Today is my spot on ‘Blood Ties’ blog tour, organised by its publisher Hobeck Books.
You can read the book’s synopsis, my ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review, and author’s bio below.
Synopsis
Set within the stunning beauty of coastal Suffolk, this fabulous new crime series is a dark murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final shocking twist is revealed.
Lin Le Versha is not to be missed, the brilliant new talent on the British crime writing scene.
Hector Percy appears to have it all. He shares his magnificent home, Glebe Hall, with his beloved wife Esme and son Jack, alongside their two closest friends and their daughter. But beneath the veneer of entitlement, Hector lives in fear of those who might snatch away his inheritance. Esme suspects he’s right; they’d created the perfect existence but now the arrangement is crumbling. If that happens their blissful life at Glebe Hall would be over.
Then tragedy strikes, forcing Hector and Esme to confront their future far sooner than they expected. One moment tearing the two families apart. Is this the end of their dreams?
Former detective Steph Grant finds herself embroiled in the family dynamics as she, along with partner and former boss, DI Hale, are pulled into the investigation. Delving into the history of the two families and the Hall, Steph and Hale unearth buried secrets – secrets that shake the very foundations of Glebe Hall, secrets that will change the future forever.
Blood Ties is the third gripping book in the Steph Grant murder mystery series by the talented Lin Le Versha.
My Review
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Lin Le Versha and Team Hobeck have done it again!
This time, in this nail-biting and extremely captivating thriller, we meet an entitled and pompous Hector Percy, who lives at Glebe Hall with his wife, Esme, and son, Jack.
The house and the estate have been in Percy’s family for centuries, however, Hector needed some help to keep it going. Glebe House is shared between three families – Percys occupy the main part, Zac and Luke are in the west wing, and the Hendersons live in the east wing.
One day, when Steph Grant and Hale are walking, they see a plume of smoke coming from Glebe Hall. Upon their arrival, they realise that the smoke is coming from a car. A frantic man is running around crying that his wife is inside. Unfortunately, she cannot be saved.
That man is Jon Henderson, Hector’s right-hand man and friend. His wife, Madeline is the person that perished in the fire. The couple have a daughter, Bella, who attends Oakwood’s Sixth Form College, where Steph works as a receptionist.
Soon, Bella leaves Glebe Hall and stays with her Art teacher, Caroline (who is also Steph’s friend), claiming she feels unsafe. The young woman says she has been abused by someone at Glebe Hall…
The more Grant and Hale probe into the residents of Glebe Hall, the more inconsistencies they find.
Ooh, I loved this deliciously dark thriller. It explores the issue of consent, something that’s current and relevant. I truly felt for Bella, as she didn’t realise what was happening to her until she was in a loving relationship.
I loved Le Versha’s characterisation, there were many layers to them and it seems like everyone had a secret, or two.
Hector was a person that every reader would hate from the start. I didn’t appreciate how he treated his family and people he claimed as his friends. He was self-centred, with zero empathy.
Overall, it’s a tense thriller that will keep you guessing to the end. I can’t wait for another book in this series.
I definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Rebecca Collins of Hobeck Books for the e-ARC and my spot on the tour.
About the Author
Crime writer thanks to MA Creative Writing at UEA and Hobeck Books, Lin has drawn on her experience in London and Surrey schools and colleges as the inspiration for her debut novel.
‘Blood Notes’ is set in Suffolk, where she now lives and is Director of the Southwold Arts Festival. Her second novel ‘Blood Lines’ was published in 2022, and ‘Blood Ties’ her third novel was published in 2023.
Monika Reads 