The perfect date…
To celebrate their wedding anniversary, Lily Leonard books a table at the exclusive restaurant of Hector Bolson-Woods renowned celebrity chef. It should be the perfect evening for Lily and husband,
Stig, but not even a perfect menu can heal the cracks in their marriage.
So when Hector invites them to dine with him privately, Lily is thrilled. Surely this will please Stig?
Hector is charming and attentive – everything Stig is not – and she finds herself more and more drawn to the enigmatic Hector.
A nightmare invitation…
After the dinner, Stig makes it clear the entire evening was a mistake, something he never wants to repeat again. Hurt and confused, Lily’s certain Stig is hiding something from her. Something linked to
Hector…she just doesn’t know what.
And then another dinner invitation from Hector arrives. This time with a proposal neither Lily or Stig can refuse…
Nina Manning studied psychology and was a restaurant-owner and private chef (including to members of the royal family). She is the founder and host of Sniffing The Pages, a book review podcast.
The Daughter in Law is her debut psychological thriller and since then Nina has gone on to write 9 more books including: The Guilty Wife published in March 2020, The House Mate published
in October 2020.The Bridesmaid published May 2021 and Queen Bee in January 2022.
She has also written two ‘mum-lit’ fiction books: The 3 am shattered mums’ club and the 6 pm frazzled mums’ club. Her tenth book, Her Last Summer, another thriller, was published in May 2024.
In 2024 Nina signed with Hodder and Stoughton and her first destination thriller will be released in June 2025
Nina currently lives in The Highlands in Scotland with her family. When she is not writing she can be found romping in the forest with her dog and three children.
Facebook Twitter: @ninamanninguk
Instagram: ninamanningauthor
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My thoughts: Lily and Stig have been married for 5 years but she barely knows anything about him (hello, huge red flag, don’t marry someone like this!) and she can’t understand why he’s so angry about their anniversary dinner.
Cooked for by a celebrity chef at the chef’s table, what a dream. And then the chef invites them to a dinner party at his home. Lily is thrilled. He also donates a very generous amount of money to the charity she works for. Why can’t Stig just be happy for her?
But things start to get a bit strange. There’s a woman Lily has never heard of sending messages to her husband, Hector offers to set up a new charity for Lily to run, then invites her to his remote French chateau, where it appears to be just the two of them and some terrified employees.
Stig is trying to keep his secrets, but the memories of his teenage years, the bullying he endured, and the messy relationship with his mother and step-father weigh on him. Can he tell Lily or will this just make things worse? He might lose her if he’s not careful.
Hector is not who he seems and he and Stig have a long and complicated history. Lily is in danger as Hector’s grip on his sanity starts to slip.
As with a lot of books with a central couple – Lily and Stig’s main issue is the lack of communication. Stig wants to start a family, Lily’s still on the Pill, because she doesn’t feel she really knows her husband. Stig needs to open up and be honest with her, a lot of what happens to them could easily be avoided. Thank goodness Lily’s best friend is a Google whizz and helps Lily out with some facts about Hector before Lily throws her life away. But honestly couples therapy should be their next stop!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 