Random Things Tours - Bright Lies

 

TITLE:  Bright Lies

AUTHOR: AA Abbott

PUBLISHER: Perfect City Press

PUBLISHING DATE: November 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

She’s learned too much, too young. Can she break free? 

Emily’s dreams come true when her mother marries wealthy painter, David. Thanks to him, Emily’s artistic talents shine. Then he starts teaching her things a 14-year-old shouldn’t know. While Emily breaks free, she’s forced to sleep in a rat-infested alley. 

Bad boy Jack has turned his life around. Working as a DJ with ambitions to open a club, he rescues Emily from the streets when he sees a woman in trouble. He doesn’t know she’s still only 15 - and trapped in a dark web of secrets and lies. 

David must find Emily and silence her. As he closes in, Jack faces the hardest choice of all. If he saves Emily, he’ll kiss goodbye to his future... 

What would you sacrifice for love?

MY THOUGHTS: Talk about a psychological thriller that packs a punch.  When Bright Lies opens, we see the MC Emily driving to visit someone in prison.  As the tale unfolds, the reader is then taken back to Emily's teen years.  Emily and her mother felt their life had taken a huge upswing when her mother married David, a wealthy artist.  However, over time, things take a sinister twist and slowly David begins to groom Emily for something more than being a step-daughter.  Emily runs away from home and is rescued by Jack. a DJ wanting to open his own club.  He doesn't realize Emily is only 15 and he takes it upon himself to help her.  Emily has a lot of secrets, some of which might just get her and those around her killed.

As I alluded, this book is pretty intense.  Told in alternating perspectives of Emily and David, we get to learn a lot about and become attached to two troubled characters.  At times Emily seemed a tad selfish but then I reminded myself she was only 15 and realized at that age, a lot of us were self-centered.  David is a reforming bad boy and I admit I liked him the best.  He often gave up what was best for himself in order to help others.  It was nice to see the bond between him and Emily deepen.

Some of the characters in this book are quite despicable.  Having worked with abuse and neglect victims, while hard seeing Emily's mother make the decisions she did, I fully understood the psychology behind a lot of them.  That doesn't mean I liked them or that it made it right.  Bright Lies is also full of triggers and while I really don't pay attention that that type of thing, other than animal abuse, it would be remiss to fail to mention that it deals with child abuse, domestic violence, drug culture and rape.  

I really enjoyed the time I spent reading this book.  Because of its short chapters, I found myself really flying though it and I'm really glad I signed up for the tour and can share it with my followers. This author is one I will keep my eyes on.

RATING: 4 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: British crime thriller writer A.A. Abbott (also known as Helen Blenkinsop) loves to escape with an exciting and emotional read, and that’s what she aims to write too. Based in Bristol, she’s also lived and worked in London and Birmingham. All three cities feature in her pacy suspense thrillers. Her latest psychological thriller, ‘Bright Lies’, begins in North Somerset with a posh art exhibition in Bath. Young Emily meets the man who will change her life and cause her to run away to a squat in Birmingham, work in a nightclub and get further entangled in a web of lies.

To write ‘Bright Lies’, Helen has had advice from thirty beta readers on subjects as varied as police procedure, drug abuse, grooming, art, music, DJing and clubbing. She’s grateful to them and to her editor, Katharine D’Souza, for making huge improvements to the story.

Helen’s earlier 5 book Trail series is a lighter read focused on a vodka business. Snow Mountain is a premium vodka made in the former Soviet Union, and its owners have blood on their hands. The saga follows the fortunes of two families running the business and what happens when they fall out with each other and with a London gangster. Glamorous heroine Kat is the girl readers love to hate at the beginning of the series, but by the last book, she has won them over. Book research for the series included prison life, hotel research and vodka. Helen especially enjoyed a tour and tasting with the helpful folk at the Chase Distillery in Herefordshire.

Like 10% of us, many of Helen’s family are dyslexic. While she is not, she wants her books to be enjoyed by readers with dyslexia and visual impairment too. She publishes her thrillers in a Large Print dyslexia-friendly edition as well as the standard paperback and Kindle versions. (You can also adjust the font on your Kindle to suit your needs.) Audiobooks are definitely on the cards too).

Helen likes speaking to book groups, business networks and social circles, and reading thrillers and short stories at live fiction events and on Zoom. If you're a book blogger, litfest organiser, reviewer or simply adore books, she’d love to hear from you.

Helen is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Bristol Fiction Writers' Group, and Birmingham's New Street Authors.

Find out more and get a free e-book of short stories at https://aaabbott.co.uk