Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "harriet-tyce"

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A sharp blend of domestic and legal thriller, with a dash of dangerous eroticism.

Barrister Alison is set to defend her first murder case, her instructing solicitor’s client a woman accused of the brutal murder of her husband. There is no question she committed the act, but Alison is determined to put together a legal defence that may mitigate for a lesser charge.

Yet her brief isn’t the only challenge she has to contend with. Her ongoing affair with solicitor Patrick adds a layer of complication to their professional relationship, one that is as potentially dangerous as it is obsessive; while, at home, Alison’s marriage to husband Carl is slowly deteriorating.

Alison struggles to carry the guilt that comes with her career, her affair and her marital problems, fearing the impact they may have on her daughter. Juggling so many stresses inevitably leads Alison’s life to begin spiralling out of control and, with it, beginning to crack at the seams. Yet it is through these cracks that the truth may finally bleed.

Harriet Tyce’s debut novel is a fast-paced, twisted journey into the lives behind the masks of domestic and professional relationships. Its exploration of themes of domestic abuse and sexual violence is both sensitive and vitally important. Alison may not always be the most sympathetic of characters, but this is part of the strength in the telling of this story and also a realistic development of her character in the context of the plot. Alison’s men, Carl and Patrick, display increasingly concerning behaviour, though, with Alison’s narration, Tyce very cleverly has you questioning both reliability and responsibility throughout. The most endearing and sympathetic character, for me, was Alison and Carl’s young daughter, Matilda, as Tyce also explores how the decisions and behaviour of the adults can ultimately impact on a child.

While I anticipated several of the twists, there is a killer of a twist that clicks into place just before Alison’s realisation and is beautifully done, building to a final climatic moment that deserves a gasp. The thread of moral, as well as legal, justice runs throughout, and, in the end, the reader can decide if either has truly been done.

Gripping from beginning to end, ‘Blood Orange’ is a superb thriller by Harriet Tyce; I will absolutely be devouring more of her work in the future.



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Afraid of The Christmas Lights by Miranda Jewess

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A charity anthology of festive short stories from a variety of crime writers.

'Afraid of the Christmas Lights' is the second collection in 'Afraid of the Light', a series of charity anthologies that began in the lockdown of the 2020 pandemic. This seasonal selection from later the same year, edited by Victoria Selman and Miranda Jewess, with a foreword by Val McDermid, features eighteen stories; Mark Billingham opens the collection with DI Tom Thorne investigating the murder of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, the list of contributors also including Sophie Hannah and Harriet Tyce as special guests for this second volume.

My personal favourites were:
"Bad Guy" by Kate Simants, for its keen characterisation and devastating twist;
"Heavenly Peace" by Heather Critchlow, for its psychological and gothic undertones;
"The Switch" by James Delargy, for its moral dilemma and emotional turmoil;
"Driving Home for Christmas" by Rachael Blok, for its twisty thriller plot;
"Bloody Christmas" by Harriet Tyce, a seasonal splash of the author’s domestic/legal blend.

Overall, 'Afraid of the Christmas Lights' is an enjoyable compendium of festive morsels to partake of during Advent evenings; entertaining slices of murder and malice with plenty of splashes of blood and dashes of snowfall. As Val McDermid notes, perfectly capturing the essence of everything this book was about, “the comfort of reading is constant. It’s a salve for isolation and a haven when we need to escape into someone else’s imagination.”

Crucially, all profits from sales of this second volume go towards supporting two charities - East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services; and Rights of Women. Both organisations do incredible work to support people suffering domestic violence, which alarmingly became a shadow pandemic at the time when we all remained in our homes to fight the COVID pandemic, victims stranded with their abusers and little avenue for escape. Even as the world returned to normality, the work of both these charities remains vitally important and a truly worthy cause for a seasonal anthology of crime fiction.



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