A wonderful evening at Blackwells Edinburgh on the 9th Feb 2023. Debut authors Cailean Steed and Heather Darwent are on an author book tour and I was delighted to be able to attend. Both books really sound exceptional. I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of Heather’s book The Things We Do To Our Friends at the Viking Books showcase in Edinburgh last year. I will be reading and reviewing both of these titles very soon.
Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate: to find the right people and reinvent herself.
And then she meets Tabitha.
Tabitha is charismatic, beautiful and intimidatingly wealthy. Soon Clare is sucked into her enigmatic circle of friends and their dizzying world of champagne on rooftops and summers in France.
Her new life has begun.
Then Tabitha reveals the little project they’re working on, a project they need Clare’s help with. It’s reckless, possibly perilous and might finally allow Clare to become who she was meant to be…
But how much is an extraordinary life worth if others have to pay?
An intoxicating feminist page-turner with shades of The Secret History and Promising Young Woman, this novel will take you on a journey from Edinburgh’s dazzling spires to the dripping staircases and dark alleyways of its underbelly.
Someone has broken into Zoe’s flat. A man she thought she’d never have to see again.
They call him the Hand of God.
He knows about her job in the cafe, her life in Dublin, her ex-girlfriend, even the knife she’s hidden under the mattress.
She thought she’d left him far behind, along with the cult of the Children and their isolated compound Home – but now he’s found her, and Zoe realises she must go back with him if she’s to rescue the sister who helped her escape originally. But returning to Home means going back to the enforced worship and strict gender roles Zoe has long since moved beyond. Back to the abuse and indoctrination she’s fought desperately to overcome…
Going back will make her question everything she believed about her past – and risk her hard-won freedom.
Can she break free a second time?
It was brilliant to be back at a book event. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have loved to have heard both authors read from their books. Look out for more events at Blackwell’s via their social media and website.
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Kelly Lacey & Love Books Tours 