#HisGuiltySecret #HeleneFermont #Review #BlogTour
HIS GUILTY SECRET
Helene Fermont
*My thanks to the publisher and Natalie Connors at The Book Publicist for an advance copy of this novel and for inviting me to join the Blog Tour*
Firstly I have to say how much I love the cover of this book and how I have spent a long time admiring Helene Fermont's website as it is just so well designed and put together. The images for all her book covers are so original and eye catching that quite frankly, it was the front cover of His Guilty Secret that drew me to the book and enticed me to read it. Fortunately, the inside pages are just as enticing!
The opening chapter starts with a pilot and a woman booking into a hotel together; we are not told their names but the nature of their relationship is clear. I liked the way the conflict and emotional complexity of their relationship is introduced in the second paragraph and intertwined with the glamorous description of how the characters must appear to anyone else. There was something filmic about this opening chapter and I was intrigued. From the outset, Fermont reveals her fascination in the interaction between people and the dynamics within relationships which is essentially one of the key themes in the book. This is a man and woman meeting in a hotel room for an illicit affair and their characters are revealed through their admissions of guilt, his mention of his wife and repetition of the word love. The dialogue and emotional nature of the conversation works hard to not only set up a situation of intrigue, tension and mystery but also to establish the characters in more depth through their inner conflict. By the end of the first chapter, the man is dead and the women flees in order to protect herself and to keep the affair hidden from those who it would hurt the most.
The next chapter introduces us to Patricia who we watch as she learns of her husband's death. We are able to put names to the characters we met in chapter one and we are build a sense of how the story fits together through Patricia's narrative. Patricia is a well crafted character and it is easy to feel sympathy towards her. She very quickly realises that the death of her husband raises lots of questions and she is suspicious that he has been hiding something. From here, the novel is an exploration of marriage, secrets and grief.
Fermont's writing is engaging and many chapters end with a bit of a cliffhanger or a concluding thought that makes the reader want to continue. Because of the nature of the story and the themes explored, this is not a page turner in the traditional sense of the word, but there is something compelling that makes this book very readable and a little unputdownable. There are a lot of a characters to engage with but they are well described and all feel like they have a role in the story and are convincing in their portrayal. I particularly enjoyed Fermont's use of dialogue. She captures some of the more toxic behaviour and speech with insightfulness. There are some conversations that are harsh or blunt and the author is not afraid to be brutal in the way the characters speak to each other but this all feeds into creating vivid characters and a dramatic storyline.
As well as exploring the consequences of Jacques death on his wife, Fermont also looks at the the dynamics between siblings and how complicated and entangled these relationships can be. I found her examination of the interaction between siblings very interesting.
This is a complicated, multi-layered novel which is absorbing and compelling. It looks at universal themes such as betrayal, love and deceit with more emphasis on the psychological and moral implications of the characters' decisions and choices. Fermont's writing feels accomplished and sophisticated; there is drama, emotion and tension throughout the pages. This is contemporary women's fiction and will appeal to anyone who enjoys a more multilayered plot with a cast of interesting characters.
“A gripping work of modern women’s
fiction with a distinct ‘Scandi’ feel and a
psychological twist” The Book Magnet
“Fermont writes women’s fiction with a
unique ‘Scandinavian noir’ tone that focuses
on realistic characters, situations and dark
morally complex moods” The Mirror
“Hélene Fermont goes to great lengths
to create believable and relatable three-
dimensional characters.” Love Reading
You can buy a copy of the book here:
HELENE FERMONT
Born into an Anglo-Swedish family,
Hélene Fermont grew up in Malmö in
Sweden. Surrounded by an idlyllic
landscape, she started writing at eight
years old.
Spending a brief time in the music
industry performing on Swedish TV
and radio, she decided to pursue a
career as a therapist, focussing on
children with learning difficulties.
In the mid-90s Hélene moved away
from Sweden to move to London, the
city has been her home now for over
20 years. Despite her love of London,
she frequently travels back to her
native city of Malmö to get back to the
landscape of her childhood which first
inspired her writing.
Hélene’s other books include:
Because of You and We Never Said
Goodbye.
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