Laura Elliot

Laura Elliot has woven a tightly braided story. The strands of the braid are so tightly woven that it seems as if the truth will never come to light. The unraveling starts with a swallow fluttering its wings in an attic and the constant question remains “How long is a piece of string?” Sound cryptic? The unraveling and question continue throughout the story strand by strand until the braid starts to come undone and then is redone, tightened, only to become tangled and very messy.

The show more tension never lifts, each section brings another gasp of rage, fear and torment. Powerful, emotional writing with characters perfectly drawn, situations so clearly described that you feel the raw emotion being described. Many important topics are found and explored in this book and the author doesn’t make excuses or shy away from exposing the devastating consequences of bullying, shaming, cultism and those with power who prey on the weak. This is all incorporated smoothly within the storyline allowing the reader to sift through the emotions that are provoked.

This book captured my undivided attention and I finished it in a day. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy. show less

This is a story of one journalist's thirst for a story, how her aggressive and unflagging investigation into an innocent man ruins his life, and how his vengeance ruins hers. Constance, a young girl, goes missing one night. She has a very close relationship with her uncle Karl, but Karl doesn't know what happened. Amanda, a reporter, digs into Constance's relationship with her uncle, and puts a sinister tone to it. Based on her insinuations in her reporting, Amanda turns public opinion show more against Karl. Amanda is unscrupulous, and stops at nothing to get what she wants. Her reckless behavior causes her to ruin Karl's life. But, later, Karl exacts his revenge.
The story was good, but it went on for too long. I think it could have been better if the story was about 100 pages shorter. It would have heightened the intensity of the novel.
This story certainly did make one thing clear to me - and that is, do not automatically assume something about someone, and check and recheck what you read!
#Guilty #LauraElliot show less

Carla Kelley is a beautiful and famous model, whose career is only heightened by her pregnancy, as she advertises the maternity line, "Anticipation." Susanne Dowling, meanwhile, lives a quiet and sad life, punctuated by several heart-breaking miscarriages. Her last one seems destined to send her over the edge.

Shortly after Carla's baby, Isobel, is born, the baby vanishes from the hospital without a trace. The media descends upon the model and her husband, ruining his undercover detective show more career and threatening their marriage.

Meanwhile, Susanne and her husband, David, are basking in happiness: their new baby girl, Joy. Susanne finally has the baby she's always wanted. But is she happy?

The book alternates between Carla and Susanne's points of view and eventually, once she's old enough, we hear from Joy as well. While the story is compelling, I had a hard time getting into the novel as neither Carla and Susanne present as very sympathetic characters, despite their losses. The book becomes more interesting as Joy ages and can tell her side of the story. Much of the tale is more a study in personalities and psychology than a page-turning search for a child. The reader is always aware where the "stolen child" is, even if her parents are not.

Overall, it's an intriguing read (and an interesting description of a scenario that terrifies many parents - I know I felt agonized reading the moments where Isobel is stolen), if not a little slow at times, with some characters who, while human and complicated, won't always elicit a lot of sympathy.

(Note: I received a digital copy of this novel in return for an unbiased review.) show less

The Tinderbox by Laura Elliot is a recommended psychological thriller.

Sophy and Luke's marriage is over due to his gambling problem. The two have separated and Luke has went to a treatment center. Sophie has sold her business and is selling their house in order to pay off his debts. In order to provide a home for her two daughters, 14 year-old Isobel and younger daughter Julie, Sophie has accepted the position as a live-in nurse for Jack Hyland. Jack was horrible burned and disfigured in a show more fire and will need help and assistance in his recovery. Sophie and her daughters will be living on the main floor of his home, Hyland Hall. When they arrive, the three are shocked to see the home is is such disrepair, but Isobel is the only one openly complaining. When Jack's nephew, Victor, who lives next door shows up, it becomes clear that he wasn't told about Sophy's job and that Jack and Victor are not as close as Victor claims. Victor, however, sets out to charm Sophy and the girls.

The narrative unfolds in alternating chapters through the point of view of Sophie or Isobel. We become well acquainted with these two characters and their thoughts. Sophy feels that this position is a life saver as it provides a home for her and the girls. Isobel calls the upstairs the Fear Zone and finds the whole house creepy. She really starts out as a rather immature, bratty character, but you know from the opening of the novel that a teenage girl will be calling the Garda (police in Ireland) to say her life is in danger, so you know something is going to go terribly wrong. The pace starts out slow after this opening hook but eventually picks up later in the novel.

The suspense is in following the action to reach the point where the phone call is made. The main problem is that the whole plot is so terribly predictable. It partially follows a sort of Gothic plot outline, where there are unknown threatening elements, a crumbling ancestral home, a sequestered disfigured owner, a charming relative, and an ominous sense of foreboding danger. It doesn't help that the younger daughter, Julie, is attached to a child-size mannequin, treats it like a real person, and is trying to practice ventriloquism with her. Victor seems smarmy and untrustworthy from the start, making you doubt Sophie's intelligence when she responds to his advances. Yes, The Tinderbox is worth reading, but I knew where it was going almost right from the start so there wasn't a whole lot of suspense for me.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/11/the-tinderbox.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3658087465 show less