Its been a few weeks since I read this now. It has been something I had wanted to read for a little while as it was quite big in the book world so I wanted to see what the fuss was about.
Alison is thriving at work, she has just been given her first murder case, she has a loving daughter and doting husband. She has it all right? She is also having an affair with a colleague and drinks far too much. And is her husband really the helpful, caring husband he appears to be?
It is clear from the start that Alison makes bad choices in life. She chooses drinks with colleagues instead of a family dinner and of course is having an affair with someone who clearly likes to push the boundaries a little. While I at first thought the murder case she is covering was just getting in the way of finding out the juicy stuff, it also helps Alison unravel the things wrong in her life and therefore tries to make this right.
Heads up, this book covers domestic and sexual violence. While this is covered in different scenarios throughout the book I found it interesting hearing from certain people and their views on how this has and is effecting them. Its a hard topic but certainly made it a gripping read.
You will not be surprised to hear that plenty of things in this book shocked me, outraged me in fact! I have noticed books that cover similar topics (in particular when a parent is blackmailing the other and using their child as a weapon, or the downright dirty behaviour and the lengths people will go to in order to get one up on their partner) provoke a similar reaction in me. I guess because with the person you are with you are your most vulnerable. They know everything about you, and for that person to use things against you, including when a child is involved, is just despicable. I love when a book can make me react in this way. In my opinion it must be written well to draw me in close enough to feel a genuine emotion for this character and the situation.
There was a definite twist that I was not expecting too.... I don't know how I feel about it either! I guess it was a great twist because I couldn't have predicted it. But I also felt a bit like.. what the hell just happened?!! I do love it when a book can be so clever and trick me with certain things, I guess I wanted more from it in a way? Would be interesting, now that I have read it, to see what others thought of this.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was written well. I didn't always like some choices that were made but I guess just shows the weaknesses of humans in general! But it definitely kept me hooked and I finished this quite quickly. Definitely a great read and a good one for a book club I think!
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Pages - 353
Goodreads rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
