About the Book: It all started with … HIM.
Catherine has become mute. She has witnessed something so disturbing that she simply can’t speak – not to her husband, her children, or her friends. The doctors say the only way forward is to look into her past. Catherine needs to start with Him. Lucian.
Catherine met the love of her life at university and was drawn into his elite circle of privileged, hedonistic friends. But one night it all falls apart and she leaves him, shattering his life forever.
Still, fifteen years later, Lucian haunts every one of Catherine’s quiet moments, and when they are unexpectedly reunited, their love reignites with explosive force.
But they can’t move on from what happened all those years ago. In fact, uncovering the truth will cause their lives to implode once again. This time, with disastrous consequences.
My Review: Him is a story of obsession, love and guilt. It’s dark and uncomfortable and a great debut from Clare Empson. Told through the two main characters, Catherine who is currently residing in a hospital in a state of elective mutism and Lucian, Catherine’s first and only true love.
Something horrific has happened to Catherine to cause her to shut down entirely, unable to communicate with her husband and 2 children and in order to help her she has to delve deep in to her past to find a way back to her family.
Told through Catherine’s point of view in the present and flashbacks 15 years ago when she first meet Lucian and then to 4 months prior to the trauma, HIM has an underlying theme of an all consuming passion and obsession between the two main characters. Throughout the book the reader is aware that something awful has happened but it isn’t revealed until much later in the story.
This book has all the ingredients for a dark, psychological thriller – intrigue, suspense, trauma, obsession, lies, guilt and shame. An impressive debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.
About the Author: Clare Empson worked as a staff writer on national newspapers covering everything from collapsing merchant banks to tea with the late Barbara Cartland (everything pink including the cakes). Eight years ago, she moved to the West Country and founded the arts and lifestyle blog countrycalling.co.uk. The idyllic setting inspired her first novel, which reveals the darker side of paradise. Clare lives on the Wiltshire/Dorset border with her husband and three children.
Publication Date: 23 August 2018
