Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald

Today I'm sharing my review of Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald for my stop on the blog tour. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

They’re the housemates from Hell…

When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.

Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…,

And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.

Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…

Halfway House is published by Orenda Books and comes out on Thursday of this week.

My Review

This is the fourth book I've read by Helen Fitzgerald. You can read my reviews of Ash Mountain and Keep Her Sweet but I am still to review Worst Case Scenario.

Lou's relationship with a married man in Australia has ended. She had been a waitress, but more recently hadn't worked and had a lifestyle, and apartment, funded by her lover. Now it's over, she's heading to Scotland, her cousin Becks, and a fresh start. The only job she's been able to get is in a halfway house for offenders, and even that was achieved with a slightly dubious reference. She throws herself into life when she arrives, even meeting a new lover. Then when the time comes to start her job, it doesn't seem that hard. Until the third night, when things quickly unravel...

Lou is not likeable. I couldn't really find one redeemable thing about her. She's selfish, entitled, ungrateful to those around her. She is particularly bad with her cousin, who has shown her nothing but kindness. Although, I must say, Becks's flat does sound a bit of a nightmare, given her penchant for collecting waits and strays. But I was still invested in what happened to Lou, because all the unlikable stuff about her contributes to making her a disaster waiting to happpen! The majority of the characters are male - I particularly liked Tim, also Neil and Cam. But all the characters are described vividly, particularly, of course, the residents of the halfway house. Even though you know they're a bad lot, they're a joy to read because they are just so colourful and interesting. And either creepy or threatening!

The author sets the scene well, with Lou's arrival in Scotland, settling in to Beck's flat, finding a lover, preparing for the new job. And then the largest part of the book takes place over just three shifts as we can't help but be carried along with the action as things get stickier and stickier for Lou. I enjoyed the madness of it all. There was a slightly cartoonish feel to some scenes which meant I was smiling as well as grimacing at the whole situation. Bonkers. It does end quite suddenly, I felt, and would've loved to know what the future held in store for some of these characters.

Halfway House is a madcap, darkly funny tale of one unprepared young woman's experience with a colourful group of desperate men... It's a lot of fun and I enjoyed it but don't think I'll be taking a job in a halfway house anytime soon! Not one like this, anyway! 


The Author 

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of thirteen adult and young-adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons
Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and adapted for a major BBC drama. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in the Literary Review, Herald Scotland, Guardian, Sunday Times, The Week and Daily Telegraph, shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and won the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. The critically acclaimed Ash Mountain (2020) and Keep Her Sweet (2022) soon followed. Helen worked as a criminal-justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.