Perfect Strangers by Araminta Hall Blog Tour

 Women can be bitchy, there I said it.

I'm all for supporting my fellow woman but together we can sometimes be truly awful, catty, petty gossip. And there's nothing wrong with that if we can be honest to those we choose to moan about in the first place.

But sometimes secrets are kept and this can lead to upset, heartbreak even with a feeling of having never really known a person and this is just what Armainta Hall highlights in her latest novel Perfect Strangers.

Nancy, Eleanor and Mary met at college and have been friends ever since, through marriages, children and love affairs.

Eleanor is calm and driven, with a deep sense of responsibility, a brilliant career and a love of being single and free - despite her soft spot for her best friend's husband.

Mary is deeply intelligent with a love of learning, derailed by three children and a mean, demanding husband - she is now unrecognisable to herself and her friends.

Nancy is seemingly perfect: bright, beautiful and rich with an adoring husband and daughter - but beneath the surface her discontent is going to affect them all in terrible ways.

When Nancy is murdered, Eleanor and Mary must align themselves to uncover her killer. And as each of their stories unfold, they realise that there are many different truths to find, and many different ways to bring justice for those we love...

This is the story of three women.

Best friends, confidents but completely different in the way they go about their lives and who they choose to be a part of them.

Now I found this story quite unique in the way that it was presented. There weren't really chapters, the book was simply split into three parts. Looking at things from the perspective of each of the women separately. Eleanor, Nancy and Mary.

And what became apparent the more that I read was that the order of which these women told their truths was quite important too.

YOU'D DO ANYTHING FOR YOUR FRIENDS. BUT WOULD YOU TELL THEM THE TRUTH?

When one of the women (Nancy) is found murdered, the surviving women's lives are sent spiralling, quite literally altered forever. 

The story itself is quite dark.

Every character is flawed in their own way and if I'm honest I didn't really like any of them - the women or their husbands - but I think this was what the writer intended.

As the novel progressed more traits were revealed and I felt my curiosity build. My theories of who had actually murdered Nancy were many because in truth, every single one of those left had a motive to kill her. 

Each part of the story allowed me as the reader to really delve deep into the background and personalities of each of those women. A lot of detail that only made my suspicions rise more the further into the book I got.

Perfect Strangers isn't just a thriller of book, it is a book that made me look at the pressures we put on ourselves as women to have the 'perfect' life, at least to those looking in from the outside.

Everyone wants a perfect life. But there is no such thing...

And I think lessons are learnt even if it unfortunately takes someone losing their life to open the eyes of others. 

Perfect Strangers is an intense novel.

Secrets and lies accumulate as impossible expectations in trying to live a normal life are revealed.

This is a complex and compelling tale that doesn't compromise. It is an honest portrayal of guilt and betrayal between friends.

If you'd like to find out more then join the rest of the blog tour below: