Violet

Written by SJI Holliday ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Published by     Orenda Books (14 Nov 2019) Genre Thriller, Literary Fiction, Mystery Pages 276 ASIN B07QW4CK9Y ISBN-10 1912374854 ISBN-13 978-1912374854

Firstly, I would like to thank Anne of Random Things Through My Letterbox for the invitation to join the blog tour for Violet, as well as Orenda Books and author SJI Holliday for a free digital copy of this book to review.

This month, Violet has been on a blog tour. Why not see what these bloggers have to say about Ms Holliday's latest book?

The blurb:

When two strangers end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, an intense relationship develops, one that can only have one ending…

Carrie’s best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they’d planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone.

Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.

When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend’s place.

Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel – because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

‘Holliday’s evocative writing is reminiscent of early James Herbert’ Fiona Cummins

‘One of the most gifted and entertaining psychological thriller writers in the business’

Steve Cavanagh

Thriller    Mystery    Literary Fiction

My thoughts:

I chose to read this book because I loved the blurb - I was hooked at 'one of these women is not who she claims to be...', and needed to decide which of them was the fraud.

On the surface, it all sounded quite innocent; two girls travelling alone in Asia find each other and become travelling companions. However, there was something in the writing from the beginning that kept nagging at me. I had the feeling that the words were not telling me everything I needed to know about these young women.

I didn't warm to either Carrie or Violet, and I was not sure whether I was even supposed to empathise with one or other of them. Although, I thought I should at least like Carrie.

Violet is a psychological thriller, told in the third person from Violet's point of view. She tells us what she wants us to know, glossing over or omitting the bits that she doesn't want to dwell on.

The first half of the book is a little slow, telling us about their journey, their shared experiences, and the little niggles they have with each other. But the pace ramps up once we see jealousy masquerading as protectiveness, and begin to learn what Violet is capable of doing.

From that point the story gets darker, as we learn more of the girls' backstories, and Violet provides more detail about the incident in the hotel room.

I enjoyed reading the emails exchanged between Carrie and her best friend Laura. I thought they served to fill in the gaps in Carrie's story - the bits Violet could not know - but by the final chapter, I realised they had mislead me as much as Violet's version of events.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story which had me gripped right from the beginning.

Purchase from:

Amazon UK     Amazon US     Amazon CA     Amazon AU

WH Smith

PRAISE FOR SUSI’S PREVIOUS THRILLER THE LINGERING

‘Saunters from creepy to genuinely terrifying … I was completely unable to put it down’
Elizabeth Haynes

‘Brilliantly chilling and perfectly paced’
Anna Mazzola

‘A wonderful cross-over novel that ranges from taut psychological chiller to supernatural suspense …
Nail-biting stuff, superbly executed’
The Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Utterly beguiling and darkly sinister, this superb Gothic ghost tale is a brilliantly crafted rug puller ’
Heat Magazine

‘What could be creepier than a haunted former asylum deep in the heart of the fens? Not much, as young couple Ali and Jack discover as they move to a commune housed in the building, where the dream of living a happy harmonious life fails to meet reality’
Sunday Mirror

Author Bio – S.J.I. Holliday

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a scientist, writing coach and the bestselling author of five crime novels, including the Banktoun Trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly), the festive chiller The Deaths of December and her creepy Gothic psychological thriller The Lingering. Her short story ‘Home From Home’ was published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and shortlisted for the CWA Margery Allingham Prize. Encapsulating her love of travel and claustrophobic settings, her latest novel, Violet, explores toxic friendships and the perils of talking to strangers, as well as drawing on her own journey on the Trans-Siberian Express over 10 years ago. All of her novels have been UK ebook number-one bestsellers. Susi was born and raised in Scotland and now divides her time between Edinburgh, London and as many other exciting places that she can fit in.

Other stories I've read by SJI Holliday

Social Media Links –
Web site	http://www.sjiholliday.com
Facebook Author Page	https://www.facebook.com/SJIHolliday/
X	@SJIHolliday

Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.

www.orendabooks.co.uk

@OrendaBooks

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