S.E. Lynes

Truly potent mysteries are not the ones that confront us at the very beginning of a story but the ones that slowly take shape within both, a veil of vagueness and just enough specificity to keep us titillated and wondering which direction the plot will lead. Only very few writers manage that build-up well, let alone manage to make the revelation of the mystery itself an apotheosis. Be that as it may, that is exactly what S.E Lynes in The Women accomplishes. She keeps us entertained and show more intrigued with well-developed characters and eloquent prose until a series of innocuous, perhaps even trifling matters manifest as a high grade mystery to the expectant reader.
Even if you are like me and do not generally like domestic settings in your thriller mysteries, the brilliant plot and character interactions will convince you. College student Samantha Frayn and Professor of Art History Peter Bridges are some of the most well-rounded, intriguing, yet believable characters I have had the pleasure of having been introduced to in quite some time. Don’t pass up the chance to a great reading experience. 4 1/2 stars. Period show less

This was a psychological thriller and a half. With mysterious characters and plenty of twists, albeit some were guessable but no less enjoyable, it had me turning page after page until I had devoured every last word. It left me reeling and wondering just how well we really know the ones we love.

For Shona it is love at first sight when she first sees Mikey but unfortunately he’s not single, although his relationship is apparently on rocky ground. When his relationship does break up, Shona show more agrees to go out with him and the rest, as they say, is history. Only this story doesn’t have a happy ending.

When Mikey gets a job offshore, Shona and their daughter, Isla, move to Aberdeen. Mikey has chosen a little cottage in the middle of nowhere which at first seems idyllic until Shona realises how vulnerable she is in this remote area. Shona wants to make friends so she enrols Isla in a trial at a nursery; it is there that she meets the vivacious enigma, Valentina, who is also trialling the nursery for her son, Zac. With babies the same age in common, they immediately hit it off and Shona invites Valentina to the cottage. Although they appear to be friends, it isn’t long before Valentina seems to be taking advantage of Shona, leaving the baby for Shona to look after and always finding an excuse as to why Shona can’t meet her husband, the mysterious ‘Red’.

There were lots of questions floating around my head when I was reading this book. Why does Shona call Mikey her husband when they aren’t married? Why aren’t they married? Where is Valentina’s husband? Does he even exist? Just who is Valentina? With so many questions, it was no wonder I kept wanting to read one more chapter. I just had to find the answers and I couldn’t contemplate thinking of anything else until I found out how this story would end.

As debuts go, this is one of the best. It really crept under my skin and made me question everything I had read. I was fascinated by the change in Shona – she went from being a tough cookie standing up to people in the street to being scared to be on her own in the cottage. She almost lost her identity by trusting and believing in the man she knew as her husband. As her rose coloured glasses are ripped from her eyes, all the pieces of the puzzle slot into place and she finally sees Mikey for who he really is. Who will be left standing at the end?

An absolutely gripping story – Valentina is completely enthralling from start to finish. This is a debut of such exceptional quality and I am eager to see what S.E. Lynes has in store for us next.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Blackbird, in exchange for an honest review. show less

The Split by S.E. Lynes follows a fractious break-up and the aftermath. It is a recommended, average domestic psychological thriller.

Jessica and Will are married and have two children. Jessica works long hours in London and is the main support for the family. Will is a life coach and the main care taker for the children. The morning after they celebrated their anniversary Jessica received pictures of Will, by all appearances, having an affair with another woman. When she confronts him, he show more says it's not what she thinks but he can't talk about it. She kicks him out of the house. This is the start of bigger problems than their inability to talk to or trust each other.

Admittedly, I was not a fan of The Split. The pluses are I read it to the end. The plot is interesting, but average. There are plenty of secrets and twists. The narrative moves at a fast pace. It gets all the points for escapism and a sense of dread and danger. The anger and frustration with each other seems realistic. The characters are unlikable and gullible. As I was reading, I predicted to myself early on what would happen and who would be responsible. I was correct, repeatedly. Many readers will likely enjoy this for the diversion. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/02/the-split.html show less

The Summer Holiday by S.E. Lynes

I had high hopes for this book and the beginning did grab my attention but then, as I continued, I lost interest, read the end and thought, “say what?” so returned to skim through the unread part only to realize that I did not like and could not relate to even one of the three main characters. Kate was a wimp that kept waiting for something that would never happen, Coco was a manipulative narcissistic rather evil person, Jeff was a man I could not admire show more and wished had made other choices…in fact…I wished all three had never met and had lived other lives.

How to evaluate this book? I suppose that if reading is to create feelings and tell a story, then this book did evoke negative feelings and make me wish I had not been left with the characters and their story in my mind. If it is supposed to show characters as they truly are then this showed three people in ways that left me glad that I do not know them in real life. The writing evoked feelings and thoughts so can’t discredit the writer’s ability to create impressions, develop characters, etc…

So…well written, well plotted, had a few twists and turns, didn’t like the characters or way the story ended…but know some will really find it a great story…hmmm… I read one of this author’s books and rated it 3 and another 5 and this one is perhaps equal to or less than that of the story I rated three stars.

Did I like this book? No
Would I read more by this author? Maybe
Do I think others will like this book? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARD – This is my honest review.

2 Stars for the way I felt after reading it
4 Stars for it being publishable
3 Star average show less