TUESDAY TALK celebrates publication day for Lynda Stacey’s debut novel House of Secrets

A woman on the run, a broken man and a house with a shocking secret …

SYNOPSIS

Madeleine Frost has to get away. Her partner Liam has become increasingly controlling to the point that Maddie fears for her safety, and that of her young daughter Poppy.
Desperation leads Maddie to the hotel owned by her estranged father – the extraordinarily beautiful Wrea Head Hall in Yorkshire. There, she meets Christopher ‘Bandit’ Lawless, an ex-marine and the gamekeeper of the hall, whose brusque manner conceals a painful past.
After discovering a diary belonging to a previous owner, Maddie and Bandit find themselves immersed in the history of the old house, uncovering its secrets, scandals, tragedies – and, all the while, becoming closer.
But Liam still won’t let go, he wants Maddie back, and when Liam wants something he gets it, no matter who he hurts …
Winner of Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks 2015 Search for a Star competition.

MY REVIEW

Writer Madeleine Frost thought she had found that special someone and a new beginning after the tragic loss of her husband in a car crash. But recently her partner Liam has been behaving strangely with mood swings which trigger controlling and aggressive behaviour especially towards her small daughter Poppy.

After finding him in a compromising situation with his female boss, Madeleine decides to leave him. But the only place she can find safety for herself and Poppy to is Wrea Head Hall, a hotel run by her father, a man she hasn’t seen for years. Her father is delighted to see his long lost daughter and is pleased to have Madeleine and Poppy stay with him.

One of the first people Madeleine meets is Christopher ‘Bandit’ Lawless, the hotel’s handyman. Ex-marine Bandit lives in the lodge house, once the home of his father who is now in care. An Afghanistan veteran haunted by his own loss, his first unfortunate encounter with Madeleine is soon brushed aside as the two start to get to know each other. Madeleine begins to relax and feel safe, hoping she can make a new life with her daughter at the hotel. But when tragedy strikes and Liam turns up again she realises her nightmare is far from over.

Lynda has written an entertaining debut novel with some unforgettable characters. There is romance between Madeleine and Bandit as well as light hearted moments between Poppy and the hotel’s cook Nomsa. Drama and suspense are provided by the thoroughly unpleasant Liam. Why won’t he let Madeleine go and what exactly are behind the locked doors in his house?

Woven through this modern day story is a link with the past; the diary of Emily Ennis, whose family once owned Wrea Head Hall. When Bandit and Madeleine discover it and begin to read about her tragic love affair it takes them on a journey that will eventually link the past with the present.

A hugely enjoyable read. I look forward to more from Lynda…

AUTHOR BIO

Lynda, is a wife, step-mother and grandmother, she grew up in the mining village of Bentley, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire.
She is currently the Sales Director of a stationery, office supplies and office furniture company in Doncaster, where she has worked for the past 25 years. Prior to this she’d also been a nurse, a model, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor … and yes, she was crazy enough to dive in the sea with sharks, without a cage.Following a car accident in 2008, Lynda was left with limited mobility in her right arm. Unable to dive or teach anymore, she turned to her love of writing, a hobby she’d followed avidly since being a teenager.
Her own life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots, along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.
Lynda joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2014 under the umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel House of Secrets won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star competition.
She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her ‘hero at home husband’, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.