Tyce, Harriet-- Blood Orange informal buddy read starts April 10, 2019

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

This thread is open to discuss Blood Orange



Synopsis
An electrifying debut thriller for fans of Anatomy of a Scandal, Apple Tree Yard, and Gone Girl.

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise - she's just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems...

Just one more night. Then I'll end it.

Alison drinks too much. She's neglecting her family. And she's having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.

Alison's client doesn't deny that she stabbed her husband - she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I'm watching you. I know what you're doing.

But someone knows Alison's secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she's done, and who won't stop until she's lost everything....

A disturbing, toxic and compelling novel that explores the power of fear and desire, jealousy and betrayal, love and hate, BLOOD ORANGE introduces a stunning new voice in psychological suspense.

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Sorry it took so long to create the thread for you!

[Geri]

I read through chapter 20 today.

I did not notice the difference between Madeline’s story and James’ story, Julie. Good catch!

I really do think Alison is too stupid to live! LOL I knew the game of hide and seek was a terrible idea. I did think Carl may have been behind Matilda’s disappearance. But he lost it so thoroughly and Matilda said she saw nobody. So now I am wondering if Alison is such a mess that Carl doesn’t have to mess with her to make her seem unfit.

And Patrick being arrested is no surprise. The surprise is that it did not happen sooner. Do you think Alison has dumped him for good? I am not so sure since she has such terrible taste in men.

Talking about men. All the men in the book are no prizes. Even though Edwin was horribly physically abusive, Carl got a vasectomy without telling Alison. Taking control of whether they would have more children. And Patrick is a rapist. Maybe not the same as Edwin, but still “shades” of Edwin, I think.

I will read to the end tomorrow. This book has really kept me engrossed!

[Julie (JuJu)]

Yes! As soon as the game of hide and seek started, I knew something bad was going to happen. I suspected Carl of being behind it too, but it didn’t seem that way.

Edwin seemed jealous of James. I wonder why he even gave in to having a child? And his brutality...OMG. I would have killed him a lot sooner (or just divorced him, lol).

I though Patrick’s rape charge was kind of surprising. I know he’s a total shit, and womanizer, but I wasn’t expecting rape....and from two women! I almost wonder if it was set up? Alison seems pretty disgusted in him, but who knows. She’s such a mess herself. I can’t believe she let her husband tell her to get out and how things were going to be.

You were right with your thoughts at the beginning. Alison’s relationship with her husband is very much like Madeleines was with her husband. Carl is a bigger asshole than I thought in the beginning. His reaction to Matilda’s getting lost was way over the top. The way he treated the policewoman and treated Alison in front of the police...wow. His remarks about Matilda loving Alison more and Alison turning her against him. His secret vasectomy! And this guy is a therapist, haha.

I can’t wait to see where it’s heading next!

[Geri]

I finished. I was both surprised and a little disappointed.

You were right about James killing Edwin. This was a little disappointing, too predictable. But the fact Patrick knew and was helping Madeline did surprise me.

And Patrick! I thought he might have been murdered, pushed. Not sure I believe he could kill himself. What do you think? The question of whether Alison would go back to him was definitely answered.

And Carl was the biggest surprise of all. I knew he was worse than we first thought. And I knew something was up when he wouldn’t let Alison look at his computer. But he was a sick puppy/sex addict with crazy fetishes! LOL Alison was a mess but Carl was even worse. Did you see that ending coming?

I had fun discussing the book. I’ve already read , which I loved, btw. And I’ve read , which was okay, imho. But definitely up for finding another book to buddy read!

[Julie (JuJu)]

Here are some TBR soon












I have so many more, lol, let me know what you need to read, I may have it!

[Julie (JuJu)]

Geri wrote: "I finished. I was both surprised and a little disappointed.

You were right about James killing Edwin. This was a little disappointing, too predictable. But the fact Patrick knew and was helping Ma..."

Well, I guess we got the answer to your question. Alison is definitely done with Patrick!

I agree, there were surprises, but the ending was a little disappointing.

I guess we were left to assume that the rape allegations might not have been entirely true. She planned on dropping them until Carl pushed her. But we didn’t hear a lot about Alexia’s allegations. Did she just jump on the bandwagon because she was mad at him or what? We didn’t even hear exactly what her complaint was. And I’m still curious about the reason she threw wine in his face at the pub.

We knew Carl was a jerk at the beginning, but he turned out to be an evil freak! I’m guessing his “sex addiction” group was more of a show and tell...YUK! I knew it was a bad idea for Alison to bring Patrick to the house and I even thought about cameras....because of the way Carl was acting. We both thought he was drugging Alison, but I didn’t guess it was for his sick reasons. I thought he was trying to prove she was an unfit mother.

I’m kind of thinking Patrick felt guilty about what he was doing in his career, more than the alleged rape. I was surprised he knew the truth about Madeleine. I also suspected murder, rather than suicide. The author left us hanging where Patrick was concerned, I thought. Carl did so many other disgusting things, I wouldn’t put murder past him!

I think he deserved what he got in the end, but I expected a bit more from the ending. The book kept my interest, I liked her writing style. I’ll probably give it 4 stars.

[Geri]

I’ve already read My Lovely Wife. But I am definitely in for The Better Sister. I love Burke and have that on my tbr list. I will have to look the other books up. I don’t know anything about them.

[Julie (JuJu)]

I forgot about the link and just realized I wasn’t checking in the correct spot for your response, lol! Let me know when you’re ready to start.