Wednesday 18 March 2020

Some Days Are Dark by Miranda Smith @bookouture #BlogTour

Some Days Are Dark by Miranda Smith
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date: 16th March 2020

My thanks to publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication as part of the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

When you have nothing to lose, how far will you go to save yourself?

Everyone in Whitaker was sure Olivia Miller shot her husband, until Marcus Rowe confessed. But a month before the trial, Marcus has been proved innocent—putting Olivia back in the frame.

Olivia is the first to admit she isn’t perfect. She’s made a lot of mistakes in her life, the worst of which was marrying Dane Miller. She fell for his kind eyes, his lack of judgement—she thought she could be free with him. That was before the chaotic parties, the dangerous friends, the lies… But one bad choice shouldn’t mean a life sentence. Now her friends are turning away from her, gossiping about her wherever she goes, wondering when she’ll be arrested this time.

Olivia isn’t going to run from the stares, from the whispers, from the doubts. She won’t leave her beloved son behind, or give her ex-husband Frank and his new wife any excuse to stop her seeing him. And if the police and the world think she’s guilty, there’s only one thing she can do—prove her innocence herself.

But if Marcus didn’t murder her husband, then the real killer is still out there.

And they’re not going to want Olivia stirring up the past…

An absolutely gripping, heart-pounding suspense novel about bad choices and second chances. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gray.
  


My Thoughts:


I have mentioned before that fiction based in the USA is not my go-to option but Miranda Smith has impressed me with her writing so much that the setting was not an issue for me.

The story is told from Olivia's point of view and relates how she should be happy and settled in her marriage but has become restless and feels unfulfilled with her life.  Husband Frank works hard to provide all they could possibly want in life albeit in modest ways. But Olivia's head is turned by Frank's employee Dane and soon the cracks in her marriage are sufficient to break it apart. 

Olivia moves in with Dane and it's not long before he proposes and Olivia certainly gets the exciting lifestyle she has been craving.  Dane certainly mixes in different social circles to those Frank did, but Olivia soon realises that she should have been careful what she wished for.  While Olivia and Dane have been partying hard and their house guests have been pushing the boundaries of social acceptability, Frank has met and married Julie a dedicated nurse who has taken on Olivia and Frank's son as her own.  Their life together is a picture of respectability, in stark contrast to Olivia's.


Dane is murdered one night when Olivia is allegedly out of the house and the local police are quick to suspect her.  Dane has few close friends and Olivia struggles to name any of the people who frequented their regular house parties which makes the police suspicious but suddenly a local homeless man has been arrested and charged with murder.  None of this makes sense to Olivia but the investigating officers are not confident with her alibi.

The book follows the people involved in the murder investigation and Olivia's reaction to the information she discovers along the way. The officers aren't keen to share much information with her as she is still a possible suspect in their eyes but fortunately for her there is someone working on her behalf in the background to discover the truth.   Can they prove her innocence in time or will they tread on the wrong toes in their quest to bring the right person to justice?

An interesting insight into how as a society we judge people on first impressions and preconceived ideas when sometimes it's those who appear to have their ducks in a row who are the most messed up.
Buy Links:

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Q9xGwa



About the Author:


Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children. 


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