Blog Tour Double Review : I Know Your Every Move/As Sick As Our Secrets by Diane Ezzard

After a couple of bad relationships and a stint in rehab,Sophe Brown has managed to turn her life around and is working as a counsellor in a woman's centre in Manchester,helping other girls who are in trouble. As Sophie herself admits,she is better at reading other people than she is at managing her own life.

But Sophie's hard fought for new life is shattered into pieces when she receives a sinister phone call and she becomes convinced that she is being followed.

Does she really have a stalker or is it just the old feelings of fear and paranoia resurfacing and its just all in her imagination.

 Sophie's story is told in chapters that flip back and forth between the present (now) and the past (then). In the chapters set in the past we are taken back through Sophie's life,from leaving home at seventeen because she wanted to escape her parents frequent arguments. How young and naive she was drawn into a relashionship with violent bully Jay. The constant pattern of mental and physical abuse that still continued after she managed to escape and then eventually finding herself in a relashionship with depressive/freeloader Kyle. It was during this relationship that she found herself becoming addicted to alcohol and drawn into an affair with her married boss Simon. Eventually she ends up in rehab and decides to change her life around and trains to be a counsellor. In the present day she is trying to persuade a young women called Cassie to leave her violent boyfriend George. Could George have found out that Cassie was seeing a counsellor and was planning on leaving him? Could Jay be seeking revenge because she had the tenacity to leave him? Maybe Simon wasn't happy about how their affair ended?

To be honest I enjoyed the danger,mystery and intrigue of the chapters set in the present day more than I enjoyed the chapters that dealt with Sophie's tragic past. Sophie could be very frustrating,opinionated and judgemental and made some very dubious decisions at times. I can't say I really felt any connection with her,I honestly felt more anxiety about the well being of Max the cat than I ever felt for Sophie.

The thriller elements of the story certainty keep you guessing and the identity of Sophie's stalker was totally unexpected. Although I enjoyed some parts of this book more than others,I thought it was a good start to the series and am looking forward to finding out what the author has planned for Sophie in book 2

PURCHASE LINKS :

UK : http://amzn.to/2tyMlmU
US : http://amzn.to/2tdEdc5

Sophie Brown returns in this eagerly anticipated sequel to I Know Your Every Move. She still has more issues than Bridget Jones,still hasn't taken self defence lessons despite the dangerous situations she finds herself in during her bumbling amateur investigations and is still struggling with depression and the constant daily battle to stay sober.

Sophie works as a counsellor and became close to Cassie,one of her clients who had escaped her violent boyfriend. Unfortunately Cassie was found murdered and this book opens with Sophie getting a nasty surprise after attending Cassie's funeral.

Sophie gets into trying to find Cassie's killer and soon finds herself mixed up in the dark and murky world of gangsters and villains in the streets is Manchester.

But life never goes as Sophie intends and when her dad has a near fatal heart attack and she falls out with her sister,Sophie finds herself falling back into the grips of addiction.

Will the new man in her life and the search for Cassie's killer be enough to encourage Sophie to get her life back on track or will alcohol be the outright winner in the battle of wills between human and addiction.

Sophie is still a very frustrating character,she just never seems to learn from her mistakes but you can't help admiring her as she launches herself into dangerous situations without any thought for her own safety. To be honest Sophie's woe is me and self pitying attitude was annoying at times but also uncomfortable to read because I suffer from anxiety and depression and can have moments of self pity. It made me stop and wonder if my husband gets annoyed and frustrated when I have my bad days.

Sophie's dad and her sister Steph are back,so is Sophie's friend Joyce and Cassie's violent boyfriend George. There wasn't very many characters in this book but for me the most memorable ones were Sophie,Randy and Georgia.

As with the first book,I enjoyed the mystery elements of this story. There was some unexpected twists including who had actually killed Cassie. It looks like Sophie has finally found someone who genuinely loves her,has she finally found happiness or does fate have more bad luck in store for our feisty,bumbling heroine. I look forward to finding out what sort of danger and intrigue Sophie is going to get herself caught up in during book 3

                                                                 AUTHOR BIO

Author Bio – Manchester born Diane Ezzard writes emotionally charged psychological thrillers and mysteries about everyday people in seemingly ordinary circumstances until something goes badly wrong in their lives.  Before taking early retirement to concentrate on her writing, she worked as a HR manager, a counsellor, owned a cafe and managed a charity.   She now lives and writes in South East London close to her daughter and grandchildren.

Social Media Links –

Website : http://dezzardwriter.com/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/dezzardwriter/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/diane_ezzard

Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Blog tour