Today, I'm very excited to be part of the blog tour with Love Books Group for Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland and I have a great extract to share with you all. Bone Deep is a Psychological Thriller/Suspense novel and is available to buy in paperback or ebook format! Here is a little bit more about the book before I share my extract.
Synopsis
What happens when you fall in love with the wrong person?
The consequences threaten to be far-reaching and potentially deadly. Bone Deep is a contemporary novel of sibling rivalry, love, betrayal and murder. It is a dual narrative, told in alternative chapters by Mac, a woman bent on keeping the secrets of the past from her only son, and the enigmatic Lucie, whose own past is something of a closed book. Their story is underpinned by the creaking presence of an abandoned water mill, and haunted by the local legend of two long-dead sisters, themselves rivals in love, and ready to point an accusing finger from the pages of history.
Extract
Lucie
You started it.
You're to blame.
You have to end it before the guilt destroys you.
A bird sets up an agitated calling on the far bank, making me jump. End it . . . end it . . . end it . . . What sort of bird sings at night? One who can't sleep. Fuck it, I shouldn't be out here.
I stuff the pad back into my pocket and get to my feet. Floss appears like magic, and as I bend to pat her head, a heavy splash startles me. The noise reverberates through my system, but when I spin towards it, there is nothing to be seen but the water spreading slowly in neat circles. What the hell was that? What size fish would you need to make that kind of noise? Floss whines. I hold my breath and wait, all my senses straining. I'm never at my most comfortable near water, but the added dimension of something unknown lurking beneath the surface makes me want to run screaming for home. There's nothing to see but faint circles in the water, the gentle slop against the bank.
I search for a rational explanation. Maybe there are pike in there? You read about people netting monster pike all the time. I have an image in my head of some weird prehistoric-looking fish, lurking in the muddy deep. The moon slinks behind a cloud and everything is swallowed up. Only sparkles remain – glints and droplets and the paleness of leaves. My eyes are fixed on the spot where the thing disappeared. That splash, such a heavy weight . . .
My vision blooms in the dark; my eyes grow wide. Out there, something surfaces. A glimmer of yellow. Something yellow, floating just beneath the surface. Then it sinks slowly out of sight. Not everyone can float.
I run.
I
run all the way back to the cottage, skidding on the mud, tripping
over the thorny snakes of brambles, with Floss galloping at my heels.
I have no idea what I've just seen in the pond – that
heavy splash, the glimmer of yellow – but
all I can think of is Jane and that stupid yellow cardigan. I run
straight to her bedroom, wilt outside the door, my breath coming in
short gasps and my heart thudding with terror. I know it's not her.
Didn't I say goodnight to her just an hour ago? But I'm afraid to
open the door. I am so afraid to see an absence of Jane, when for all
these months I've been praying for just that. All those times I've
wanted my sister to disappear off the scene . . . My head is filled
with that yellow cardigan, imagining it saturated with pond water,
weighing her down . . . I burst into the room. Jane is asleep, as I
knew she would be, breathing deeply and evenly. Relief washes through
me until I feel weak from it. I retreat silently and close her door.
About the Author
Sandra Ireland was born in Yorkshire, lived for many years in Limerick, and is now based in Edinburgh. She began her writing career as a correspondent on a local newspaper but quickly realised that fiction is much more intriguing than fact. In 2013 Sandra was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women's magazines. Her debut novel was Beneath the Skin (Polygon, 2016).
Check out the rest of the Blog Tour below!
Today, I'm very excited to be part of the blog tour with Love Books Group for Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland and I have a great extract to share with you all. Bone Deep is a Psychological Thriller/Suspense novel and is available to buy in paperback or ebook format! Here is a little bit more about the book before I share my extract.
Synopsis
What happens when you fall in love with the wrong person?
The consequences threaten to be far-reaching and potentially deadly. Bone Deep is a contemporary novel of sibling rivalry, love, betrayal and murder. It is a dual narrative, told in alternative chapters by Mac, a woman bent on keeping the secrets of the past from her only son, and the enigmatic Lucie, whose own past is something of a closed book. Their story is underpinned by the creaking presence of an abandoned water mill, and haunted by the local legend of two long-dead sisters, themselves rivals in love, and ready to point an accusing finger from the pages of history.
