The Ex-Boyfriend by Rona Halsall

This book opens with a slice of domesticity: a frazzled wife, an overworked husband, a sickly child, with plenty of eyes that widened and narrowed, faces that crumpled, cringed and continually frowned while  everyone folds their arms across their chest. A plethora of dry, mundane backstory including the hot ex-boyfriend from Australia who was the perfect free spirit. Then he pops up on Twitter and takes our heroine back to a fantasy in her head.

This is very much how it is until half-way through. Then the story begins with suspicions about why the toddler is ill all the time. A family secret, which is easy to guess, is often referred to and off-page arguments make the text repetitive. Everyone is in the frame at some point and the one whodunnit is a surprise, and an unrealistic one at that. The ending is a little far-fetched and overly romantic.

Billed as a psychological thriller, this book is neither. There is some reference to mental illness but the story is a family saga with issues such as childcare, taking care of elderly relatives, work-life balance and family dynamics as the main themes. Easy to read and not unpleasant.

Published by Bookouture on 30 September 2020.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.

Rona is the author of Best Selling psychological thrillers published by Bookouture. Her challenge in writing is to find domestic storylines with twists that her readers will never guess.

She was born in Nottingham, grew up near Blackpool and went to college in Leeds. She then moved to Snowdonia, North Wales where she brought up her family while working as a business mentor. She now lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and two guinea pigs.

She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful glens and beaches on the Island while she's plotting her next book. She has three children and two step-children who are all grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories.

To find out more about Rona and her novels, visit her website: ronahalsall.com