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BOOK TOUR STOP x Random Things Tours - Quicksand of Memory by Michael J Malone

 


Jenna and Luke are at the start of their story.

Together, they could find the love and happiness they've been searching for so long. They're no strangers to heartbreak. Luke has been through prison, running a failing business, losing his best friend and most recently trying to build a life for his partners young son after she died. And Jenna has been trying to pick up the pieces from the aftermath of another devastating relationship left behind - but that all changes when she walks into that small therapists office and finds Luke. 

This new chapter should be a happy one, but a happily ever after isn't looking likely. There's someone lurking around the corner, seeking revenge for the things others have forgotten. And while Jenna and Luke try to create a new life together, someone is just waiting to tear it apart. 

I don't know where Orenda Books keep finding their authors … but wow. As soon as I see that little bird logo I know I'm in for something special, and as usual I was not disappointed. 

This absorbing, esoteric story is a bitter, dark tale of obsession, of revenge and redemption. And thanks to the short, quick chapters, it was so easy to read and the pages flew by too easily. 

Almost immediately, we start to see cracks form and the eerie tension is instant. Malone peels back the layers of our happy couples lives, and their lies, showing us the people they've left behind and the skeletons in their closets so only one thing is clear - you can't trust anybody and nothing is quite what it seems. 

Now here's where Malone stands out - there's some details in this book that are obvious from the first few chapters, he gives us some key information the characters don't have … so with one key mystery out of the way, we're left wondering what other terrifying revelations could possibly be waiting around the corner. The characters all had a strange empathy about them, with deep insight into their pasts, their fears and motivations very quickly creating fully rounded, complex people who kept me guessing to the bitter end. 


About The Author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and  brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems  in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland,  Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won  the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers.

His psychological  thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically  acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A  Song of Isolation soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber  & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr. 







Thank you to Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in this tour. I was gifted a reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. 


CW: sexism, violence, death, sexual objectification, alcohol, drugs, prison, abuse. 

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