The July Girls by Phoebe Locke
Publication Date 25th July 2019
Published by Wildfire
Psychological/Crime Thriller
Book Description:
Every year, on the same night in July, a woman is taken from the streets of London; snatched by a killer who moves through the city like a ghost.
Addie has a secret. On the morning of her tenth birthday, four bombs were detonated across the capital. That night her dad came home covered in blood. She thought he was hurt in the attacks - but then her sister Jessie found a missing woman's purse hidden in his room.
Addie has a secret. On the morning of her tenth birthday, four bombs were detonated across the capital. That night her dad came home covered in blood. She thought he was hurt in the attacks - but then her sister Jessie found a missing woman's purse hidden in his room.
Jessie says they mustn't tell. She says there's nothing to worry about. But when she takes a job looking after the woman's baby daughter, Addie starts to realise that her big sister doesn't always tell her the whole story. And that the secrets they're keeping may start costing lives .
My Review:
Jessie and Addie are sisters. Their mum isn't around anymore which means their dad has to work long hours driving his taxi in order to keep a roof over their heads. Bringing up Addie has pretty much fallen to Jessie, and Addie loves and trusts her more than anyone else in the world. Addie knows her mum still loves her though, because she always gets a birthday card from her. But Addie's safe little world changes on the day of her 10th birthday when terrorists detonate 4 bombs in London, bringing the capital virtually to a standstill. The events that followed for Addie make her doubt everything she previously knew and believed in. Her sister seems to change - become determined to make something of herself, dumping her long-term boyfriend who Addie adores, and finding work as a nanny to the father of a young baby whose mother went missing during the bombings.
Over the course of the book we are privy to all of Addie's inner thoughts and turmoil. At a difficult time in any young girl's life Addie's mind is buzzing with thoughts and theories as to what happened that day. She questions everything and even loses touch with her closest friend when he repeats local gossip which suggests the girls' dad might be a dodgy character. Nothing makes sense but all the evidence is pointing one way and the police do eventually come knocking on the door. But who are they looking for - and have they got their facts right or are they just listening to the loudest noises?
I read this book so quickly as I was easily drawn into Addie's world and the torment she faced every day. Should she tell anyone her fears - would she confide in anyone? The one person in the world she should be able to go to with her problems was actually the person she couldn't tell. Her fears and emotions are described so well by the author that I was going through them with her - and with her being so young made me feel even more protective of her.
The conclusion to the book was not at all what I expected and I was left pondering events long after I closed the last page. I've not read any of this author's books before but she has just been allocated a spot on my top author's list and I have since looked up her backlist in order to add them to my already huge mountain of books I need to read.
My sincere thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things tours and the publisher Wildfire Books for the privilege of being part of the blog tour for this book.
Over the course of the book we are privy to all of Addie's inner thoughts and turmoil. At a difficult time in any young girl's life Addie's mind is buzzing with thoughts and theories as to what happened that day. She questions everything and even loses touch with her closest friend when he repeats local gossip which suggests the girls' dad might be a dodgy character. Nothing makes sense but all the evidence is pointing one way and the police do eventually come knocking on the door. But who are they looking for - and have they got their facts right or are they just listening to the loudest noises?
I read this book so quickly as I was easily drawn into Addie's world and the torment she faced every day. Should she tell anyone her fears - would she confide in anyone? The one person in the world she should be able to go to with her problems was actually the person she couldn't tell. Her fears and emotions are described so well by the author that I was going through them with her - and with her being so young made me feel even more protective of her.
The conclusion to the book was not at all what I expected and I was left pondering events long after I closed the last page. I've not read any of this author's books before but she has just been allocated a spot on my top author's list and I have since looked up her backlist in order to add them to my already huge mountain of books I need to read.
My sincere thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things tours and the publisher Wildfire Books for the privilege of being part of the blog tour for this book.
About the Author:
PHOEBE LOCKE is the pseudonym of full-time writer Nicci Cloke. She previously worked at the Faber Academy, and hosted London literary salon Speakeasy. Nicci has had two literary novels published by Fourth Estate and Cape, and also writes YA for Hot Key Books. She lives and writes in Cambridgeshire. THE JULY GIRLS follows Phoebe Locke's debut thriller THE TALL MAN.
Find Phoebe on Twitter @phoebe_locke
Follow the tour:
Huge thanks for the blog tour support Sandie x
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