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Lady Beth
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Beth has been keeping secrets from her beloved son, refusing to tell him who his father is. When an unforeseen tragedy takes him from her, she is compelled to face the demons she has been running from all these years. She has come full circle, and with nothing left now but her memories and her knowing, the need for revenge scratches inside her veins. Lady Beth is an urban
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I don't read this genre usually. But I have to say that Lady Beth exceeded my expectations. The subject matter was tough, the consequences of abuse and drug use were clearly wrought, explicit and disturbing, but always underpinned with a great compassion for the characters. The writing was well paced, tightly rendered and poetic. The characters and their voices were real and true. As a reader I was moved by their plight, sickened by their degradation and dehumanization - and angered by the evil
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This short, powerful book came to my attention because it won the CAP award for independent published novels. It's hard to know how to choose independent or self-published books, some are fabulous, some are weak and in need of editing. So I think the CAP award is a great idea and really helpful to readers and authors alike.
I wasn't disappointed at all. This is a highly engaging book, gripping, I read it right through from cover to cover without a pause, it took about three hours and was well ...more
I wasn't disappointed at all. This is a highly engaging book, gripping, I read it right through from cover to cover without a pause, it took about three hours and was well ...more
I was captivated first by the eye-catching cover of the book ‘Lady Beth’. As a huge fan of Noir, the imagery immediately drew me into that style. The story lived up to expectations. It’s a thrilling journey into a dangerous world. The story is fuelled by tension and high stakes. I became immersed in the desperate lives of fascinating characters who are all plagued by inner traumas. The book delivers multiple hard-hitting surprises, resulting in a powerful ending. A truly compelling read!
This story moves at breath-taking pace, which is something considering the bleak and hard-hitting content, set in a world of drugs, criminality and hopelessness - a testament to the skill and craft of the author. Dublin is painted in a grim and grainy light, but one that feels entirely familiar and realistic - cinematic even at times. The characters are all simply but evenly drawn and each of their histories, wants and desires come across with little effort on the page. What exists between the
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I received this as a 'Giveaway' and am happy to give this honest review.
A very gritty, low-life, drug ridden tale. Nicely twisted, well written and conveys the sub culture and darkness of life situations that fortunately most of us never get to see, even second hand. Severely harming, self harming strands with victims, sadness and despondency. A slice of life that it is right to bring to the attention of all of us who have little, if any, awareness. Nothing much in the way of heart-lifting here ...more
A very gritty, low-life, drug ridden tale. Nicely twisted, well written and conveys the sub culture and darkness of life situations that fortunately most of us never get to see, even second hand. Severely harming, self harming strands with victims, sadness and despondency. A slice of life that it is right to bring to the attention of all of us who have little, if any, awareness. Nothing much in the way of heart-lifting here ...more
I’ve just finished reading lady Beth by Caroline E Farrell, and this is the first time I’ve ever thought to leave a review but I just had to …form reading the first chapter to the very last line I was hooked I didn’t want to put it down or for it to end .it just pulled me in more and more to think a woman could come through such hard times and then have that happen to her and her strength to get through the other side .. walking around our city of Dublin I see so many of the lost souls from this
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Caroline Farrell's novel is a thrilling, edge-of-your seat urban thriller, in the best possible noir style. I really enjoyed how Dublin's underworld peopled by criminals and addicts is filtered through a complex female protagonist's point of view. Beth is a wonderful creation: she is not what she seems and the interweaving of her highly traumatic past with her grieving present is skillfully interwoven. The language is rich, layered and gothic in style. This is a book that has stayed with me
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I'm marking this as 4.5 and rounding up. The only reason I marked it down .5 is because the story has different POVs. It worked in the end, but it took some getting used to. The author has a talent with 'straight-forward' descriptive writing, the Irish way. Characters were realistic and you either loved or hated them.
This is a story about a struggling mother's love for her son, who is being led astray by the criminal underground. You can only imagine what can happen. I LOVED the twist near the ...more
This is a story about a struggling mother's love for her son, who is being led astray by the criminal underground. You can only imagine what can happen. I LOVED the twist near the ...more
Beth tragically loses her teenage son Jesse, and feels compelled to search for the truth behind his death. Seeking revenge, she journeys through increasingly dangerous situations in the seedy underworld of Dublin's drug culture.
Although the plot is quite horrifying at times, I felt compassion for many of Lady Beth's complex cast of characters.
It is a well crafted, thought provoking and gritty crime thriller.
Although the plot is quite horrifying at times, I felt compassion for many of Lady Beth's complex cast of characters.
It is a well crafted, thought provoking and gritty crime thriller.
