone. She's living in a tiny flat, working as a checkout girl in a small supermarket a bus ride away from home. It's on one such jam-packed bus journey home after work that Lucy discovers an envelope full of cash pushed into her bag. She desperately tries to recall who was standing close to her, who could have had the opportunity to put it there but nobody stands out. Why would they plant it there? Is she in trouble in holding on to the money or should she report it to the police?  She decides to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning.

As is usually the case when you're strapped for cash life continues to give Lucy lemons and she is forced to dip into the envelope to buy essentials, then once the seal is broken the temptation to dip in again is too much. Before she knows it Lucy has spent a fair chunk of the money - and that's when she starts to get paranoid.  What if the person it belongs to wants it back and she can't give it back in full? What sort of people is she involved with here? They could be dangerous people.  She starts to see shadows while she out walking her adorable staffie, Billy. She is convinced Ben's mum is following her and music is blaring out from the newly rented apartment opposite yet nobody ever seems to be home. Lucy is spooked.

Nothing prepared me for the facts of who was behind the cash and why they were doing it.  I've not read any of this author's work before so I don't know whether this is trademark writing for  him but I am so impressed that I have gone out and bought the first 3 of the books in a long-running series of his since reading this standalone book.  Despite Lucy's paranoia I was pleased that the author didn't turn the character into a weak person which could have been quite easy to do, but she kept her grit and I was quite shocked by the ending - but rather satisfied with the outcome.  I really am looking forward to reading the other books from this author; I liked the way Billy was made into a significant character in the storyline, so as an animal lover Wilkinson won me over and especially as he elected to cast him as an ageing staffie. Fiercely protective as a breed I am proud to have one (albeit a hybrid version) as part of our family and am delighted how well the breed was portrayed in the book.

In summary there was far more to this book than I expected from the original description, and I am extremely grateful to Noelle Holten at Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication as part of the promotional tour.

About the Author:



Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 bestsellers in the UK, Canada, South Africa and Singapore, as well as top-five books in Australia. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry has spent far too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Author Social Media Links:



Follow the Tour:



No comments:

Post a Comment