I'm delighted to be sharing my review on the Manipulated Lives Blog Tour. Thank you to H.A. Leuschel and Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of this book and the opportunity to take part.
About The Book
Five stories – Five Lives
Have you ever felt confused or at a loss for words in front of a spouse, colleague or parent, to the extent that you have felt inadequate or, worse, a failure? Do you ever wonder why someone close to you seems to endure humiliation without resistance.
Manipulators are everywhere. At first these devious and calculating people can be hard to spot, because that is their way. They are often masters of disguise: witty, disarming, even charming in public – tricks to snare their prey – but then they revert to their true self of being controlling and angry in private. Their main aim: to dominate and use others to satisfy their needs, with a complete lack of compassion and empathy for their victim.
In this collection of short novellas, you meet people like you and me, intent on living happy lives, yet each of them, in one way or another, is caught up and damaged by a manipulative individual. First you meet Tess, whose past is haunted by a wrong decision, then young, successful and well balanced Sophie, who is drawn into the life of a little boy and his troubled father. Next, there is teenage Holly, who is intent on making a better life for herself, followed by a manipulator himself, trying to make sense of his irreversible incarceration. Lastly, there is Lisa, who has to face a parent’s biggest regret. All stories highlight to what extent abusive manipulation can distort lives and threaten our very feeling of self-worth.
My Review:
Manipulated Lives consists of five novellas than can each be read as a standalone. This was a well-written collection and it was something different than what I typically read. My favorites were The Spell and Tess And Tattoos which I reviewed separately in an earlier blog post. The author does a great job with character development even though these are novellas. The overall theme as the title suggests is manipulation. Each story contains a manipulator and their victims of the manipulation...but it is not always as it seems. Sometimes there is a twist at the end. Makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read.
I would recommend this to those who enjoy short stories with a little twist. I would definitely read more by author H.A. Leuschel.
About the Author:
Helene grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches Yoga.
Author's Links
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
If you would like to see what others are saying about Manipulated Lives then check out the other bloggers on the tour
Giveaway – Win a signed copy of Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel (Open Internationally)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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I want to start by saying thank you to Graham Smith and Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of this novella and an opportunity to take part in the No Comment Blog Tour. Other stops on the tour today are Books From Dusk Till Dawn, Damppebbles.com, Bloomin Brilliant Books , Bibliophile Book Club, Dash Fan's Book Reviews, Chasing Dreams Publishing
About the Book:
When a single mother, Julie Simon, is found in her kitchen with a stab wound to her stomach, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the case. Under the supervision of DI Campbell and with advice from his former DI, Harry Evans, DC Amir Bhaki fights to discover who assaulted an innocent woman and left her with life-threatening injuries.
Nothing is as it first appears and when the team looks into Julie’s life they uncover a hidden sex-life that may just hold the key to the identity of her attacker.
My Review:
I am going to start and end this review with one word...WOW!
This is my first time reading anything by author Graham Smith and I was impressed! No Comment is the fifth book in the DI Harry Evans series which is set in Cumbria. I was able to enjoy this novella without having read the previous books. But I will be going back and reading the rest in the series.
First and foremost, as an owner myself of a three-legged cat I just want to give a shout-out to Tripod, the three-legged dog in this story owned by former DI Harry Evans. I loved the realistic and believable characters of the Major Crimes Team. I appreciated how the author was able to express the feelings of former DI Evans. I felt bad for him being in retirement and still wanting to feel that he is needed. Although I liked all the characters my favorite would have to be Harry Evans. I liked his edginess and how he isn’t all about policy and procedure. Harry is just interested in catching the bad guys and if some rules get broken along the way…then so be it. I love books with realistic dialogue between characters and this one was spot-on.
I spent the whole book trying to figure out who the perpetrators were and why they did what they did. My attention was piqued at chapter one and stayed that way until I finished. Little by little the author gave us more information but I was guessing right until the end. And what about that ending you ask?…again one word…WOW!
No Comment is one of those books that you can’t stop thinking about once it’s over. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves crime fiction. I will definitely be reading more from author Graham Smith and he is going on my list of favorite authors.
About the Author:
Graham Smith is a time served joiner who has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000, he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.
He is an internationally best-selling Kindle author and has four books featuring DI Harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team, and three novels, featuring Utah doorman, Jake Boulder.
An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009
Graham is the founder of Crime and Publishment, a weekend of crime-writing classes which includes the chance for attendees to pitch their novels to agents and publishers. Since the first weekend in 2013, eight attendees have gone on to sign publishing contracts.
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