Today is my stop on the blog tour for "What I Hid From You" by author Heleen Kist. For my stop I have my review, non spoiler as always AND if you are in the UK you can win x1 ecopy of the book. Head to our Twitter, Follow us and RT the pinned tweet
CLICK HERE to be taken straight to the tweet to be entered, good luck.
This is a
LOVEBOOKSTOURS blog tour organised by Kelly.
Blurb for the book
A DEATH
AN ACCIDENT
A STUPID MISTAKE
Traumatised by the death of a patient in her chair, Glaswegian dentist Radha Bakshi succumbs to an addiction to Valium she can’t acknowledge – even to herself.
The pills take the edge off trying to be a consummate professional, a perfect daughter, a devoted wife and a not-too-embarrassing mother to her teenage son.
When increased scrutiny of her work forces her to find a new source of supply, she stumbles into the menacing clutches of blackmailing drug dealers.
A mistake that could cost her everything.
Author Bio
Heleen Kist is a Dutch, formerly globetrotting career woman who fell in love with a Scotsman and his country, and now writes about its (sometimes scary) people from her garden office in Glasgow. What I Hid From You is her third novel.
She was chosen as an up-and-coming new author at the international crime festival Bloody Scotland 2018. Her debut, ‘In Servitude’ won the silver medal for Best European Fiction at the Independent Publishers Book Awards in the USA and was shortlisted for The Selfies awarded at London Book Fair. Her feminist thriller ‘Stay Mad, Sweetheart’ was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and won third place in the inaugural Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year award 2020
Buy links
Waterstones &
Book Depository
What I Hid From You by
Heleen Kist
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - as able over a few days
Pages - 366
Publisher -
Source - ARC
Blurb from Goodreads
A DEATH - AN ACCIDENT - A STUPID MISTAKE
Traumatised by the death of a patient, and crippled with anxiety, Glaswegian dentist Radha Bakshi succumbs to an addiction to Valium she can’t acknowledge, even to herself.
In truth, she relies on the pills to juggle being the consummate professional, perfect daughter, devoted wife and a not-too-embarrassing mother to her teenage son.
When increased scrutiny of her work forces her to find a new source of supply, she stumbles into the clutches of blackmailing drug dealers.
A mistake that could cost her everything.
My review
If you are any kind of medical professional, at the start, the letter from the GDC, ooft heart in my mouth. This was like a page or two in, we know very little of the character at this point but again if you know these type of professional bodies your heart skips a beat. Radha Bakshi had a massive shock when a patient dies. Trying to cope with that, the pending investigation and her normal life pressures.
I have bought Kist books before but this is my actual first one I read. Radha is such a good cautionary tale, but for the grace of god go I, here we have a business woman, family business passed over and one instant changed everything. How easy addiction can take hold, how quickly things can escalate, down the rabbit hole and everything that follows!
Tense, shocking, a cautionary tale and whilst this is a work of fiction many people can absolutely relate to how easy it can be to fall into. We also have small chapters with Radha's father and between the two get the feeling of just how important they and family are.
The book takes a few dark turns and from the beginning the reader is hooked into how this respectable professional, wife, mother, pillar of the community can fall into addiction and make so many bad decisions. We see very human emotion and behaviours in this one and I just wanted to see where we were going next. A few times going No No No Radha don't, girl what are you thinking! 4/5 for me this time and hopefully not be too long before I get to the others!
View all my reviews
Tennison: Prime Suspect 1973 by Lynda La Plante
