I Spy by Claire Kendal

I Spy by Claire Kendal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Someone is watching your every move…

Holly Lawrence always wanted to be a spy, but the experience proved more dangerous than anything she imagined. Now, Holly lives in hiding under an assumed name. She avoids relationships and trusts no one.

But Holly’s new life begins to unravel when she encounters a young mother and her two-year-old child… a child who reminds her of a past she has tried hard to forget. This time, someone is spying on her, and Holly will need to decide how far she is willing to go to survive.

A psychological thriller unlike anything you’ve read before...

My Review

Holly Lawrence has always liked watching people, finding things out so it stands to reason she would go and interview to become a spy. When her interview bombs she goes back to normal life. The story splits into two timelines, the before and the now, present day. The before we find Holly in a controlling relationship that chills the further you get into it. Present day she has had to remove herself from her old life, people she loved, to stay safe. You can never outrun your past and Holly finds herself being tested and putting her own safety in danger to save another.

It took me a wee bit to settle into the book, the timeline jumps, the different characters and getting to grips with who Holly is. She is a bit of an up/down character. She shows some signs of strength and bravery yet others you get so frustrated at some of her choices.

There is such a mix in this book, the spy thing turns up again so you get a feel of that running through a book that is heavily focused on a coercive and abusive relationship. This thing with this is the abuser doesn't use violence but how he maintains control has your gorge rising because it is masked as caring you can see just how effective this is.

I have read this author before and will read her again, she creates environments for her characters that makes for uncomfortable but utterly compelling reading, 3.5/5 for me this time!

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