John Nicholl – The Sisterhood

This is not my first book by John Nicholl and it is very definitely not gonna be my last! A psychological thriller that crosses all the T’s and dots all the I’s with its plot and characters.

The book revolves around a women’s refuge in a small Welsh town. The refuge is run by Ivy for women and their children who are escaping domestic violence. We see Sally leaving hospital and moving into the refuge for her own safety. The majority of the women who are living there have been let down by the legal system in Britain in one way or another at some time in their lives, but does this mean they would go so far as to take justice into their own hands?

DI Laura Kesey is attempting to help Sally get justice but the question is, how will she manage it when too many people have not managed it before her. While working on Sally’s case, Laura attends a call about a fatal hit and run. A man was hit on a country road but the evidence is pointing to murder. After some investigation, it also turns out that the victim of the hit and run was known for domestic violence and has links to the refuge that Sally is in. Laura wonders whether it could it be at all possible that the women are taking things into their own hands?!

This book is an excellent story and the subject one that I have had a personal interest in for decades. I have experienced firsthand how domestic violence survivors make their first tentative steps to break free of these monsters. I worked on a telephone helpline which works with every service these women need. Refuges are the most important part of their escape. As the story highlights as well, Domestic Violence can happen to both men and women and it is just as damning as each other.

A gripping, tense and for me such a real story, I was flipping the pages that fast! I finished it in a day! Fantastic job John and thank you for the book to write my review.