I am delighted to share my review today for Lethal Ties by Helen J Christmas. This is a very powerful and emotional read and one that does have a chilling edge to it.

My huge thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot don’t he Blog Tour and for arranging my e-copy of this fabulous story.

I do have to mention the cover, it is so appropriate now I have read this story!

Lethal Ties

A haunting vision. A spine-chilling nightmare. A missing boy.

When Joe, Maisie and Sam met in a residential children’s home, they pledged to look out for each other; three friends who were inseparable until the night Sam went missing…

Twenty years later, Maisie suffers flashbacks, unable to understand what lies at the root of her recurring nightmares. Shocked to find Joe, homeless on Bognor seafront, she helps him turn his life around, but it doesn’t seem long before their past comes back to haunt them.

What really went on at Orchard Grange all those years ago?
Where did Sam go?

Only he can provide the answers but they need to find him.

Within weeks of Maisie and Joe being reunited, however, an eerie presence disrupts their world. A mysterious black car is tailing them; a campaign of online abuse makes Joe wonder if his enemies are still around. He has never forgotten Mr Mortimer from the children’s home until a shocking attempt on his life launches a police investigation. 
Lethal Ties is a tense psychological thriller, an untangling of secrets with an utterly chilling twist.

Purchase Links – Amazon UK – US

MY REVIEW…

This is a book that has had me hooked for the past couple of days. It is the story of three children who met while in care. One went to live with foster parents, one disappeared and one ran away. Years later they find each other. Maisie is the main character of this story and as the synopsis tells, she finds one of her friends Joe. Together they begin to piece together events from the past, the ones that give Maisie nightmares and that Joe finds very difficult to describe. This is a story that involves child abuse, it is a story that is hard reading but has not been over-described. The story is a mystery, a psychological thriller, it also has a criminal and police procedural aspect to it. The nature of the main theme is gradually brought out as initially Maisie and Joe deal with the past, they make links. It is as their friendship becomes more solid again that then turns this into a psychological thriller. I am finding this quite difficult to review, I want so much to shout about the various events but can’t as I would give too much away. Suppressed memories, nightmares and an uneasy feeling of being watched does not help Maisie feel safe, she does however have a good support network, though small, it provides her with the opportunity to voice her concerns. Through talking and through therapy she is able to piece things together. She realises that there is far more she has repressed than she had first realised. The author then adds the twists, the manipulation and also the realisation as things start to come together. It is a story that the author has done so well considering the content. There is an amazing piece at the end of the book that describes how this story came about and also the people she met. I imagine research for this book to have been difficult but I think the author has done an amazing job. This is an emotional read and also a very powerful one. Enough detail has been given so you are aware but as I mentioned earlier, there isn’t a lot of detail. I think the author got the balance for this very right. The psychological thriller aspect really builds, and I found this to add more pace to the story as it went on. It always feels wrong to say that stories like this are wonderful reads, and Lethal Ties was such a wonderful read. It is one I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

I’ve had a passion for writing since childhood and wrote my first full-length novel in 2011. This grew into a five-book mystery thriller series (Same Face Different Place). I love networking with other authors and the highlight of my writing journey was in 2015 when I was selected as a winner in a short story competition “Write Across Sussex,” judged by Kate Mosse and Peter Lovesey. I love where we live and with a passion for walking and photography, found the inspiration to base my novel in West Sussex.

I am active on social media and have written various articles about my characters on my blog. The underlying premise of ‘Lethal Ties’ is to raise awareness of mental health problems and promote a better understanding of conditions such as Asperger’s.

‘Lethal Ties’ is my first standalone psychological thriller and set in my local town, Bognor Regis.
Social Media Links – Blog – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Website

GIVEAWAY

Giveaway to Win a signed paperback of Lethal Ties (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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