The Journey

by Nicholas Hill

After years of hard work and sacrifice, Simon has a good family, a beautiful home and a successful luxury car dealership.

Then a tragic accident shatters his world, and the more he struggles to hold his life together, the more it seems to fall apart. Relationships are under pressure, and as he struggles to handle his grief, there is trouble brewing that could destroy everything he has worked for.

With the looming threat of years in prison, financial ruin and the loss of his family and friends – the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Can Simon save his family and find happiness again?

328 pages, Paperback

Published May 24, 2022

About the author

Nicholas Hill is a commercial property developer in the South of France, where he lives with his wife, Samantha and their three young children.
He is 64 and was brought up in Snowdonia and the Wirral before studying at the London School of Economics.
A Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, he has spent most of his working life in Africa and Continental Europe.

Reviews

[Ben Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon apparently has it all - an expensive home, a second home in France and is the owner of a luxury car dealership and whose clients are the rich and famous. The novel opens after Simon has apparently lost it all and is driving north to the Lake District. His wife has died in a tragic accident, there is an investigation into his tax affairs, and he feels his life is unravelling. The Journey should tell of a journey, physical and emotionally, and it does - by its end Simon has found new love, a new career and a new relationship with his family. None of this is in doubt as the novel opens - it is the Journey that matters.

What to say of the impact of all this? The first half of this novel I found difficult to connect with Simon. I would avoid a man like him in the pub. The second half, in the Lakes, I engaged more with him and his situation, but still moments of the almost repellent figure of the first half shone through. I hope the author intended to satirise this type of man and did not in fact find him likeable. There was a moment near the end of this novel, after he has professed love to the new love of his life when he has an erection whilst an old (but very young) flame is trying it on again. This tells me the man has not changed, that The Journey was for naught.

Which is a shame, as Nicholas Hill can clearly construct a story, and the writing is fine (bar an odd cliché). I think ones enjoyment of this novel will be down to how they feel about Simon.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley galley for the ARC.

[Nicholas Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author of The Journey, I have been intrigued by readers’ reactions to Simon, the protagonist.

Some understand the difficult decisions he has made and forgive his lapses of judgement.

Others hate him. He’s a bit like Marmite, but that’s the character I wanted to portray.

This is a man who sacrificed his chosen career to support his family, and then faces one big challenge after another. His emotions are in tatters.

For some, when the going gets tough, the moral compass is tucked away in a drawer. Many others just give up. I think Simon is somewhere in the middle, but The Journey is a work of fiction, not a “How To” manual.

I would love to hear what other readers think about Simon – good and bad.

You can post a review here or ask me a question.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[Shayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is slow-moving -- a should-be-sweet story that takes a long time to get to where it's going, and seems a little too perfect by the end. It's very expansive, and I will admit that I had a hard time getting into it (lots of car details, crying, and innuendoes that seem out of place). A character at the end asks why everyone is so sex-obsessed and that's a good question for the entire book.

It's not a bad book, but not one that I felt particularly enticed by. I got that awkward 'hanging out listening to my parents' friends try to reclaim their youth' feeling and I'm not even a teenager anymore.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

[Dominique Horsfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was well written, but not the usual type that I would enjoy and so I found it a little hard going at times, and some of the language quite stilted.

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested this book as I liked the looks of the cover & the title intrigued me & I’m glad that I did. I really enjoyed it. I would never normally have chosen a book that involved car garage business, however, I’m glad that I did!

This book is about a family dealing with business troubles, loss of a loved one & finding their way on their healing journey. The characters were likeable and I could see the individuality of them, which is exactly how families can be.

I was surprised with how quickly the characters could move on after experiencing their loss, although I know that some people can achieve that. Everything seemed rushed with the moving on process in my mind.

I think the end of the book confirms my thoughts on the moving on being rushed. It takes time to heal and truly know what you need & want. It is definitely worth the read and then you’ll be able to make up your own mind.

I was given this book via NetGalley, thanks so much for allowing me to read and review this book.