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The twists and turns of Edward's case were written better. While some of the twists were predictable, others were not. Where the author really lost me was in Jay's actions toward the last third of the book. They seemed so completely out of character and inconsistent with her behavior in the rest of the book, I just didn't buy it.
It was happiness in totality for the first season of summer that she was there. Then quite a lot went on, including a love affair with an individual that ended up being one of the most wanted by the FBI. The pound also decided to lose value and the author realized that full time living in France did have its differences to a vacation for two weeks on holiday on a yacht on the Riviera. It is up to her to make sure he doesn’t go to prison for the rest of his life for a crime he didn’t commit. At the same time she has to decide whether to fight for her husband. Drawn in two directions she has to choose where her loyalties are.
There isn’t a lot that can be revealed about this book beyond the synopsis, and that means it has a lot of secrets - always a good thing! This was a slower read, but also one that you don’t mind luxuriating in because the journey is that good.
THE AUTHOR: Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu. High-flying lawyer Jessica Wells has it all. A successful career, loving husband Tom and a family she adores. But one case - and one client - will put all that at risk. Edward Blake. An ordinary life turned upside down - or a man who quietly watched tv while his wife was being murdered upstairs? With more questions than answers and a case to knotted to unravel, Jessica suspects he's protecting someone.
The glamorous life of the yachts and French living was wonderful, and there were plenty of interesting people to speak with. It all returned once summer arrived, but there were many months that stretched in between them. It was all too much to bear and the artist decided to return to the sunny state of California. It’s good she’s so invested in working, because she has a lot going on in her personal life and she can use the distraction. When your spouse sits you down one day and says “I have something to tell you”, it’s not usually good news, and her husband’s news throws her entire world upside down. Now, she’s dealing with her husband’s sins, trying to save her adult children from the truth, all while working to save her client from being convicted of murder. This started so well. An interesting scenario whereby high flying lawyer Jessica (Jay) Wells is representing a man (Edward Blake) accused of tying his wife to a bed and smothering her to death with a pillow.
As Cara digs deeper into Jeannie’s disappearance she finds the towns people are not willing to tell her any information what are the towns folk hiding 🫣& why would a woman who has a high powered job just disappear without a trace or is it something more sinister going on? Susan Lewis has a gift for telling warm family stories that also take you by surprise’ Jane Corry‘A gripping read’ Bella - I’m giving this a 4.5, rounded down because it was quite wordy and a bit slow in places. The actual story is fantastic, and I really found myself rooting for Jay. I thought I had gotten to the ending, and I liked it, but then there was ANOTHER ending that took this from a 4 to 4.5 for me. It’s a nice, cozy mystery/psychological thriller, and one I’d recommend if you don’t mind a drawn-out book. Susan Lewis has done very well in her literary career and several novels later, she only regrets that none of her books have been yet optioned to make it to the silver screen or even television as adaptations. She left television to become a novelist and did the typical thing that she thought prudent, which is to buy a home in the south of France complete with a swimming pool. What I was promised was a crime/mystery, when in reality what this novel provided was a boring story about personal life of a lawyer who happens to have a client who has/hasn't killed his wife.A great holiday read. Two stories being told next to each other with some great twists… the characters are fantastic’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Susan Lewis's latest release (and my first read of her work - potentially also my last), tells the story of Edward Blake's legal headache of discovering his wife strapped to a bed, dead, and his being almost immediately cast as prime suspect. But all is not lost, as he has Jay on his side, with her experience as a defence lawyer matched only in importance by her beautiful hair, "come-to-bed eyes" and her failing marriage. Stir in a cast of (mostly privileged) clichés, season with a soupcon of dated writing and drizzle with a watered down jus of the thinnest of weak plot lines before serving with a side of "what the hell is this Mills and Boon plotline doing in this murder investigation?"
Jessica (Jay) is a lawyer who has been tasked with defending Edward Blake, a man accused of killing his wife. Right away, she gets the feeling that he is innocent, so she’s quite invested in the case. His charm and good looks certainly don’t hurt either… Quite often had to remind myself that the main character is not a police officer - she regularly oversteps the boundaries, does a whole host of above and beyond investigating herself and holds on to crucial evidence.
This is an engrossing tale that is full of suspense, with a twist or two that will leave you doubting all the characters because you know someone is hiding something. I am happy to say that this book gets a 5-star rating from me.
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