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Friday, 5 April 2024

Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis

 Cover shot of novel Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis. This portrayal of coercive control is reviewed by Is This Mutton.

Dear friends. Today's book spotlight is on Nowhere to Hide by Keri Beevis.  It packs a real punch. Today is my stop on the blog tour. 

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Duncan Stone is one of the country's most eligible bachelors, and he wants to take me, Callie Parker, on a date.

At first I am surprised and flattered, the envy of my friends. Then when our whirlwind romance escalates and he asks me to move in with him, it's like a dream come true.

But as I get to really know my new boyfriend, my fairy tale turns into a nightmare. Duncan is no Prince Charming. 

Soon, isolated from my friends and family, watched day and night, a prisoner in my own life, I know if I am going to survive, I need to escape.

When a chance encounter with an old friend throws me a lifeline, I realise this is my live or die moment, and I find a hiding place deep in the Norfolk countryside.

I'm supposed to feel safe here, so why do I hear footsteps outside my hideaway late at night, and sense that someone is watching me?

Is it paranoia, or has Duncan managed to find me? Perhaps the danger is closer to home than I realise.


MY THOUGHTS

We first meet Callie when she's arrived at a train station, shaking and clutching a plastic bag containing just a photo frame, no spare clothes or ID.  She's taken to a place of safety. Or is it?

Story lines where a woman flees from a coercive and brutal partner are often difficult to read. We tend to pass judgment that those under coercive control should get out of the relationship and move on, but as Keri Beevis shows, the situation is usually far more complicated. 

Nowhere to Hide is well written and the characters develop to make us care about them. We learn about Callie's life before Duncan, when she had a promising future ahead of her, and how he charmed her into a relationship that quickly went toxic. 

Beevis is sparing with detail about the friend who comes to Callie's rescue, but she's the unsung hero of the story. 

Callie becomes less terrified as the story develops, although there's a sub plot with a missing girl that gives her additional cause for worry. 

Duncan is a magnificent creation as the ultimate tyrant.  He will ring true for some women, who would be best off avoiding this book as it might be triggering.  It was sad that he managed to gas light Callie's family into believing he was a good man, and that Callie was undergoing some sort of breakdown. This is what coercive control is all about. Unfortunately some families do find it easier to bury their heads in the sand than take responsibility for their stricken daughter or sister. 

A bold and confident novel from Keri Beevis. 

Thanks to Rachel Gilbey from Rachel's Random Resources, the author and Boldwood Books for the advance copy in return for an honest review. 

BUY THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keri Beevis is the internationally bestselling author of several psychological thrillers and romantic suspense mysteries, including the very successful Dying to Tell, published by Bloodhound. She sets many of her books in the county of Norfolk, where she was born and still lives and which provides much of her inspiration.


Keri Beevis, author of Nowhere to Hide about a woman who is under coercive control by a cruel and dominating partner

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allaboutbeev

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/keribeevis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keri.beevis/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KeriBeevisnews

Bookbub profile: Keri Beevis Books - BookBub


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