The Forgotten Woman: A gripping, emotional rollercoaster read you’ll devour in one sitting
Page 29
Kit nodded emotionally. Somehow their lives without each other now would be incomplete. They had travelled back from the brink together. No one else had seen them stripped down to their bare selves. No one else understood the temptation with which they would live for the rest of their lives and no one else would understand any better than they themselves that it could be overcome.
They raised their coffee cups in unison. ‘To friendship,’ said Fran.
‘And all those who sail in her,’ added Kit.
‘Cheers!’ they said together.
Letter from Angela
First of all, I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Forgotten Woman. I hope you enjoyed the story of the friendship between Kit and Fran and the challenges they faced both separately and together.
If you did enjoy it, I would be forever grateful if you’d write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it can also help other readers discover one of my books for the first time. Or maybe you can recommend it to your friends and family …
This was the first book I ever wrote and it was an exploration of how a shared illness and battle can unite people from very different backgrounds.
Although there are elements of the story that are not tied off neatly at the end I felt this was a realistic ending for the journey the two women had taken.
Thank you for joining me on this emotional journey.
I’d love to hear from you – so please get in touch on my Facebook or Goodreads page, twitter or through my website. And if you’d like to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up at this link below:
Angela Marsons’ new releases email
Thank you so much for your support, it is hugely appreciated.
Angela Marsons
@WriteAngie
angelamarsonsauthor
www.angelamarsons-books.com
Acknowledgments
I cannot complete a book without acknowledging the support, encouragement and patience of my partner, Julie. This book was written on a rickety dressing table that she fashioned as a desk. This lady has shared my dream for thirty years without once losing the faith that one day it would happen. She is my world.
I would like to thank Bookouture for giving this book the opportunity to benefit from both their tender loving care and their expertise. Knowing that this book is important to me, the team could not have been more sensitive during the process of helping it to reach a wider audience. I remain eternally grateful to Keshini Naidoo, Oliver Rhodes, Kim Nash and the entire fabulous Bookouture team.
I remain grateful and honoured to be amongst some truly talented and inspiring authors within the Bookouture family. Every single one of them has a place in my heart.
Finally I would like to thank the fantastic readers who have taken a chance on this non-crime book and have trusted that I will still carry them on an emotional and rewarding journey.
Dear Mother
Three Sisters. Three childhoods ruined. One chance to heal the scars of the past.
After their death of their cruel and abusive mother, estranged sisters Alex, Catherine and Beth reunite once again.
Alex, the youngest, is a bitter, unhappy woman who refuses to face the horrors of her childhood. Finding solace in a bottle, her life is spiralling dangerously out of control.
Eldest child, Catherine, has strived for success, despite her difficult upbringing. But behind the carefully constructed world lies secret pain – and if her secret comes out, her world could shatter her forever.
Beth, the middle child, bore the greatest burden. But having blocked out the cruelty they suffered, she remained with their mother until her death. Now she must confront the devastating reality of the past.
Brought together as strangers, the sisters embark on a painful journey to heal themselves and each other. Can they finally put their terrible childhoods to rest and start over?
An emotional, heart-breaking and compelling novel for readers of Diane Chamberlain, Amanda Prowse and Kelly Rimmer.
Originally self published as THE MIDDLE CHILD.
Silent Scream
Kim Stone Book 1
#1 BESTSELLER
Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever…
Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood …
Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.
But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.
As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late?
Fans of Rachel Abbott, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham will be gripped by this exceptional new voice in British crime fiction.