A fact paced and hard thriller. It is full of twists and wrong turns but it has strong and inclusive characters that you soon care about and need to know what happens to them in the story. I hope that the author has more tales to tell
Gritty warts-and-all crime thriller, a real page-turner. Plenty of twists and an array of well-drawn characters you care about, propelling you forward to the end.The heroine is a fiercely protective single mother who loses her son to drug addiction and can either cave in completely or seek revenge. Past demons add to her torment. You feel her pain as she hovers on the brink of that agonising choice, the interesting cast of characters around her ready to help in whatever direction she takes. A
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oh wow what a great read thrilling with lots of surprising twists. She was a single mum who has lost her only son to drugs and now she is facing the demons xxx exellent read
When I started reading this book, I thought I wasn't going to like it - at the time I thought the swear count on the first page was unnecessarily high, not realising that it wasn't there just to remind me of the urban setting, but to get the character of Jesse fixed firmly in my mind. I'm glad it didn't put me off and stop me from reading, though, as in fact I could hardly put the book down once I got past the start.
Very gritty, very earthy, and a grim picture of a side of Dublin that as a ...more
Very gritty, very earthy, and a grim picture of a side of Dublin that as a ...more
Originally posted on donjimmyreviews.wordpress.com
As the blurb describes, "Lady Beth" is an urban thriller. Set in Dublin and surrounding it's seedy underbelly of drugs and other criminal enterprise this book tells the story of Beth, her secrets, and her need for revenge.
This book is quite short (my paperback copy clocks in at 165 pages) but it packs a mighty punch. This book is fast paced and the opening sections of the book gripped me straight away, not letting up until the very last page. ...more
As the blurb describes, "Lady Beth" is an urban thriller. Set in Dublin and surrounding it's seedy underbelly of drugs and other criminal enterprise this book tells the story of Beth, her secrets, and her need for revenge.
This book is quite short (my paperback copy clocks in at 165 pages) but it packs a mighty punch. This book is fast paced and the opening sections of the book gripped me straight away, not letting up until the very last page. ...more
4.5 stars
Review to follow...
Review to follow...
Lady Beth is a dark story. Truly dark. Set in urban Dublin. A mother’s loss – her son, her ghost son. The soulless world of drugs. The violence of abusers. The desperate search for resolution. A black world out of control.
But a story of redemption as well.
Beth is a wonderful, strong character. Full of both darkness and light.
This is an excellent read. Caroline Farrell shares an insightful, truth-filled voice.
But a story of redemption as well.
Beth is a wonderful, strong character. Full of both darkness and light.
This is an excellent read. Caroline Farrell shares an insightful, truth-filled voice.
Beth has never told her son who his father is. She wants nothing more than to protect him, so it’s best he doesn’t know. The memories are too painful for Beth and there is nothing to be gained by revisiting them. Then tragedy strikes and Beth is lefty with no option but to deal with the aspects of her past she would rather forget.
Jesse wants to live his life, his own way, without his mother watching his every move. Why must she be so clingy? Can’t she see how suffocating she is being?
Lady Beth ...more
Jesse wants to live his life, his own way, without his mother watching his every move. Why must she be so clingy? Can’t she see how suffocating she is being?
Lady Beth ...more
Take a trip into the seedy, dark underbelly of Dublin. A world not witnessed by the ordinary citizens in their busy day-to-day lives. It's a life that Beth knew intimately, a world she tried so hard to leave behind. Struggling to live a normal existence as a single mother, her world revolves around work and her teenage son. But tragedy forces her back to that world and she must face the demons of her past as she seeks vengence for what has torn her family apart. Gritty, exciting and fast-paced
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOD REVIEWS: Review Request for Psychological Thriller | 3 | 16 | Mar 20, 2017 01:41PM | |
| Goodreads Ireland: New Release of Psychological Thriller set in Dublin | 1 | 12 | Mar 14, 2017 03:28AM |
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Praise for LADY BETH
>>ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARDS Prize Winner 2019 | 1st Runner-Up in Crime/Mystery Category<<
>>WINNER! CAP AWARD 2017 (BEST NOVEL) <<
"A very worthy winner of the C.A.P. Novel Award 2017, LADY BETH by Caroline E Farrell is a thrilling journey into a dangerous world fueled with tension and high stakes. It delivers exceptional characters and terrific prose within ...more
>>ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARDS Prize Winner 2019 | 1st Runner-Up in Crime/Mystery Category<<
>>WINNER! CAP AWARD 2017 (BEST NOVEL) <<
"A very worthy winner of the C.A.P. Novel Award 2017, LADY BETH by Caroline E Farrell is a thrilling journey into a dangerous world fueled with tension and high stakes. It delivers exceptional characters and terrific prose within ...more
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