Scan barcode
A review by kazza27
Behind Closed Doors by Catherine Alliott
5.0
Lucy looks like she has a wonderful life on the outside but the reality is much different. Ageing parents, an unfaithful husband and a career that has seen better days.
She has put up with Michael’s affairs and even confronted the women he has been seeing, but she is tired. Tired of his cruelty, his infidelity and she really wants to leave him but she just doesn’t seem to be able to make herself. Helena,her sister wills her to do it but she is so low and downtrodden she can’t.
Events take this decision out of her hands and she ends up going to live with her parents. The story takes the reader back through Lucy and Michael’s relationship and the warning signs that were there and her family were really concerned for her. However they married quickly as she was pregnant with their first child Imogen.
Her family was right to be concerned as his protectiveness becomes much more than that and his rages are terrifying for the whole family. They have to set up secret accounts and he checks her phone. As with many coercive relationships you ask, why don’t you leave ? and it really isn’t that simple, as the author shows us through Lucy. Sometimes it is just easier to stay but now she can leave.
Her children are horrified that she is going to live in the country and Imogen begs her to stay in London but she has made up her mind. She needs time to adjust to her new status and this seems like the easiest place to be at this time.
This is a wonderfully crafted book that really took me by surprise with its twists and turns. It is very different to other books I have read by this author which made it all the more interesting. It is a page turner in every sense of the word as I never knew what was coming next. There is drama, loss, regrets and humour. I really liked Lucy as a character and really enjoyed going on her journey as she swaps one life for another which is not without its challenges. The book has so many great characters and Lucy’s parents are hilarious and I think many will recognise the challenges of looking after parents who think they are fine.
A great read that totally immersed me in Lucy’s world and I was willing her to have a happy ending after such an awful life with Michael. I loved being transported the Catherine’s world again.
5 Stars *****
Thank you to Sriya at Michael Joseph Books for my invitation to the tour and for my gifted copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.
She has put up with Michael’s affairs and even confronted the women he has been seeing, but she is tired. Tired of his cruelty, his infidelity and she really wants to leave him but she just doesn’t seem to be able to make herself. Helena,her sister wills her to do it but she is so low and downtrodden she can’t.
Events take this decision out of her hands and she ends up going to live with her parents. The story takes the reader back through Lucy and Michael’s relationship and the warning signs that were there and her family were really concerned for her. However they married quickly as she was pregnant with their first child Imogen.
Her family was right to be concerned as his protectiveness becomes much more than that and his rages are terrifying for the whole family. They have to set up secret accounts and he checks her phone. As with many coercive relationships you ask, why don’t you leave ? and it really isn’t that simple, as the author shows us through Lucy. Sometimes it is just easier to stay but now she can leave.
Her children are horrified that she is going to live in the country and Imogen begs her to stay in London but she has made up her mind. She needs time to adjust to her new status and this seems like the easiest place to be at this time.
This is a wonderfully crafted book that really took me by surprise with its twists and turns. It is very different to other books I have read by this author which made it all the more interesting. It is a page turner in every sense of the word as I never knew what was coming next. There is drama, loss, regrets and humour. I really liked Lucy as a character and really enjoyed going on her journey as she swaps one life for another which is not without its challenges. The book has so many great characters and Lucy’s parents are hilarious and I think many will recognise the challenges of looking after parents who think they are fine.
A great read that totally immersed me in Lucy’s world and I was willing her to have a happy ending after such an awful life with Michael. I loved being transported the Catherine’s world again.
5 Stars *****
Thank you to Sriya at Michael Joseph Books for my invitation to the tour and for my gifted copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.