The Child Next Door by Shalini Boland @ShaliniBoland @bookouture #blogblitz

I’m thrilled to join the blog blitz for The Child Next Door by Shalini Boland today! My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for the opportunity and for my review copy.

Author : Shalini Boland
Title : The Child Next Door
Pages : 279
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication day : March 29, 2018

Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her new-born, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor, saying: ‘Let’s take the child – and go.’

Is someone trying to steal her little girl?

In the bedroom, her daughter is safe asleep in her cot. Is the voice coming from a nearby house? But there aren’t any other babies living on her quiet country road…

The police don’t believe her. And neither does her husband.

Kirstie knows something isn’t right. She thought she could trust her neighbours, now she isn’t sure. As she unravels the secrets of the people living on her street, Kirstie’s perfect life begins to fall apart.

Because someone is hiding a terrible lie. And they will do anything to stop Kirstie uncovering the truth. But is the danger closer to home than she thinks?

Holy guacamole! What a rollercoaster of a story this is! It left me reeling and in desperate need of a stiff drink.

Kirstie is a new mom to a baby girl called Daisy. One night, she’s awoken by voices coming from the baby monitor. Convinced someone is trying to harm her baby, Kirstie races upstairs but there’s nobody there and her baby is sound asleep. This event really rattles her though and soon her entire life starts to fall apart as she becomes increasingly afraid for her baby’s safety.

As someone who frequently suffers from periods of insomnia, I have no problems whatsoever imagining how sheer exhaustion can play tricks on you and make you feel like you’re losing your mind. Kirstie is losing a lot of sleep as well, staying awake all hours because she doesn’t feel safe in her own home. But is her fatigue to blame or is something else going on? It’s incredibly easy to sympathise with her, to relate to her distress. Even though she sometimes makes some dubious decisions, I could understand her quest in keeping her daughter safe from harm.

This psychological thriller kept me guessing until the end and as the tension built up, I found myself inching closer and closer to the edge of my sofa. Just like Kirstie herself, I started suspecting everyone, wondering about their intentions, trying to figure out if they were hiding something and if so, what secrets were lurking behind the closed doors of this seemingly quiet and peaceful cul-de-sac. But I never would have guessed the outcome, even if it had come up to me and hit me in the face. What a shocker!

This is another brilliantly gripping, totally addictive and engrossing page-turner by Shalini Boland. It grabbed me by the throat from the very first page and wouldn’t let go. I’d go as far as to say I think this is the author’s best one yet and I absolutely can’t wait for her next offering!

The Child Next Door is available for purchase!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Goodreads

Shalini Boland is the bestselling author of psychological thrillers ‘THE GIRL FROM THE SEA’ (reached No 1 in the US Audible charts), ‘THE BEST FRIEND’ (No 2 in the US Audible charts), ‘THE MILLIONAIRE’S WIFE’, ‘THE SECRET MOTHER’ (No 4 in the US Kindle charts).

Shalini lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children and their cheeky terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing psychological thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).

Be the first to hear about her new releases here: http://eepurl.com/b4vb45

She is also the author of two bestselling Young Adult series as well as an atmospheric WWII novel with a time-travel twist.

Facebook | Twitter | Website

***