It’s time for another Friday Reads blog and my featured book this week is the totally gripping psychological thriller, The Family Home by Lorraine Mace. I literally couldn’t put this book down! Lorraine has dropped by to talk to us a little about the book and what inspired her to write it. So grab yourself a cuppa, get cosy, and let’s get chatting to Lorraine.
IS BLOOD ALWAYS THICKER THAN WATER?
Sally has lived in fear of her husband long enough. But after twenty years of suffering, she has been left with nothing of her own and no one to turn to – except her estranged sister, Alison.
When Alison agrees to help Sally escape, she knows she must return to the one place she was told never to show her face again – the family home – and confront her father once more.
But soon, Sally begins to suspect that all is not as it seems, and as she is forced to face the ghosts of the past, she discovers there may be secrets hidden in her own memory that are best left buried . . .
A twisting and compulsive page-turner, with a shocking twist. If you love Keri Beevis, L H Stacey and K. L. Slater, you’ll love The Family Home.
Buy Link: Amazon: https://amzn.to/4d5evMG
Welcome to my blog Lorraine. I’ve read this book, and really enjoyed it, a real page-turner with a hard-hitting storyline. Can you tell us what inspired you to write it.
My idea for The Family Home came about when I was reflecting on my own past abusive relationship and how difficult it had been to escape from my abuser. This was during the time I lived in South Africa in the Cape where I had no family to fall back on, but I was fortunate enough to have a strong friend support system who rallied round to help me when I needed it the most.
After leaving my abusive partner, I trained as a counsellor and volunteered at the refuge for battered women and children in Cape Town. As a result of this, it became clear that, for far too many of these women, they had no choice but to return to their family homes where they were often made to feel that that what had happened was either their fault in some way, or that leaving their husbands had brought shame on the family. In many cases, the women continued to suffer, either by being forced back into the abusive marriage, or sustaining a different form of abuse from those who should have had their best interests at heart.
This premise of out of the fat and into the fire was the starting point for my novel. How would a woman who had been in a long-term abusive marriage cope with a return to her family home from which she had been estranged since her teenage years?
Added to that, how would she deal with the family members who had turned their backs on her in her time of need so many years before? I then brought in the fact that most abusive partners refuse to let go and will often stalk their runaway wives and girlfriends with a misguided belief that they belong to them.
Sally, my heroine, had to find the courage to leave her husband, walking out with nothing to wear other than the clothes on her back and barely any money, knowing her only point of refuge was the one place she had been refused access prior to her marriage and threatened with the police by her father should she ever try to return.
How Sally deals with her husband tracking her down and demanding she goes back with him to the marital home, her family members making it clear she is not welcome and secrets from the past coming back to jeopardise her future is the basis of the book.
The real story is that one of those secrets from her childhood coming to the fore will put her life in danger. Someone wants her to suffer, but who? Is it a family member or a neighbour who is determined to stop Sally from remembering what happened when she fell down the stairs and ended up in a coma when she was just seven years old?
There are elements in the book that might be a trigger for some, but there are also aspects which could aid anyone wanting to know how to utilise the law, such as how to get a protective order, for example.
It’s a very important topic, Lorraine, and there is a lot of useful information in your book to help women in the same situation. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and for writing such a gripping thriller.
Meet Lorraine
Short bio:
Born and raised in South East London, Lorraine lived and worked in South Africa, on the Island of Gozo, and in France, before settling on the Costa del Sol in Spain. She lives with her partner in a traditional Spanish village inland from the coast and enjoys sampling the regional dishes and ever-changing tapas in the local bars. Her knowledge of Spanish is expanding. To stop her waistline from doing the same, she runs five times a week.
Author links
Website: www.lorrainemace.com
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/lomace.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mace_lorraine
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mace_lorraine/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorraineMaceAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1336955.Lorraine_Mace
Karen King 