Book-Review-by-Pat-Allchorne-The-Guest-by-Hilary-Boyd DWC Magazine

Book Review by Pat Allchorne: The Guest by Hilary Boyd

I picked this book up in the library; it seemed a bit of a change from what I’ve been reading recently and I don’t think I have read this author before.

The short prologue lets us assume that Kitty’s husband Angus has dementia, as they are driving to the shops one day and Kitty realises that the route they are taking is in the wrong direction to the supermarket. Angus’s career was in economics; he has a mathematical brain and has written many articles and books, but of late Kitty has noticed that his habit of forgetting things which are not important to him has escalated into something more sinister.

The story then begins when Angus is in a care home, only coming home on Sundays for the Sunday roast which he always enjoyed. When he had the diagnosis he asked Kitty to take him to Dignitas and she refused, not on moral grounds but because she couldn’t bear to part with him when he was still compos mentis on many days. She asked for more time to think about it, then came the pandemic and they couldn’t go anywhere. Now it is too late for any decisions he makes to be valid, as his brilliant brain has deteriorated more rapidly.

One morning, having coffee in a cafe in Chichester, she bumps into an old friend, Vee, whom she worked with years ago. Vee disappeared from her life when she went to New Zealand; she has been back in England for five years & now owns a B & B, but not once has she got in touch with Kitty.

Now Vee has a partner, Raf, and a small child, Bear, and is living in a cramped flat after a flash flood at the B & B, whilst waiting for the rooms to dry out. Fast forward a little, and we find the three of them have moved in with Kitty temporarily, at Kitty’s request, as the smallholding is large with plenty of space.

Vee is vegan; so, apparently are all the family, and Kitty does her best to cater for them. Raf is kind and understanding; Vee is over-protective of Bear, not trusting him to be near the animals on the smallholding. There is more tension when Kitty’s sister Helen comes for the day, and cannot restrain herself from asking awkward questions of Vee. Meanwhile, Raf’s sensitivity & understanding are having an effect on Kitty. Her thoughts go in directions which can only lead to disaster, as she becomes more dependent on Raf who is ever willing to help with the animals & repairs.

When it is suggested to Kitty that perhaps Vee’s over-protectiveness of Bear & her edginess may be due to the fact that she is being abused by Raf, Kitty finds it hard to conceive that this could be possible, as Raf is gentle & seems very understanding of her own situation with Angus. He seems a calming influence rather than the opposite.

Vee and Raf eventually move back to the B & B, and Kitty breathes a sigh of relief that contact will be less often. Angus is deteriorating rapidly, and she concentrates on him, visiting frequently, although mostly he now doesn’t know who she is.

Then Raf disappears, and Vee is convinced that he is with Kitty. They are engaged to be married, at Vee’s instigation, but things have become more fraught between them. She turns up at the smallholding looking for him, but Kitty hasn’t seen him since they left to go home.

In two different moments of confession, Kitty learns firstly that something dreadful happened to Vee when she was younger, something she has kept to herself for years. The Raf contacts Kitty and she learns why he has left – that you will have to read for yourself. Despite Kitty recommending a counsellor, it is plain that these two very different people cannot live together, even for the sake of Bear. The tensions which began at the smallholding after Kitty’s generous offer to help have continued to escalate to the point of no return.

Angus dies in her arms, and she goes to Jamaica to stay with her brother-in-law, to spend Christmas in the sun. When she returns, our story has to come to a suitable end for the three people whose lives have been intertwined by a chance meeting and an act of kindness.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Perfect for fans of Faith Hogan, Cathy Bramley and Liane Moriarty

Will past secrets resurface over a long hot summer as Kitty Cox lets an old friend back into her home?

Over a long hot summer, the secrets of the past bubble to the surface . . .

After years caring for her ailing husband, Kitty Cox is finding it hard adjusting to a new life alone.

So when old friend Vee reappears in the village in urgent need of a place to stay, Kitty says yes. It’s the obvious solution to both their needs.

Soon Vee, her new partner Raf and young son Bear have moved in for the summer. At first, Kitty relishes the company. Yet, despite their renewed friendship, she feels Vee is keeping something from her.

In the heat, tensions build and secrets simmer. It’s clear that Vee isn’t the woman Kitty once knew . . .

But who has she let into her home?

And might this act of charity turn out to be the biggest mistake of her life?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Boyd was born and spent the first six months of her life in Prestatyn, North Wales, where her father, an army major, was stationed after the war. She was later educated in London, then at the boarding school Roedean. She trained as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and subsequently as a marriage guidance counsellor with Relate before reading English Literature at London University in her late 30s.

After college, Boyd became a health journalist, writing about depression, step-parenting and pregnancy. She began writing fiction as a hobby whilst raising three children and working at various day jobs including running a cancer charity, Survive Cancer, working for an engineering company, and an online vitamin site.

The film rights for Thursdays In The Park, her debut novel which sold over half a million copies and was an international bestseller, have been acquired by Charles Dance, who will be directing and starring.
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