Hannah Godley is an agony aunt on a London radio show Queen of Hearts. She's warm and empathetic; a good listener. Her catchphrase is: Be kind, always. But when a stranger phones in to tell a tragic story about her brother who killed himself after he was the victim of a terrible prank by two people, Hannah goes cold. Because she remembers Diane's brother well. In fact, all these years later, he still haunts her dreams. All because of that one bad thing she did when she was young...
Is Diane just a sad, lonely woman looking for a friend, or does she know what Hannah did, and is looking for revenge? Because as Diane insinuates herself into her life and family, Hannah is going to discover that you can never truly escape that One Bad Thing you did – sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the price...
One Bad Thing by M K Hill is published on 3 February 2022 in hardback by Aries Fiction. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour
Well! What to say? What on earth to say? I have no idea where to start on this review, I could just say BUY THIS BOOK .... READ THIS BOOK .... and disappear. I could, but I shouldn't, so here we go, let me try to explain just how incredibly good this story is, without spoiling the amazing plot.
I've long been a fan of this author, his books never let me down. He can write series and he can write stand alone stories. This one is a stand alone, but I'd suggest you sit down to read it, and maybe not when you are alone!
Hannah Godley is a fairly well-known agony aunt for a London radio station. She's just got her big break and is due to start to present a slot on a popular morning TV show. The story begins on Hannah's last day at the radio. As usual, she's taking calls from listeners and offering advice to them. Her motto is 'be kind, always'.
Diane calls the show and speaks about her dead brother. He took his own life a few years ago, he was never able to recover from an incident when he was younger, when two people did a very bad thing to him. Hannah's blood runs cold. She recognises the story ... she knows that she is responsible, but she is not sure if Diane knows that.
Hannah knows that she did a bad thing and has spent the rest of her life trying to make up for it. She's kind and helps people. She's married to Sean and they have a small daughter Amber. On the whole, life is good. However, Hannah cannot get Diane's voice out of her head and tracks her down, she wants to see if Diane is about to tear her life apart.
Diane is a strange, insular woman. She's overpowering and clingy and Hannah soon begins to regret ever having contacted her. Hannah's life becomes a series of not very nice events; from casual vandalism to attempts to harm her family. The only thing she can do is to track down Cameron, the guy who helped her to trick Diane's brother, all those years ago.
Right. That's it. No more on the plot from me. I just can't.
I can tell you that this kept me awake at night. I had my suspicions about so many of the key players in this story, but these changed on a regular basis. The story never lets you go, just when you think it's safe to turn the page ... BANG! .. you are dealt another blow and your head reels just a little bit more.
It's clever, and thrilling and totally exhausting. The characters are, in the main, not in the least bit likeable.
There is so much to discuss here. There's Hannah's early life, with her parents and sister and how those times shaped her behaviours. We can discuss stalking and psychopathy and how one person can create such evil purely through obsession. There's the manipulation of mental health and how a vulnerable person can be manipulated to do just exactly as they are told. It's all there, in one great big marvellous dollop.
Loved it. Loved it. Highly recommended. Read it. Buy it.
The first novel in the Sasha Dawson series, The Bad Place, was described as 'everything a police procedural should be' by The Times, who also named it as their crime book of the month.
He lives in London.
Twitter @markhillwriter
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