Weekend Read – The Foster Child

I’m taking over the Weekend Read slot today to tell you about my new psychological suspense novel, The Foster Child. This is the first time I’ve set a thriller over Christmas and it’s been a lot of fun to write.

I'm taking over the Weekend Read slot today to tell you abou my new psychological suspense novel, The Foster Child. This is my first thriller that's set over Christmas and it's been a lot of fun to write.

Here’s the blurb

The child she once fostered is back. And so is a secret that should have stayed buried…

Cora freezes, her breath catching in her throat. Outside her home is someone she thought she’d never see again: Violet. Cora fostered her years ago, and Violet nearly tore her family apart…

Now Violet’s all grown up and her tawny eyes seem calmer, warmer. Cora can’t ignore the guilt she’s carried all this time… So, she welcomes Violet into her perfect home and perfect family – she has the kind of life some people would kill for.

Soon Violet is invited to family dinners with Lori, Cora’s daughter, who was once afraid of her foster sister. And to coffees and catch-ups in the beautiful kitchen Cora shares with her rich fiancé… who, until now, knew nothing about her foster child – or her past.

Then the garden is destroyed. A decoration is taken off their door and posted to them, hacked to pieces. Did she make a terrible mistake, trusting Violet again?

When threatening messages arrive, it’s clear someone’s life is in danger; could it be Cora? And is Violet behind it? Whoever it is, someone close to home has a secret. And someone is planning revenge…

Buy link: https://geni.us/B0H8TVMJ1Rauthor

Prologue

Actions have consequences. That’s what my nan always said.

Watch what you do because you will never get away with it. You might think you have but one day, and it might be years later, you’ll pay.

She was right.

And now it’s time for you to face the consequences.

You probably think it’s all in the past. That you’re safe. Maybe you don’t even think about what you did anymore. You’ve pushed it out of your mind, moved on. And what a life you’ve made for yourself.

But the higher you climb, the further you fall. That’s another thing she said.

Well, you’re about to fall.

And this time, there’s no getting back up.

The inspiration behind the book

I’m fascinated by relationships, and how different people react to the same situation. Two children can be brought up together, in the same house with the same parents but be affected in a completely different way by their upbringing. We’ve all read the tales of celebrities who have risen from the dark ashes of a troubled and often tragic childhood to become, through sheer grit and determination, rich and successful. Whilst others in similar circumstances, are so scarred and traumatised that their life is a continual struggle just to get through the days. The question what gives some people the strength to climb out of the hole they are in where others sink in the despair has always intrigued me.

For this book I’ve explored how childhood events can shape your future and still affect you as an adult and whether you can ever break away from your past.

When Cora and her ex-husband fostered nine-year-old Violet it didn’t work out and they had to send her back to the children’s home to protect their own daughter, Lori. Cora never forgot Violet though and felt guilty about their decision. Violet never forgot them either and was hurt and angry with them. Elliot’s childhood was marred by his parents’ failure to look after him, his stints in a children’s home and an awful incident that happened when he was a teenager which gave him a big wake-up call and he has tried to atone for. Whereas Jacob saw his father suffer for years and when he learnt it was because of the reckless behaviour of two teenagers anger flared up inside him. Years later, when all their lives collide it triggers a series of events that puts them all in danger and Elliot almost losing his life.

If you fancy reading it you can get a copy here:

https://geni.us/B0H8TVMJ1Rauthor