Sean pulls me to him, and we both laugh happily, as we stroll home from our favourite wine bar. It’s our first evening out since our baby girl was born. I’ve only thought about Kitty a couple of times, wondering if she’s settled without my goodnight kiss. But our perfect night is shattered when I see the police car and the two officers on the front steps of our home…
Someone has reported our sweet baby missing.
When I rush inside the house and mercifully find our little girl tucked up inside her crib, you’ll think that’s the end of the story.
And when Sean says a prayer of thanks, the police close the case and I hold Kitty in a tight embrace, you’ll feel grateful it was all one big mistake.
But you’ll be wrong.
You don’t know what I did fifteen years ago, the lies I’ve told or the reason I desperately want the police out of my house. I’m sure the person who reported Kitty missing knows everything about my past…
You don’t know how much danger I’m in. Or how far I’ll go to keep my family safe…
Utterly captivating and gripping until the final page, The Night Out is perfect for fans of The Family Upstairs, The Housemaid and The Marriage.
Wendy Clarke was a teacher until the small primary school where she worked closed down. Now she is a writer of psychological suspense but is also well known for her short stories and serials which regularly appear in national women’s magazines.
Wendy has two children and three step-children and lives with her husband, cat and step-dog in Sussex. When not writing, she is usually indulging in her passion for dancing, singing or watching any programme that involves food!
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My thoughts: what starts as a story that feels like it’s going to go one way, goes somewhere very different. Elise has a lot of secrets – ones even her husband doesn’t know, she’s keeping them because she’s trying to protect her teenage daughter Megan.
Her ex partner is dangerous, and as Elise’s story unfolds you come to understand exactly what she’s been through and why she’s keeping so many things hidden. But Megan is looking for her father, and risks everything Elise has fought so hard for.
A chilling tale of abuse, of women, of power, and of the will to survive and thrive safe from harm. While Megan doesn’t have all the facts, she can’t understand why her mum is the way she is, maybe it’s time to trust her daughter a bit more and finally lay it all out there.
As events worsen, and another face from the past appears, the truth will either bring them closer together or destroy everything. Powerful and shocking stuff.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Marc Scott was born and raised in the heart of the East End of London. He spent more than 25 years working in the video and film industry, including a 12-month spell on a project in Los Angeles. More recently he has been involved with assisting at the rehabilitation section of the UK court service, working predominantly with young offenders. It was here where he met the people that would inspire him to write his first novel House of Straw.He is unapologetic for the dark backdrop and raw brutality in his books. ‘You can’t sugar-coat some of these damaged individuals that live in a broken society and make excuses for them.’ he says. ‘Not everyone wants the chance to redeem themselves.’His gritty writing style has earned him much praise from reviewers and bloggers. The second book in his trilogy, House of Sticks, will be available later this year. A story that Marc describes as, ‘An even darker and more twisted journey into the depths of depravity.’Marc lives in Halstead in England. He has a son and two daughters, who, he says, have given him the proudest moments in his life. He lists his favourite author as Kazuo Ishiguro, and his favourite book as ‘Birdy’ by William Wharton. He sums up his reading choices with a method which he applies to his own works. ‘When I read a book, I want to feel like a bystander, watching on, as an ‘extra’ as everything unfolds. If any of the characters in the book are bland and don’t affect you in some way, the author has wasted an opportunity.’
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