BOOK REVIEW: The Beauty of the End by Debbie Howells

April is on life-support and the only murder suspect. Noah is a reclusive ex-lawyer attempting to ignore his sadness and write crime novels. April is also the love of Noah's life, and though he has never recovered from her rejection, he returns to their hometown to prove April's innocence.
Meanwhile, Ella has her own secrets, but no one will listen to her. She is the same age that April was when Noah met her, and what Ella knows is key to finding the murderer.
Following the story of April and Noah's tragic and flawed relationship and Ella's determination to uncover the truth. Howells expertly knits together a web of secrets that has the reader guessing until the final chapter.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

The Beauty of the End was fantastic from start to finish.

Noah gets a call to say that his ex has tried to commit suicide and is now in hospital on life support. As if that isn't bad enough, their mutual friend informs him that April is also the main suspect in a murder case. Noah is now a writer but he trained as a lawyer . He does not believe April capable of hurting anyone let alone murder so he cannot sit back and do nothing. Noah has been obsessed and in love with April since school but she effectively rejected him. He has never recovered from the hurt yet he is still willing to do all he can to help her. Noah has to uncover what really happened; did April truly mean to take her own life and what has been happening in her life to lead her to becoming a convicted murderer?

Inbetween the chapters about April and Noah we meet Ella, she is clearly very troubled and we slowly discover how she comes into the story and the part she has to play. 

I was so impressed by Debbie Howells last book The Bones of You but I would say that The Beauty of the End is even better. It felt slightly darker and more complex. I had a very uneasy feeling throughout and didn't feel as though I could fully trust any of the characters.

Noah and April's past is so tangled and complicated. As we learn about their relationship you begin to understand why Noah is so troubled. Can he really help April though when he doesn't know everything about her?

The Beauty of the End is a fantastic psychological thriller; dark, complex and thought provoking. 

Many thanks to Maura Brickell for sending me a copy of the book to review.  

BOOK REVIEW: The Bones of You by Debbie Howells

I have a gardener's inherent belief in the natural order of things. Soft-petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Children who don't die before their parents.
A community in shock.
When eighteen-year-old Rosie Anderson disappears, life in the idyllic village where she grew up is never the same again.
A family torn apart.
Rosie was beautiful, kind and gentle. She came from a loving family  and had her while life ahead of her. Who could possibly want to harm her and why?
A keeper of secrets.
Kate is a friend of the family, and she's certain someone in the village knows more than they're letting on. As the investigation deepens, so does Kate's obsession with solving the mystery of what happened to Rosie.

Publisher: Pan Books

Pages: 342

The Bones of You is Debbie Howell's debut novel and it is fantastic. I was captivated from the very first page and drawn into the dark twists and turns that the plot took.
Kate,  a gardener lives in a small community that is rocked by the murder of eighteen-year-old Rosie Anderson. A bright and kind girl, Kate cannot believe that somebody would harm her.
Kate is a friend of the Andersons, she tries to help Rosie's mother Jo through her grief but she slowly begins to realise that you never know what goes on behind closed doors and the Andersons are not as perfect as they seem. Kate is determined to find out what happened to Rosie, no matter how much danger that puts her in.
Debbie Howells flits between the narrators, the main one being Kate, followed by Rosie and then vert occasionally Delphine, Rosie's younger sister. The chapters narrated by Rosie are haunting and dark, some made for very uncomfortable reading but they well done. I just wanted to hold this tragic character and protect her from all she has endured. Kate is the embodiment of that, and it's like she knew she knows there was more going on with Rosie  and she wants to do the right thing for her.
Jo and Neal Anderson are extremely complex characters and I thought that the author's portrayal of them was excellent. The Bones of You deals with secrets and deception and it really makes you think about the many facades that people put up.
I think that Debbie Howells got the pace of the book just right, each time I got to the end of a chapter I just wanted more. I wanted my questions answered and my suspicions investigated.
Debbie Howells has offered us a startling debut and I am so excited to see what comes next from this brilliant author.