The Fear by Cally Taylor

I am delighted to be today's stop on the blog tour for The Fear by CL Taylor. The Fear was published by Avon on 22 March 2018.

The Fear
By Cally Taylor
Published by Avon (22 March 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

My verdict
The Fear is a very dark read, covering strong themes such as grooming, child abuse and revenge. It's definitely CL Taylor's darkest book yet and the well-drawn characters certainly got under my skin.

This is the story of Mike Hughes, a martial arts instructor, who groomed a young teenager, Lou, and then ran away with her to France. Eighteen years on, Lou has finally returned to her childhood home, planning to confront her past so that she can finally put it behind her. She's hoping that after his spell in prison, Mike has changed. But instead, she discovers he is up to his old tricks again, this time with a young teenage girl called Chloe. Lou tries to steer clear but realises she needs to protect Chloe and stop Mike destroying another young girl's life.

The story is narrated by Lou, Chloe and a mysterious woman called Wendy. I guessed some twists early on, but they didn't detract from my enjoyment, and I certainly didn't predict some of the later events (see below). I assume the book was originally set in the present day and then the whole timeline was shifted back 10 years, without changing some of the factual content, such as references to modern social media. But again, this didn't detract from the plot and, after a while, I stopped 'Googling' everything to make sure I wasn't going mad.

The Fear is a fast-paced thriller and very easy to gobble up in one sitting. It features some graphic scenes and disturbing content, but these are handled with sensitivity. I'm reluctant to call the book 'entertaining' due to the topics it covers - 'compelling' and 'addictive' may be more appropriate words to use - but there were certainly some highly memorable, totally crazy and perhaps a little far-fetched scenes towards the end.

If you like twisty psychological thrillers, with strong characters and an unpredictable plot, and don't mind difficult subject matter, then add The Fear to your shopping list.

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BEST OF CRIME with Cally Taylor

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

CALLY TAYLOR

to share her BEST OF CRIME... 

... AUTHORS

My all-time favourite crime novel isn’t actually by a crime author. It’s The Collector by John Fowles who also wrote The French Lieutenant’s Woman. It’s a brilliantly creepy novel about a young man who abducts a young art student and keeps her locked up in his cellar. I found the power play between the two main characters utterly fascinating and I thought the ending was superb. A more contemporary author that I’m a huge fan of is Belinda Bauer. All novels are very different from each other but they’re all brilliantly written and feature her trademark black humour and wit. I particularly recommend Rubbernecker, Blacklands and The Beautiful Dead.

... FILMS/MOVIES

I don’t think you can beat The Silence of the Lambs as an example of a truly brilliant crime film. The cast – Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Ted Levine – are at the top of their game and the plot is faultless. Respect to the director Jonathan Demme for turning an excellent book into an outstanding film.

... TV DRAMAS

Where to start? In recent years we’ve been spoilt with top notch TV dramas, both here and across the pond. Happy Valley, Luther, True Detective, Call of Duty, Broadchurch and The Wire all jump into my head when I think about quality TV drama. Then there’s the original Scandinavian broadcast of The Bridge which was utterly brilliant. I binge watched the first three series over a couple of weeks and was bereft when it ended. Saga Norén is an amazing character and I can’t wait for series four to air. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
I know Sophie Hannah chose Dexter but I have to agree with her choice. Dexter is such an unusual character. I love that he kills to the code that his father defined (basically, bad guys). I also love how socially awkward he is and the touches of dark humour. It’s rare to root for the killer but I was desperate for Dexter to evade capture. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
I’m a big fan of the Sherlock home reboot on the BBC. I always used to see Sherlock Holmes as very dry and dusty, a Victorian gentleman in a deerstalker, but Benedict Cumberbatch (and the team of writers) have breathed new life into him and now he appeals to a whole new audience.

... MURDER WEAPONS
Without giving too much away there’s a fabulous scene at the end of Paula Daly’s book Keep Your Friend’s Close where a flaw in the antagonist (only briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book) is used by the main character to kill her off. I thought it was a ridiculously clever way to kill someone off and actually said ‘bravo!’ when I read it. Brilliant.

    

... DEATH SCENES

I’m sure another scene will jump into my dead the minute I finish this interview but right now the most memorable death scene I can think of is Mrs Danvers dying in a fire, with burning wood falling all around her in Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. 

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I’m a big fan of Google Earth and Street Maps when it comes to researching my novels. As a non-driver I can nip across Bristol, or the country, to check out a location for one of my books. I also read a lot of articles online about abnormal psychology and use YouTube to watch old documentaries.

... WRITING TIPS

I always start my novels this way – I think about what my main character wants more than anything else in the world then I throw obstacles in her way to stop her from achieving it. I also give her a character flaw that makes it harder for her to obtain her goal. I’ve been told I’m a very ‘pacy’ writer and that’s because I’m easily bored. I don’t particularly enjoy writing descriptive passages and prefer to focus on action and dialogue. In the words of Elmore Leonard I ‘try to leave out all the parts that readers skip’. I think that’s good advice for any writer. 

About CALLY TAYLOR

C.L. Taylor is the Sunday Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers THE MISSING, THE LIE and THE ACCIDENT.

Find Cally Taylor on her FB page, join her mailing list and find her on Twitter - @callytaylor

About THE ESCAPE

Publisher's description

"Look after your daughter's things. And your daughter…"

When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn't.

The stranger knows Jo's name, she knows her husband Max and she's got a glove belonging to Jo's two year old daughter Elise.

What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo's own husband turn against her.

No one believes that Elise is in danger. But Jo knows there's only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.

The Escape is being published by Avon on 23 March 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.