What we thought: Having loved Chris Curran’s debut novel Mindsight, I was eagerly awaiting her second and Her Turn to Cry proved to be just as gripping and page-turning.
It is 1965 and Joycie Todd, a famous model, lives with her photographer boyfriend, Marcus. She seems to have it all. However, we soon learn that events from Joycie’s past have left her damaged and unhappy. Despite Marcus bolstering her modelling career, and his obvious love for her, Joycie is unable to reciprocate his attentions.
Growing up in the 1950s, with her father and his friend as a popular theatre act, Joycie’s mother disappears. Rumour says she ran off with a man, but when Joycie finds a bloodstained rug under the bed, and is haunted by nightmares and snippets of memories from her past, she begins to ask questions. When Joycie reconnects with her aunt, she is propelled to seek the truth about her parents, if she is ever to settle in her present life.
The author smoothly switches between the past and the present, as we follow Joycie on her gripping journey towards the truth. I had a real sense of the 50s dilapidated English coastal towns and the performers of the old music halls, along with the backstage atmosphere, right to “present” day 1965.
Themes of abuse and power are deftly handled, yet the author doesn’t shy away from the realities of those times.
I found Her Turn to Cry an addictive page-turner, as Joycie develops and eventually blooms into her true self. With incredible suspense, excellently-drawn characters and a thrilling plot, I would highly recommend this to readers of crime and psychological thrillers.
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Crime Fiction, tales of dark family secrets.
Avoid if you don’t like: stories that deal with abuse of power, prejudice and hatred.
Ideal accompaniments: Serve of fish and chips on the harbourfront.
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Available on Amazon
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