Happy publication day to Rachel McLean with Sea Of Lies! I’m pleased to be joining in with the blog blitz today. My review is written with thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part and for my copy of the book.
Blurb:
He abducted her. He fell in love with her. He helped her escape. Can she trust him?
Sarah Evans has returned home after being abducted and held in a dilapidated farmhouse by a group of men.
With her is Martin, who turned against the other men to help her escape. He says he’s not like them, and claims to be in love with her.
Can Sarah trust Martin? Does she share his feelings? Or should she listen to her father, himself deceitful and abusive, and turn her back on the relationship?
Sea of Lies is a chilling psychological thriller about secrets, trust, and a family falling apart.
A standalone sequel to Thicker Than Water.
Review:
I enjoyed reading Thicker Than Water for the blog blitz a few weeks ago, so I was keen to see how the story would be developed in the sequel. Sea Of Lies focuses on Sarah and her family and is set shortly after Sarah returns home following her abduction ordeal. Sarah is obviously working through lots of issues as a result of what happened, which are better understood with prior knowledge of the prequel.
I enjoyed getting to know Sarah a little more in this novel. She is a likeable character, but her home life is far from easy and I was willing her to escape from it. This creates a lot of tension and the atmosphere within her home felt very oppressive and this was uncomfortable to read about at times. McLean has depicted domestic violence really powerfully, particularly the ways in which the victim can be manipulated.
In Sea Of Lies, we also learn more about Martin and the events that led to his arrival in the village and his role in Sarah’s abduction. Throughout the novel, I was uncertain whether he was 5rusteorthy, and my suspicions only increased as the story went through several twists and turns. It is a very fast paced novel and it maintained my interest from beginning to end, as I wanted to know what the outcome would be.
Sea Of Lies is available from Amazon.
Portable Magic 