The Last House by R.G. Adams - Blog Blast

Today is my turn on the blog blast, for my turn I have my review, enjoy.

The Last House by R.G. Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 320

Publisher - Riverrun

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

Social worker Kit Goddard is convinced that Sandbeach Child Services have let an injured seventeen-year-old boy down, just like they'd done to her brother ten years earlier. Since the referral came in, it had been passed between departments, her own manager Georgia and colleague Tim brushing it off as a low risk, low priority case. But Kit can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right.

Scanning the referral, she notices that the house seventeen-year-old Dylan Meredith lives in with his 'weird' mother had been described as decrepit. The anonymous caller said he was injured, frightened and afraid to tell the truth.

As Kit begins to look deeper into the history of the family, she learns that Dylan's grandmother had been an inpatient at Penlan psychiatric hospital and had died there in 2012. But as her colleague Tim had stressed, this was not a case for psychiatric services.

In a bid to trace the anonymous caller for more information, Kit sets of to the small coastal town of Rock. Only to be confronted with the sense of strangeness that surrounds the Meredith family and the rumours that have troubled this small community for years.


My Review

So if you haven't read the first book in this series I would say it isn't necessary to be honest as Kit is still relatively new to the job and finding her feet. Her recent case is referenced and there are still teething problems to her settling and finding her rythmn. A seventeen year old comes across her radar, a fair few red flags and it seems people in the office are quite eager to close the case. Kit being a kid from a care background feels something isn't right and takes a vested interested getting herself into some hot water, bit of a theme with her.

I think this book is very different pace and feel from the first book, this one has a more slower pace as Kit tries to bond and get a handle on Dylan, his mother and their situation. We also see a lot of Kit's own personal life, issues with her biological parents, her relationships with her siblings and a bit of a curve ball from life causing them all to assess their relationships and actions going forth.

I think the book may prove a tad emotive for some depending on your own personal history and mental health does feature a bit within this book. We also have a look at the issues faced by social workers, red tape. office politics and abuse of power and manipulation especially as Kit is a newbie and does get herself involved more than some of the other workers seem to. Really interesting to read despite not being huge parts of the story I thought it was interesting none the less and how shady and not very nice some of these characters are. It is a bit of a slower start than book one but the last quarter really kicks up a notch and you find yourself not wanting to put it down to see where it goes 4/5.

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Allegation by R G Adams - Blog Blast

Today is my post for the blog blast, for book, "Allegation" by author R. G. Adams, check out my non spoiler (as always) review for my stop.

Allegation: the page-turning, unputdownable thriller from an exciting new voice in crime fiction by R.G. Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Riverrun

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

An evil monster exposed?

Or an innocent father condemned?

A scandal will shake a small community to its very foundations.

Sandbeach, South Wales.

Two women have come forward to make historical sexual allegations against a pillar of the local community, Matthew Cooper.

The case lands on the desk of inexperienced Social Worker, Kit Goddard, who must remove Cooper from his home and family while the investigation is carried out. Although intrepid and intuitive, she is ill-prepared for such a high-profile case.

Kit finds herself navigating a local minefield of connections and class, reputations and rumour. Unsure whether her interference is a heroic intervention or a hurtful intrusion, she knows one thing: it will have an impact. The question is whether this impact will be to expose a lie, or destroy an innocent life...



My Review

Kit Goddard is a social worker who finds herself landed with her first big/challenging case, still relatively new, it is a big ask. Throw into the mix it is historic allegations against one of the pillars of the community, money, charm, well connected, father of three - married Matt Cooper has everything. It is Kit's job to talk to the family, the children, wife and assess if there is a risk, is it a genuine accusation or is someone after money and is Kit about to ruin lives over malicious claims?

What a fantastic debut, Kit isn't just an inexperienced new social worker thrown in at the deep end, she comes with her own emotional baggage having been a kid known to the services herself. We follow her through many challenges just to do her job, I actually was howling at one interaction with one of her colleagues, we all know someone like her. The team is a very mixed bunch and I enjoyed the dynamics of the team. I found the whole process on the investigation really interesting, how she interacted with the kids and the authentic feel with the obstructiveness of the family.

Threats, anger, sex abuse claims against minors, small town reaction to such a shocking allegation against "one of their own" - even how some of the internal issues/obstacles when she is just trying to do her job. As well as that we get to see the very human side of Kit as more of her own past and vulnerability is exposed. I liked her, she has spunk and as I said one interaction with a colleague was absolute gold *air punch* - I hope this is a long series, I very much look forward to the next one. An engaging read, pulled in quickly and as the nature of the book is allegations of a sexual nature - it does feature/investigate although nothing graphic or gratuitous, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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