Book Description
JANE is a young woman grieving for her child, who is taken to a remote holiday cottage on the Northumberland coast. From the moment she arrives at the cottage with her much older and over-protective husband, Peter, Jane keeps catching glimpses of a little girl and hearing a child crying. Peter is convinced these are hallucinations, as Jane has been diagnosed with schizophrenia – a diagnosis she doesn’t agree with. She sets out to discover who or what the child could be. A ghost? A real child? Or something else?
Don’t Leave, is a prize-winning psychological mystery thriller with a supernatural element. It won the 2020 Lindisfarne Prize for a debut thriller set in the North East. It's beautifully written and draws the reader in immediately. Pru has written an atmospheric, twisty and creepy tale and it is easy to see why it was chosen in 2020.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Don't Leave' by Pru Heathcote.
Read and reviewed for Pru Heathcote, ZooLoos Book Tours and Red Dragon Books Books.
Publication date 29th July 2022
This is Pru Heathcote's debut novel.
I was originally drawn to this book by its unique and fascinating cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Red Dragon Books. I have yet to read a book published by Red Dragon Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 30 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Northumberland, England 🏴 ,UK 🇬🇧.The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Peggy Mortimer and Jane Eagle. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
'Don't Leave' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Pru discusses/includes animal cruelty.
This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene for the reader. I felt I was being told their story while sitting in the room with them and feeling everything each was going through or feeling themselves. The cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.
I did find this book to be a slow burner and although I'm normally one for faster paced storylines I am glad I stuck with it. The storyline itself was intriguing and the deeper you move through the pages the more creepier the book gets. The atmosphere and area was absolutely perfect for a ghost story being set in an isolated cottage by the see and 'Morticia' was definitely a nice touch. I love the fact that there are two storylines/events going on that are woven together perfectly.I was going to mention what the events are but if another readers mind is like mine I don't want to spoil it for them. I loved the addition of the painting as I always find paintings to add an extra layer of creepiness in any good ghost story!! There were several points where I thought I could put the book down after finishing the chapter but there was always something that happened which kept me saying 'OK, maybe just one more' until I just ended up reading the whole book in one sitting!!! The book started to speed up at about 25% and then your flipping the pages while the hairs on your arms are standing to attention with all the creepy goings on. I was trying to guess throughout the book at what several things could be but I was completely blown away by the ending so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS Pru!!! I do love a story that actually shocks me!!!
The characters were well developed and realistic. I was completely invested in Jane throughout the book. There were times when I felt sorry for her but there were also times where I was shouting at her that if she wanted to do one thing then she needed to do another in regards to someone. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. I also felt the same about Peter although he annoyed me more than I felt sorry for him in regards to the way he treated his Jane when speaking about what was going on, he just jumped straight down the mental health lane each time. However, I did have some sympathy to him as he was worried about her and had also been affected by the loss of Angela. This is a unique book in the fact that all of the four main characters had me feeling both sympathy towards them at times and at others the opposite. I found Peggy to be quite abrupt and rude at times although I do think Peter had a point in regards to her possible diagnoses. I also felt sorry for her after she had gone through so much abuse in the past with her husband and some of the things he did including with the kittens absolutely sickened me to the core. Nigel seems really sweet and was a good friend to Jane. Nigel was actually one of the characters I felt less negative feelings towards and the only ones I did feel was after what he did knowing about Jane and Peter.i apologise to readers of my review for seeming to talk in riddles but I want to express my feelings for the book but not give too much away. All of the characters worked perfectly together to create this spine tingling story.
Congratulations Pru on an absolutely spine tingling, hair raising page turner and I'm looking forward to reading your next success 🥂 !!
Overall a page turning ghost story with an explosive ending that you won't aww coming!!
Genres covered in this book include Debut Thriller, Ghost Story,Thriller, Horror, Mysteries, Ghost Horror, Suspense and Debut amongst others.
297 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@Bookworm86 @bookworm1986 @ZooLoosBT @PruHeathcote @RedDragonBooks
Author Bio
I’ve always loved telling stories and putting them down on paper as soon as I could write. I began my working life in Hertfordshire as a local newspaper reporter – obits, weddings, Uncle George’s Kiddies’ Corner – then went on to teenage magazines (Faband Rave) and women’s magazines. I moved to Northumberland forty years ago and worked as an adult education tutor, teaching any subject I didn’t need a quali*cation for, including creative writing.Over the years I’ve written dozens of stories for magazines, a commissioned biography, and several plays, one of which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. It was one of my plays that formed the basis for my novel Don’t Leave, winning entryin the 2020 Lindisfarne Prize, written during the *rst Lockdown.I’m married, with three grown-up children and two grandchildren.I live in Warkworth, a village on the Northumberland coast, an area that provides most of the inspiration for my stories.
Social Media Link
Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/pru.heathcote
Purchase Link
Amazon: https://geni.us/e7fKV
Thank you so much for your review and for taking part in the tour x