Behind Closed Doors blog tour v2Hello and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Behind Closed Doors by Catherine Alliott. Thanks so much to Sriya Varadharajan at Michael Joseph for the invite and for my gorgeous paperback copy. Before I share my review here’s what the book is all about:

cover209805-medium“From the outside, anyone would think that Lucy Palmer has it all: loving children, a dashing husband and a gorgeous home.
But when her marriage to Michael comes to an abrupt and unexpected end, her life is turned upside down in a flash.
As the truth of her marriage threatens to surface, Lucy seizes the opportunity to swap her house in London – and the stories it hides – for a rural escape to her parents’ farmhouse in the Chilterns.
But Lucy gets more than she bargained for when she moves back to her childhood home. With her parents growing older disgracefully, she can hardly keep up with their social life – especially when it throws her into the path of an old flame.
Coming face-to-face with her mistakes, Lucy is forced to confront the secrets she’s been keeping from herself and those she loves. Is she ready to let someone in? Or will she leave the door to her past firmly closed . . .“

Available from: Bookshop.org (affiliate) Hive – Waterstones – Amazon

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My Review

This book left me with a huge smile on face, but it didn’t start that way as it’s quite dark and sad in places.

The story was told from Lucy’s point of view, as she comes to terms with life living with her elderly parents, following the sudden ending of her marriage. I loved Lucy, such a lovely warm person, who didn’t deserve what life had thrown at her.  The plot took me through a myriad of emotions, learning about her life with her husband Michael and their two grown-up children Imo and Ned.

There were some very colourful characters in this book, particularly Lucy’s parents and their friends, aka drinking buddies. Her sister Helena and her twin girls, also made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions! 😀

I haven’t read a Catherine Alliot novel in years and this reminded me how much I enjoy her books and really must read more of her back catalogue.

I definitely recommend this if you enjoy family dramas that make you laugh, but also don’t shy away from the dark side of life. 

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About The Author

492373Catherine has sold over 3 million bestselling novels worldwide and is translated into eighteen languages. The first of these novels Catherine started under the desk when she worked as an advertising copywriter. She was duly fired. With time on her hands, she persevered with the novels, which happily flourished. In the early days she produced a baby with each book – but after three – stuck to the writing as it was less painful. She writes with her favorite pen in note books, either in the garden or on a sofa. Home is a rural spot on the Hertfordshire border, which she shares with her family and a menagerie of horses, cows, chickens, and dogs, which at the last count totalled eighty-seven beating hearts, including her husband. Some of her household have walk-on parts in her novels, but only the chickens would probably recognize themselves.
You can follow Catherine on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and her website