Extract
Lucie
You started it.
You're to blame.
You have to end it before the guilt destroys you.
A bird sets up an agitated calling on the far bank, making me jump. End it . . . end it . . . end it . . . What sort of bird sings at night? One who can't sleep. Fuck it, I shouldn't be out here.
I stuff the pad back into my pocket and get to my feet. Floss appears like magic, and as I bend to pat her head, a heavy splash startles me. The noise reverberates through my system, but when I spin towards it, there is nothing to be seen but the water spreading slowly in neat circles. What the hell was that? What size fish would you need to make that kind of noise? Floss whines. I hold my breath and wait, all my senses straining. I'm never at my most comfortable near water, but the added dimension of something unknown lurking beneath the surface makes me want to run screaming for home. There's nothing to see but faint circles in the water, the gentle slop against the bank.
I search for a rational explanation. Maybe there are pike in there? You read about people netting monster pike all the time. I have an image in my head of some weird prehistoric-looking fish, lurking in the muddy deep. The moon slinks behind a cloud and everything is swallowed up. Only sparkles remain – glints and droplets and the paleness of leaves. My eyes are fixed on the spot where the thing disappeared. That splash, such a heavy weight . . .
My vision blooms in the dark; my eyes grow wide. Out there, something surfaces. A glimmer of yellow. Something yellow, floating just beneath the surface. Then it sinks slowly out of sight. Not everyone can float.
I run.
I run all the way back to the cottage, skidding on the mud, tripping over the thorny snakes of brambles, with Floss galloping at my heels. I have no idea what I've just seen in the pond – that heavy splash, the glimmer of yellow – but all I can think of is Jane and that stupid yellow cardigan. I run straight to her bedroom, wilt outside the door, my breath coming in short gasps and my heart thudding with terror. I know it's not her. Didn't I say goodnight to her just an hour ago? But I'm afraid to open the door. I am so afraid to see an absence of Jane, when for all these months I've been praying for just that. All those times I've wanted my sister to disappear off the scene . . . My head is filled with that yellow cardigan, imagining it saturated with pond water, weighing her down . . . I burst into the room. Jane is asleep, as I knew she would be, breathing deeply and evenly. Relief washes through me until I feel weak from it. I retreat silently and close her door.
About the Author
Sandra Ireland was born in Yorkshire, lived for many years in Limerick, and is now based in Edinburgh. She began her writing career as a correspondent on a local newspaper but quickly realised that fiction is much more intriguing than fact. In 2013 Sandra was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women's magazines. Her debut novel was Beneath the Skin (Polygon, 2016).
Check out the rest of the Blog Tour below!
I run all the way back to the cottage, skidding on the mud, tripping over the thorny snakes of brambles, with Floss galloping at my heels. I have no idea what I've just seen in the pond – that heavy splash, the glimmer of yellow – but all I can think of is Jane and that stupid yellow cardigan. I run straight to her bedroom, wilt outside the door, my breath coming in short gasps and my heart thudding with terror. I know it's not her. Didn't I say goodnight to her just an hour ago? But I'm afraid to open the door. I am so afraid to see an absence of Jane, when for all these months I've been praying for just that. All those times I've wanted my sister to disappear off the scene . . . My head is filled with that yellow cardigan, imagining it saturated with pond water, weighing her down . . . I burst into the room. Jane is asleep, as I knew she would be, breathing deeply and evenly. Relief washes through me until I feel weak from it. I retreat silently and close her door.
About the Author
Sandra Ireland was born in Yorkshire, lived for many years in Limerick, and is now based in Edinburgh. She began her writing career as a correspondent on a local newspaper but quickly realised that fiction is much more intriguing than fact. In 2013 Sandra was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women's magazines. Her debut novel was Beneath the Skin (Polygon, 2016).
Check out the rest of the Blog Tour below!
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