Sara Foster (1) (1976–)
Autore di Beneath the Shadows
Per altri autori con il nome Sara Foster, vedi la pagina di disambiguazione.
Sull'Autore
Sara Foster is the owner of the Foster's Markets in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Opere di Sara Foster
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1976
- Sesso
- female
- Nazionalità
- UK
- Luogo di residenza
- Australia
- Breve biografia
- Sara Foster is the bestselling author of six psychological suspense novels: YOU DON'T KNOW ME, THE HIDDEN HOURS, ALL THAT IS LOST BETWEEN US, SHALLOW BREATH, BENEATH THE SHADOWS, and COME BACK TO ME.
Born and raised in the UK, Sara worked for a time in the HarperCollins fiction department in London, before turning her hand to freelance editing, and writing in her spare time.
It wasn't until 2007 that Sara decided to pursue her dream of getting published, and she took time out from editing to finish her first book. COME BACK TO ME was published in Australia in 2010 and reached the Sydney Morning Herald top ten Australian bestsellers list. Her second book, BENEATH THE SHADOWS, reached No. 4 on the Australian Sunday Telegraph bestsellers list, and was published in the USA and Germany. Her fifth novel, THE HIDDEN HOURS, was shortlisted for the 2013 Davitt Award, and has been optioned by TV production company CJZ.
Sara is very proud to have been one of the original editors of the bestselling Kids' Night In series, which has been raising money for the charity War Child since 2003. In 2004 she moved to Western Australia, where she lives with her husband and young daughters.
Utenti
Recensioni
A chilling thriller of memory loss and secret lies by best-selling author Sara Foster who, with five novels under her belt, is proving to be a modern-day master of psychological suspense. Shrouded in the moody, drippy weather of London in winter, this gripper sucks you into the story faster than green grass through a goose!
*Firstly, though, let’s pause for a big thank you to Sara Foster, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for providing a free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.* Now, back to our main event…
Young, 21-year-old Eleanor is looking for a fresh start. She packs up her belongings, scantly more than a suitcase a few articles of clothing, and heads off to London for a new life. She’ll be living with her mother’s only sibling – an uncle Eleanor barely knows – in Uncle Ian’s tony home on Notting Hill, along with his wife and two young daughters. What’s more, Aunt Susan’s publishing firm has an opening for an admin assistant that should be perfect for Eleanor.
But things start to go terribly wrong on a rainy evening at the company Christmas party. Eleanor has only been in the UK and at the firm a few weeks and so hasn’t yet made any friends. Determined to be merry and hopefully find some companionable souls, Eleanor is flattered when the beautiful, social butterfly Arabella, the belle of the publishing house, singles Arabella out for drinks and conversation. But then the next day, Arabella is dead. And Eleanor has no recollection of what happened after the party or even how she got home that night.
Frightened of The Hidden Hours in her consciousness, and how she may have been involved in Arabella’s death, Eleanor frantically attempts to recreate the tragic events of that night and salvage her future… while simultaneously outrunning the past that lives inside her mind as it were only yesterday.
Not to be out done by the main murder-mystery plot is the fable-like, cautionary tale embedded in the immensely layered and deftly woven flashbacks to Eleanor’s childhood in Australia. These are all the more powerful, as well, due to the contrast between the hot, dry landscape of the southern continent and the damp and dark bustle of the U.K. metroplis.
Originally released in paperback and for Kindle in 2017, in an unusual move, this is the debut release of the hardcover edition for 2020. If you’re a fan of chills and thrills, and things that go bump in the night, then you won’t be able to put this one down! This reader really enjoyed the read and gives it a praise-worthy, four stars.
Support your indie books stores and pick up your copy of The Hidden Hours, releasing Nov 3rd, at www.bookshop.org – the online bookstore that gives away 75% of its profit to support local indie bookstores. (Note: Desiree does receive a small commission should you purchase through this link, however, she shares this out of love and care for her local, corner bookstores everywhere.)
