Cassandra and a group of her friends enjoy Sunday lunch together on a perfect summer’s day. They’re pleased to welcome their glamorous new neighbour and novelist, Ellie, who has rented a house in the village to work on her book. She likes to place herself in the centre of her plots, she says, although it’s hard to see what she’ll find to write about in this quiet country backwater. As Ellie slots effortlessly into the village social scene, Cass begins to feel increasingly alienated from her friends and isolated from her family but, for the life of her, she can’t fathom out why . . .
Nearest Thing To Crazy by Elizabeth Forbes was originally published by Cutting Edge Press in 2013. I reviewed it on Random Things all those years ago and to this day, it remains one of my favourite books. It is chillingly excellent, with a plot line that will stay with the reader for years, as it has for me.
The book was re-published independently in February this year and I'm delighted to re-share my original review as part of this Random Things Tours blog tour.
Sometimes a book comes along that totally blows the mind. Nearest Thing To Crazy by Elizabeth Forbes has done just that, my head is spinning, my heart has been beating so fast that I thought it was going to burst out of my chest. I've been so angry with the characters that I've actually shouted at them - out loud.
There were times when I was actually a little bit scared of turning over the page, this is a mind-bending psychological head-fuck of the highest order. I loved it!
Set in a small Worcestershire village - a group of middle-class families are happy to welcome novelist Ellie into their tight-knit group. Glamorous Ellie fits nicely into their glossy lives, with their fancy houses, smart cars and perfect gardens. She tells them that she is here to write her next book, she's rented a cottage for a few months and is looking forward to getting some inspiration for her story.
Cass and Dan have been married for years, their only child Laura has gone off to university and Cass is happy to potter around the garden, growing vegetables, collecting eggs and making chutney. Everyone seems to love Ellie - except Cass, she is the only one who feels uncomfortable around her. And for very good reason. Slowly and gradually, Cass sees her life unravel - her past insecurities come back to haunt her, but nobody else can see that this is all because of Ellie. First her husband, then her friends and finally her daughter - all of them - beginning to doubt her, believing in Ellie, slowly driving her mad.
Elizabeth Forbes is an excellent author who has written a story that has twists and turns on every page, not once did I guess how this was going to end. The suspense builds until at times, it is almost unbearable. Cleverly weaved into the main story of Cass is Ellie's point of view - who do you believe?
Gripping, clever, tense and thrilling. This really is a fantastic read that I could hardly bear to put down and the story is going to haunt me for quite a while.
husband, two dogs and two hens.
She published three romantic thrillers under the name Elizabeth Harrington: The Corporate Wife, Making Up and Daddy Darling.
She then took a break from writing and enrolled with the Open University to study for a degree in Literature. She completed her BA with First Class Honours, and also achieved the OU's Diploma in Creative Writing.
Her first psychological suspense novel, Nearest Thing to Crazy, was published by Cutting Edge Press in 2013. BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and the Mail Online featured the novel because of its gaslighting subject matter. It was a bestseller in Amazon UK's psychological thriller charts.
Her second novel published by Cutting Edge Press in 2014 was Who Are You? which is a dark and twisty tale focussing on the stormy marriage of two people affected by PTSD and childhood trauma. Elizabeth has recently re-published these novels independently with Amazon KDP, and plans to publish a new novel in the summer of 2021.
Twitter @lizzieforbes
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