SILENT SCREAM IS OUT NOW
What people are saying about Silent Scream
‘A superb debut by an assured new writer. Blending sharp wit with emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride alongside DI Kim Stone and look forward to the next outing.’ Mel Sherratt
'I absolutely loved it! ... This one is one of the best crime thrillers I've read in a long time, and that includes mainstream authors such as James Patterson! I would seriously put this book in the same league.' Fiona’s Book Reviews
‘I have not been so impressed by a debut novel in a long time, and I'm actually now itching for more from D.I. Kim Stone and the rest of her squad… D.I. Kim Stone is like the British Jane Rizzoli… I can't wait for the second book, because this one was a top-notch crime thriller.’ Leah Loves
‘I don't think I've been so hooked by a new author since the discovery of Mark Edwards or Mark Billingham… Silent Scream gets 5 stars from me - if you finish a crime thriller feeling like you just need to have a lie-down and a cup of tea to get your breath back, then the writer has done their job. Angela Marsons, I still don't have my breath back.’ Reading Room with a View
‘Normally when I see everybody rating a book five stars I think 'Is it really that good?' Silent Scream is that good, and then some… The only problem Angela now faces is keeping up this standard as the series progresses, but if she does than she's going to be an author to watch and a huge star within the genre.’ Book Addict Shaun
Evil Games
Kim Stone Book 2
OUT NOW
The greater the Evil, the more deadly the game…
When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal attack, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But, as more vengeful killings come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone far more sinister at work.
With the investigation quickly gathering momentum, Kim finds herself exposed to great danger and in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment.
Up against a sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time - it’s personal.
EVIL GAMES
available now
Lost Girls
Kim Stone Book 3
Out now…
Two girls go missing. Only one will return.
The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.
When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.
And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their chil
dren, the clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the squad.
Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…
Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?
The latest utterly addictive thriller from the No.1 bestseller Angela Marsons.
BUY HERE
What people are saying about LOST GIRLS
‘I don't think I've been so hooked by a new author since the discovery of Mark Edwards or Mark Billingham … if you finish a crime thriller feeling like you just need to have a lie-down and a cup of tea to get your breath back, then the writer has done their job. Angela Marsons, I still don't have my breath back.’ Reading Room with a View
‘I absolutely loved it! ... This one is one of the best crime thrillers I've read in a long time, and that includes mainstream authors such as James Patterson! I would seriously put this book in the same league.’ Fiona’s Book Reviews
‘I’m a little bit speechless to be honest at just how incredible this book was… one of the best new crime authors of 2015, maybe even the decade.’ Book Addict Shaun
‘I have not been so impressed by a debut novel in a long time… this one was a top-notch crime thriller.’ Leah Loves
‘Angela Marsons is fast becoming THE one to watch in this genre and I would defy anyone not to read and enjoy her writing… This story has everything, it is riveting, emotional. sad and most of all it has a depth that not many novels can claim to have. I highly recommend this one, Simply brilliant.’ Postcard Reviews
I love Kim. I cannot remember a female detective I’ve loved so much since Kay Scarpetta – a creation of Patricia Cornwall … Angela Marsons is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.‘ A Bookseller Blabbering
Play Dead
Kim Stone Book 4
OUT NOW
The dead don’t tell secrets… unless you listen.
The girl’s smashed-in face stared unseeing up to the blue sky, soil spilling out of her mouth. A hundred flies hovered above the bloodied mess.
Westerley research facility is not for the faint-hearted. A ‘body farm’ investigating human decomposition, its inhabitants are corpses in various states of decay. But when Detective Kim Stone and her team discover the fresh body of a young woman, it seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover to bury their crime.
Then a second girl is attacked and left for dead, her body drugged and mouth filled with soil. It’s clear to Stone and the team that a serial killer is at work – but just how many bodies will they uncover? And who is next?
As local reporter, Tracy Frost, disappears, the stakes are raised. The past seems to hold the key to the killer’s secrets – but can Kim uncover the truth before a twisted, damaged mind claims another victim …?
The latest utterly addictive thriller from the No.1 bestseller Angela Marsons.
Buy here!
Also by Angela Marsons
Detective Kim Stone series
1. SILENT SCREAM
2. EVIL GAMES
3. LOST GIRLS
4. PLAY DEAD
Other Books
1. DEAR MOTHER
2. THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
23 Sussex Road, Ickenham, UB10 8PN
United Kingdom
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Angela Marsons 2014
Angela Marsons has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Previously published as My Name Is in 2014.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-043-4
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