#TheHiddenHours
#SaraFoster
#Blackstone Publishing
#NetGalley
#MysteryAndThrillers
#PsychologicalSuspense… (altro)
*Firstly, though, let’s pause for a big thank you to Sara Foster, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for providing a free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.* Now, back to our main event…
Young, 21-year-old Eleanor is looking for a fresh start. She packs up her belongings, scantly more than a suitcase a few articles of clothing, and heads off to London for a new life. She’ll be living with her mother’s only sibling – an uncle Eleanor barely knows – in Uncle Ian’s tony home on Notting Hill, along with his wife and two young daughters. What’s more, Aunt Susan’s publishing firm has an opening for an admin assistant that should be perfect for Eleanor.
But things start to go terribly wrong on a rainy evening at the company Christmas party. Eleanor has only been in the UK and at the firm a few weeks and so hasn’t yet made any friends. Determined to be merry and hopefully find some companionable souls, Eleanor is flattered when the beautiful, social butterfly Arabella, the belle of the publishing house, singles Arabella out for drinks and conversation. But then the next day, Arabella is dead. And Eleanor has no recollection of what happened after the party or even how she got home that night.
Frightened of The Hidden Hours in her consciousness, and how she may have been involved in Arabella’s death, Eleanor frantically attempts to recreate the tragic events of that night and salvage her future… while simultaneously outrunning the past that lives inside her mind as it were only yesterday.
Not to be out done by the main murder-mystery plot is the fable-like, cautionary tale embedded in the immensely layered and deftly woven flashbacks to Eleanor’s childhood in Australia. These are all the more powerful, as well, due to the contrast between the hot, dry landscape of the southern continent and the damp and dark bustle of the U.K. metroplis.
Originally released in paperback and for Kindle in 2017, in an unusual move, this is the debut release of the hardcover edition for 2020. If you’re a fan of chills and thrills, and things that go bump in the night, then you won’t be able to put this one down! This reader really enjoyed the read and gives it a praise-worthy, four stars.
Support your indie books stores and pick up your copy of The Hidden Hours, releasing Nov 3rd, at www.bookshop.org – the online bookstore that gives away 75% of its profit to support local indie bookstores. (Note: Desiree does receive a small commission should you purchase through this link, however, she shares this out of love and care for her local, corner bookstores everywhere.)
#TheHiddenHours
#SaraFoster
#Blackstone Publishing
#NetGalley
#MysteryAndThrillers
#PsychologicalSuspense… (altro)
You Don't Know Me by Sara Foster is a great Australian mystery thriller. Alice and Noah each have a troubled past but when they meet in Thailand, they seem to have an instant connection and a whirlwind romance ensues. Alice is escaping her dark past back home in Australia by teaching English in Bangkok. Noah is on a short holiday enjoying a brief respite from the family restaurant and the upcoming inquest into the disappearance of his older brother's girlfriend Lizzie years earlier.
With two mysteries to be solved, I was keen to learn Noah's and Alice's backstories in equal measure. Thankfully only a little time is spent on the budding romance between the two characters before events in their lives drag them back to the harsh reality and the pressures they've been avoiding.
As the inquest begins, the reader is left to speculate on what happened to Lizzie. Long held secrets are slowly revealed by all characters and the tension steadily builds towards a dramatic ending with an unexpected conclusion.
I enjoyed the dual settings in Thailand and the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney in addition to the relatability of the characters. Lizzie's fate came as a complete surprise and I certainly didn't see it coming. Highly recommended.
* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *… (altro)
With two mysteries to be solved, I was keen to learn Noah's and Alice's backstories in equal measure. Thankfully only a little time is spent on the budding romance between the two characters before events in their lives drag them back to the harsh reality and the pressures they've been avoiding.
As the inquest begins, the reader is left to speculate on what happened to Lizzie. Long held secrets are slowly revealed by all characters and the tension steadily builds towards a dramatic ending with an unexpected conclusion.
I enjoyed the dual settings in Thailand and the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney in addition to the relatability of the characters. Lizzie's fate came as a complete surprise and I certainly didn't see it coming. Highly recommended.
* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *… (altro)
While on vacation in Thailand, Noah Carruso meets Alice Pryce. A mutual attraction leads to a passionate affair. Unfortunately, Noah must return home to Australia because he will have to testify at an inquest into the disappearance of Lizzie Burdett 12 years earlier. Lizzie was the girlfriend of Noah’s older brother Tom who has long been suspected of knowing something about Lizzie’s fate because of an argument the night of her disappearance, an argument that Noah witnessed. Noah eventually tells Alice about Lizzie, and Alice reveals a secret about her family, but neither tells the entire truth for fear of destroying their relationship.
The book is marketed as a thriller, but it is much more of a romance. Though there is a mystery and there are certainly elements of a family drama, it is the romance that takes precedence. I am not a romance fan so I found myself, especially at the beginning, losing interest. Love-at-first-sight relationships are especially irksome to me.
Chapters alternate between Alice and Noah, but they do not emerge as fully developed characters because they think so much about each other. It is difficult to connect with characters who are so infatuated. Both are consumed by guilt and shame (and Noah also by anger) so they are not the most engaging of people.
The pace at the beginning is almost glacial. Only once the inquest begins does the pace pick up. Then there’s a scene where everything seems to happen at once, including an overly dramatic confession. That confession is not convincing. The identity of the guilty was not a surprise to this reader so it is unbelievable that so many people were misled for so long. Narcissism is a motivation for murder? An 18-year-old would behave as Lizzie did that night?
Parts of the novel are repetitive. Tom bullied Noah when they were boys and every encounter between the two of them in the present just shows more of Tom’s aggressiveness (so any efforts to suggest a possible reconciliation are unconvincing). The meetings between Alice and Noah always involve much more sex than real communication (so the true depth of their relationship is questionable).
This is not a bad book; it is just not the intense thriller I expected. There is little that is particularly memorable, so I’d recommend it for a light summer holiday/beach read.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).… (altro)
The book is marketed as a thriller, but it is much more of a romance. Though there is a mystery and there are certainly elements of a family drama, it is the romance that takes precedence. I am not a romance fan so I found myself, especially at the beginning, losing interest. Love-at-first-sight relationships are especially irksome to me.
Chapters alternate between Alice and Noah, but they do not emerge as fully developed characters because they think so much about each other. It is difficult to connect with characters who are so infatuated. Both are consumed by guilt and shame (and Noah also by anger) so they are not the most engaging of people.
The pace at the beginning is almost glacial. Only once the inquest begins does the pace pick up. Then there’s a scene where everything seems to happen at once, including an overly dramatic confession. That confession is not convincing. The identity of the guilty was not a surprise to this reader so it is unbelievable that so many people were misled for so long. Narcissism is a motivation for murder? An 18-year-old would behave as Lizzie did that night?
Parts of the novel are repetitive. Tom bullied Noah when they were boys and every encounter between the two of them in the present just shows more of Tom’s aggressiveness (so any efforts to suggest a possible reconciliation are unconvincing). The meetings between Alice and Noah always involve much more sex than real communication (so the true depth of their relationship is questionable).
This is not a bad book; it is just not the intense thriller I expected. There is little that is particularly memorable, so I’d recommend it for a light summer holiday/beach read.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).… (altro)
Liste
Premi e riconoscimenti
Potrebbero anche piacerti
Autori correlati
Statistiche
- Opere
- 6
- Utenti
- 443
- Popolarità
- #55,291
- Voto
- 3.5
- Recensioni
- 42
- ISBN
- 126
- Lingue
- 1
This is the first time reading a book by this author. I found the book to be an easy read. Overall for me it was an OK read.
The storyline about memory loss has been done many times and for me nothing new. Also a family with secrets, again nothing new here. Although I did enjoy the book there was nothing to wow me and some of the plot was predictable. The story also goes back to Eleanor's childhood and what happened in Australia. This I found interesting but felt it padded the story out.
I enjoyed the book for what it was, and think any longer in length would have been too much. I probably would read more by this author in the future.… (altro)