#DeathWish #LindaHuber #BlogTour
Today I am on the Blog Tour for Death Wish by Linda Huber. I have read all of Linda's books as I think her novels are always a great combination of family drama and chilling suspense. Death Wish is no exception! My huge thanks to the author for an advance copy of this book in return for participating in the blog tour and for an honest review.
What is it about?
Secrets. Lies. Murder.
When Leo decides to go into business with his mother-in-law he soon realises his mistake. Eleanor is the mother-in-law from hell and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her daughter, Ashley, has her own reasons for hating her mother. The atmosphere is toxic and old wounds refuse to heal.
Next door, eight-year-old Joya has a difficult life. Her parents argue constantly and her grandmother, who lives with them, is approaching death.
Soon these two families will collide and the consequences might just be fatal…
What did I think?
From the title of this novel I was expecting something very chilling, creepy and disturbing and that is exactly what I got! I felt that Huber had taken a slightly different direction in terms of style in this book which I liked. Initially it wasn't quite what I was expecting as Huber took me down one path before tripping me up and revealing this story was going to be a lot darker than I had imagined! Death Wish is a very good page turner which raises lots of ethical and moral questions as well as delivering a twisty plot with plenty of breathtaking moments of drama and tension.
I think I would describe this book as domestic noir. The story starts with two families and the complicated issues that lie between them. At the beginning the two narratives felt quite self contained, separate and appeared relatively straight forward. The families are not perfect - but who wants to read about perfect - certainly not in a crime thriller anyway! Huber takes her time and the opening of the novel allows you to get to know the relationships between the main characters and work out where your sympathies lie. Then she cranks it up, introduces some dramatic events and emotive issues which suddenly show a change of gear. As soon as the narratives begin to converge we are right where we want to be - in the middle of a tense and suspenseful drama.
Huber is very skilled at depicting the dynamics within a family and exploring the relationships between the different members. The dialogue, interaction and emotional responses all feel authentic and believable. There is a sense that you can never really understand a family unless it is your own and even then, the rules can be complicated. In Death Wish, the relationship between mothers and daughters is very important, as is the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren which I found intriguing. This is such a special bond it was interesting to watch the interaction between Joya and her grandmother play out over the pages.
Huber writes convincingly from the different points of view. It must be a challenge to write the thoughts and feelings of a grandparent and then of a young child, a partner and a mother but Huber's characters are all well crafted and feel real. Joya's character is particularly well written, showing a lot of insight and understanding of not only children at that age, but also of attitudes towards younger children within families. I also liked that sometimes we as adults are so caught up in the details, we miss what is right under our noses.
Death Wish has a chilling climax and the denouement is breathtaking as the characters stumble amongst the chaos, tension, upset and drama that they have embroiled themselves within.
I enjoyed this novel. It felt a little different from other thrillers. It included all the features I look forward to in a Huber novel; good writing, a well structured story, thoughtfully designed characters and a good page turner. Death Wish will hold your attention and has enough twists and turns to both entertain, challenge and thrill. I recommend!
Death Wish is published by Bloodhound Books and currently available for 99p on Kindle.
Here's the link to buy a copy of the book either as an ebook or in paperback from Amazon.
Don't miss the other stops on the Blog Tour!
LINDA HUBER
Linda grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Not to mention several years spent as a full-time mum to two boys, a rescue dog, and a large collection of guinea pigs.
Her writing career began in the nineties, when she had over fifty short stories published in women’s magazines. Several years later, she discovered the love of her writing life – psychological suspense fiction. Her seventh novel, Death Wish, will be published by Bloodhound Books in August 2017.
Website: https://lindahuber.net/
Thank you so much! My books all contain mothers and daughters, but this was the first time I've given a 'voice' to a child in the story - glad you liked my Joya!
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