Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "gill-d-anderson"

Melita by Gill D. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A potted family saga which explores the deep scars of tragedy and familial trauma.

July 1967. Suffocated by her family and craving independence, teenager Melita longs to escape her life in Malta. She meets Ross, travelling around Europe having escaped his family life in Scotland, and the pair soon embark on a passionate relationship. But as Melita makes the bold move to escape her patriarchal family, she learns that a fantasy life is not always so fulfilling when it becomes reality.

February 2020. Emily struggles with her estranged relationship with her mother, Melita. Melita has grown evermore bitter and driven everyone in her life away, conveniently finding ways to blame others and not take any personal responsibility. Having moved to Canada with her own family, Emily is unable to shake off the guilt of leaving her mother behind. Attempting to reach out to Melita, Emily is also determined to track down her father, whom she never knew as a child.

As the narrative moves back and forth between the present day and the late sixties and seventies, we learn how Melita’s past experiences have shaped her and tragically affected her life and her relationship with her own daughter.

‘Melita’ is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging novel, character-driven and descriptive, packed with emotion and laced with suspense. Gill Anderson has done a remarkable job in developing her characters, each psychologically authentic. As the story develops, you find yourself feeling sympathy for even those most deeply flawed, who have allowed events in their life to shape them in a negative, rather than a positive, way. The events of the present day narrative are perfectly timed to convey how the pandemic has proved a catalyst for introspection and dealing with past experiences.

The novel explores how familial patterns and past trauma can affect future generations – how someone’s past, actions and relationships with their parents can impact their children, thus creating a cycle of repeating patterns and dysfunctional relationships. Even when at their worst, you can empathise with the characters and truly hope they can find ways to overcome their demons and make amends for their wrongdoing. Unfortunately, as in reality, not everyone finds they are able to redeem themselves. I highly recommend this book as both a short treat for fans of family sagas and for those who enjoy the genre’s complexities without wishing to commit to an epic series.

Full of drama, with several twists, ‘Melita’ is a tragic, thought-provoking tale that weaves a tapestry of human complexity and proves to be a timely fable.



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Primed For Vengeance by Gill D. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A psychological thriller of hidden torment and a plot for revenge.

Butch has been let down down multiple times throughout his short life, left feeling abandoned and heartbroken.

Sarah, leading a team of youth workers, is determined to help improve the lives of the young people under her care.

But, when Sarah leaves the care unit, it is one more loss that Butch cannot bear. As his obsessive thirst for revenge dominates his life, it threatens to explode into carnage and leave a series of victims in his wake.

'Primed for Vengence' is a standalone thriller by Gill D. Anderson that grips from the very beginning, opening with a chilling insight into Butch's psyche, before flashbacks begin to reveal the events that led to this point. The key characters are well-developed, their thoughts and emotions guiding the plot throughout and offering different perspectives as the story develops.

The novel also explores the inner workings of the residential care system. While procedurally it may no longer represent the system in its native Australia, it nonetheless demonstrates how the way in which institutions deal with troubled individuals, across the education, social care and justice systems, has a major impact and can lead to potentially damaging results when a system with such a high duty of care is under increasing pressure.

Building to an intense climax, we witness the profile in action of a disturbed, vulnerable and volatile young man whose mental health issues, history of neglect, abuse and trauma, and his past and current circumstances, have contributed to him becoming an unstable and dangerous criminal who seeks to harm others in response to his own suffering.

Emotionally-driven and fast-paced, 'Primed for Vengeance' is an engrossing story of tragedy, delusion and violence.



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Hidden From View by Gill D. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A complex web of sex, lies and human relationships.

Suffering abuse at the hands of her uncle Tommy throughout her childhood, Rita continues to be scarred by her traumatic past. Meanwhile, her husband Lewis’ affair with his work colleague Tamika is building in intensity, something his Sergeant Lynn has her own reasons to exploit.

Lewis’ mother Suzanne makes it her mission to meddle in the lives of her children, both Lewis and his sister Cassie struggling with her interference. Cassie values her independence, living her life on her terms alongside her close group of friends, who each have their own struggles to contend with.

As the sins of the past impact the present, justice may be about to catch up with some, while others may finally find an escape from the shackles of their pain.

‘Hidden from View’ is Gill D. Anderson’s debut novel, a tale of drama, trauma and deviance set primarily in South Australia. This is the third of Gill's books I’ve read and, though it’s a close call between the three, it may just be my favourite so far. With elements of family saga, psychological suspense, erotica and police procedural moulded within the character-driven plot, it delves into themes of abuse and misogyny, taboos and a touch of voodoo.

The story is narrated through the perspectives of the multiple characters, featuring many anecdotes and inner monologues which give each of their tales an authentic feel, so much so that it wouldn’t surprise me if some were inspired by real events (if indeed they are purely fictional, it is testament to Gill’s skill in her character creation). More than once the structure of the novel reminded me of films like ‘Magnolia’, a multi-faceted approach to storytelling with human drama and emotion at its centre, also with some comical elements to balance the novel’s darker moments.

The antagonists often prove themselves to be particularly vile – there are references to child abuse, sexual violence and animal cruelty that some readers may find triggering or simply more than they are comfortable with. Nevertheless, these subjects are dealt with delicately and with a determination that we must strive for change. Perhaps, one day, we will finally achieve it.

Fast-paced and engrossing, ‘Hidden from View’ is a psychological portrait in shades of dark and light that explores the far-reaching consequences of our actions.



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