Suze Reviews...: Gilding the Lily by Justine John

The blog tour for Gilding the Lily by Justine John has arrived at Suze Reviews... today and I'm happy share my review of this dark family drama. Big thanks to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for the invitation and to the author for my review copy.

The Blurb:

A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies.

An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics.

Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her…

When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits' end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…

Gilding the Lily was published on 24th November 2016 and you can purchase it here.

My Review:

Since the separation of her parents when she was a teenager Amelia has struggled with her relationship with her father. It hasn't helped that she hasn't got on with his partners since then. But now Roger is turning 75 and his partner Evelyn has organised a lavish party to celebrate. Amelia and husband Jack vow to make an effort to get on better with Evelyn as she obviously makes Roger happy. But that proves much harder than they expected and the birthday celebration is just the beginning of a tense, difficult and dark period in their lives.

I always love to find characters I love to hate, and I found one in Evelyn. I loved her scenes, desperate to see what she would say or do next. I was as much invested in her as I was in any of the characters I liked. And that's down to good writing from J ohn. She has created such a complex, interesting character in Evelyn I couldn't help but be hooked. But I adored Jack, just loved him. A good, solid man absolutely 100% behind his wife. I think he's written just right. He could have come across as almost too good to be true, but he actually reads as a real, decent man full of love and respect for his wife. The characterisation is pretty spot on right across the board - I could easily build up pictures of the whole cast.

The story itself is dark and twisted. I don't mean scary as such, but it is frightening the power that words can have. Particularly when they're used against someone, to lie or mislead. It shows how one person's actions, good or bad, can impact those around them for years to come. Roger, unwittingly, becomes the centrepoint of a battle of wills and a fight for what's right. And neither Evelyn nor Amelia have any intention of giving in.

Holding the Lily tells of crumbling family relationships, jealousy, obsession even, lies and misdirection. But it also tells of the power and depth of love. Twists and turns appear throughout the book and they kept me flicking through the pages. The prologue grabs you and pulls you in and the quality of the storytelling keeps you there. I didn't expect the ending, or one or two things that happened in the run up to it and it's great when that happens. A strong debut and a thoroughly enjoyable dark, chilling family drama. And it really made me appreciate my own family relationships!

The Author:

After thirty years in corporate life in London, half of which was running a successful events company, I decided to take a chance to write the novel that was ‘in me’ since I was a child. Gilding the Lily is the result of this and is a domestic noir story which I hope will keep you on the edge of your chair/sofa/bed/train/plane-seat….

You can find out more about Justine by visiting her website.