gifted – Rebecca Millar Editorial

📚Suspense fans—read this now!📚

By day, I edit crime, suspense and thriller, and by night, well, I read crime, suspense and thriller. It’s a genre that I have always loved; there is something about a complex, changing narrative of intrigue and mystery and a bloody good twist that I just can’t resist.

And an author who delivers on this level with every single book is the masterful Gilly Macmillan. Her latest novel To Tell You the Truth is my favourite yet (and I actually helped edit her previous book THE NANNY, so that’s saying something). Gilly has created a complex and fascinating character in Lucy – a novelist whose talent for imagination may have gone too far. She narrates a dark and multi-layered tale of deception, death and lies – or so you think. With twists at every turn, I was compelled to read the novel late into the night, desperate to uncover the truth.

Set in Gilly’s hometown of Bristol, I was transported back to my university days in a city that I loved, but this also added an extra level of intrigue as much of the action takes place on the other side of the Suspension Bridge from the city, which I actually only visited a couple of times. This created an otherworldy sense for me in a, which was unnerving and built on Lucy Harper’s complex world that Gilly has weaved together so well. (On an aside, this book is also a delight for those who work in the world of books and publishing; I couldn’t help but smile at Lucy’s interactions with her publishers – everyone loves a treat hamper!)

To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan publishes on 25th June 2020 in ebook and hardback. But if I were you, I’d preorder it now…

Thanks to the author and publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Death?
Seen him. Loads of times.
Death’s just a bloke.’

I’d already heard lots of good things about it by the time The Keeper by Jessica Moor dropped through my letterbox courtesy of Viking Books. But this is no ordinary thriller. As much as it is compelling to read, it’s also incredibly comfortable for the simple reason it’s so well written.

Moor has succeeded in writing both a gripping crime thriller – with one helluva sick twist! – but also raises awareness of the incredibly important issue of domestic violence. For this reason, although I appreciated the writing, The Keeper is also hard-going at times in that you read in sickening detail about the abuse, both physical and psychological, that the women in the narrative suffer. My God, it was tough reading at times. But in this case, this is no criticism but heartfelt praise as it forces the reader to exam the structure of the human psyche and psyche that allows such tragedies to occur in the first place.

Happy Publication Day to an important book about an issue all too often hidden behind closed doors and masked behind make-up. Congratulations to Jessica on her powerful debut!

Tag: gifted

Book Review: TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH by Gilly Macmillan

Book Review: THE KEEPER by Jessica Moor