Blood Orange

There's been a lot of stir about this book and for once, I don't think it was misplaced.

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Book description

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise - she's just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems...

Just one more night. Then I'll end it.

Alison drinks too much. She's neglecting her family. And she's having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.

Alison's client doesn't deny that she stabbed her husband - she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I'm watching you. I know what you're doing.

But someone knows Alison's secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she's done, and who won't stop until she's lost everything....

A disturbing, toxic and compelling novel that explores the power of fear and desire, jealousy and betrayal, love and hate, BLOOD ORANGE introduces a stunning new voice in psychological suspense.

My review

Alison is a lawyer and is given her first murder case. It should be a great point in her career but she’s on a path to self-destruction. Her marriage is on the rocks, she’s drinking hard and she’s embarked upon an abusive affair. I can’t count the number of times I wanted to shake her! The tension is high in this story and the outcome uncertain. The unfolding of the murder case shows parallels in Alison’s own life and I found these quite dramatic and not over-stated. It certainly kept me gripped.

About the author

Harriet Tyce was born and grew up in Edinburgh. She graduated from the University of Oxford in 1994 with a degree in English Literature before gaining legal qualifications. She worked as a criminal barrister for ten years, leaving after the birth of her first child. She completed an MA in Creative Writing - Crime Fiction at UEA where she wrote Blood Orange, which is her first novel.

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Just a thought

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.
― Joseph Brodsky