Book Synopsis:

Outback Australia, 1981

After a terrible childhood, Jane comes to Thornfield as nanny to the adorable Adele, watched over by the handsome and enigmatic Edward. Plain and inexperienced, Jane would never dream of being more than his hired help. But swept up in the dramatic beauty of the Outback, she finds herself drawn to Edward. And, to her surprise, he seems to return her feelings.

But Jane is not the first woman Edward has pledged to make mistress of Thornfield.

As a child, Betty was taken from her English home and sent for adoption in Australia. At first, no-one wanted her, deeming her hair too curly, and her skin too dark. Until the scheming Mr Mason sees a chance to use Betty to cement a relationship with the rich and powerful Rochester dynasty…

When Jane discovers Betty’s fate, will she still want to be the next Mrs Rochester?

The Other Wife is available now in ebook now and in paperback on the 24th January 2019.  You can purchase or pre-order your copy here.

My Review:

The Other Wife is a fantastic re- imagining of the classic Jane Eyre with a modern twist.  It manages to be heartbreaking, gripping and quite dark in places which definetly kept me on my toes, despite being a fan of the original.

In alternate chapters we learn about the story of Jane and Betty two little girls who have a heartbreakingly bad childhood.  Their innocence and the treatment they receive at the hands of the people who should have cared for them is quite hard to read about.  I had a huge lump in my throat whilst reading about their experiences and wished I could reach into the story and give them a huge hug! I was firmly on their side and simultaneously wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to them and to stop reading as I wasn’t sure I wanted to know!

The location of the story has been changed to Australia which gives it quite a modern feel and the author cleverly weaves a lot of historical details into the book about what life was like in Australia at that time.  Throughout the book we learn about the huge class divides at that time and the racism and prejudice against certain people.  It’s hard to believe that these existed now but they are a huge part of this story and as such some of the scenes describing this made my blood boil as i felt it was hugely unfair.

Despite knowing this story well the author still managed to surprise me at times and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me glued to the book.  I actually preferred the ending to this book then the original which surprised me but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is the first book by this author I have read and I will look forward to reading more from her in the future.  If you like gripping and emotional historical fiction then you’ll love this book!

Huge thanks to Izzy from HQ stories for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

 

About The Author:

Juliet Bell is the collaborative pen name of respected authors Janet Gover and Alison May.
Juliet was born at a writers’ conference, with a chance remark about heroes who are far from heroic. She was raised on pizza and wine during many long working lunches, and finished her first novel over cloud storage and skype in 2017.
Juliet shares Janet and Alison’s preoccupation with misunderstood classic fiction, and stories that explore the darker side of relationships.
Alison also writes commercial women’s fiction and romantic comedies and can be found at http://www.alison-may.co.uk
Janet writes contemporary romantic adventures mostly set in outback Australia and can be found at http://www.janetgover.com

Good afternoon everyone I’m on the blog tour for Black Moss by David Nolan today and have a great extract to share with you all.

Black Moss is available now in ebook and paperback now, purchase your copy here.

Before I share my extract with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

In April 1990, as rioters took over Strangeways prison in Manchester, someone killed a little boy at Black Moss.And no one cared. No one except Danny Johnston, an inexperienced radio reporter trying to make a name for himself.More than a quarter of a century later, Danny returns to his home city to revisit the murder that’s always haunted him. If Danny can find out what really happened to the boy, maybe he can cure the emptiness he’s felt inside since he too was a child.But finding out the truth might just be the worst idea Danny Johnston has ever had.

Extract:

A former child protection detective helped me with the book. Some of things she told me where shocking. I’ve tried to bring a sense of it to the dialogue… the frustration the police felt about dealing with missing children. Here journalist Danny meets with DI Smithdown and DC Cave, the officers investigating the murder of a little boy at Black Moss.

‘These kids go missing all the time,’ stated DI Smithdown, jabbing the table with his finger. ‘I can show you case after case of kids who’ve just disappeared into the mist and I can count the column inches we’ve had about them on one hand. Without using my thumb. These kids aren’t a story to you guys. That’s not a criticism – it’s a fact. Actually, it’s a criticism and a fact.’

‘So, what’s different about this case?’ asked Danny.

‘We’ve had scores of kids go AWOL in this division over the years, but we’ve never had a dead one before. Not a dead one we’ve known about anyway. And not one that had been subjected to serious sexual assaults like this lad was. Attacks that were… sustained. It probably went on for several days before he ended up at Black Moss.’

Danny looked straight at DC Smithdown. He’d felt hangover sick when he arrived at the cafe. Now he felt an altogether different kind of sickness.

‘Mr Smithdown thinks this boy was snatched – stolen to order,’ said DC Cave. ‘I’m keeping an open mind, but one thing’s for sure: the best way of stealing something, Danny, is to take something that no one will miss. That way, less people will come looking for it.’

‘Okay,’ said Danny. ‘I get it. But what do you want from me, Mr Smithdown?’

‘Interest,’ said the DI. ‘Time. Publicity. I need you to keep chipping away at your bosses to keep running this story. Keep it in the public eye as best you can. I know it’s Strangeways, Strangeways, Strangeways at the moment, but we need you to keep it in the news. But I also need to trust you not to release what we know until I say so. Especially about the way the kid’s body was found. Hardly anyone knows about that – if it gets out, I’ll know it was you that blabbed it. Stick with it and, when the time is right, I’ll give you everything. The big exclusive. Young guy like you, it could make your career.’

About The Author:

David is a multi-award-winning author, television producer and crime reporter. He has written a dozen books including Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil, the true story of the largest historic abuse case ever mounted by Greater Manchester Police. He presented a BBC Radio 4 documentary based on the book called The Abuse Trial. It won both the Rose D’Or and the New York International radio awards in 2016. Officers involved in the case helped David with the police procedures featured in Black Moss, particularly the way the system deals with missing children.