Lou underwent a traumatic time at the hands of her much older karate teacher. She was fourteen and thought it was love. I am still mystified as to why she set out to find him again. Her actions thereafter are ...odd.
Thinking she is protecting another youngster he seems to be grooming she goes to the police. End of story, you may think, but no it is the beginning of a strange set of affairs involving cages, hoses and car accidents.
An interesting read.

With brilliantly crafted characters and a plot line I couldn't tear myself away from, this book kept me on the edge of my seat.

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn't what he seemed and he left her life in pieces. Now aged 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. So that history does not repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he caused.

I think I read parts of this book with my mouth open. This book is about child grooming and at times it's not an easy read. It tells how easy things can get out of control. This book is true to life, gripping and quite disturbing. It covers jealousy, dominance, paedophillia and revenge. I did not know how this story was going to end, but the ending certainly did not disappoint.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books and the author C. L. Taylor for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An amazing book that only takes a day to read. Not that it is short but it is to great a read to put it down and do the mundane things in life.
The story centres around Lou who had been abducted by her teacher many years beforehand and the troubles she found adjusting to her everyday life and could form no relationships with men after this.
Although the book has complex characters and scenes it all naturally falls into place and it is absolutely realistic and believable. The characters evolve and grow throughout the book with their emotions and attitudes changing as the story grows and it is easy to grow with them and have sympathy for their situations.
It does not fall under the usual thriller category as no-one has died but it is a gripping story and one that I highly recommend to readers of the psychological category. I am now going to get the other books by this wonderful author as I want to read more of her work.

This isn't a book I would usually choose as I find the subject matter distasteful and disturbing. This book was interesting, being written from the point of view three women affected by the behaviour of a paedophile. The timings of the events was interesting, and I suspect chosen for ease of plotting in the days before rural mobile signals, sex offenders registers etc. The ending was a surprise, and a good one. There were also a couple of bloopers in the last few pages, one to do with English law and another - you decide!

This book really resonated with me. It's terrifying, and the family dynamics are quite realistic. Families are not perfect, kids do get ignored or mismanaged, and predators like Mike are all too easily slotted into our lives. I imagine that lots of research had to have been done for this book, and it works so well. Cally Taylor has surpassed her other books here, for me, and this book is pure genius. I also hope that it will raise awareness with the story line, it could even save a child or two. It really makes you think, and that's never a bad thing.
Issues and awareness aside, the book itself is gripping. I have genuine hate for a fictional character, venomous hatred! The dynamics between the three women and the way they changed as the story unfolded was skilfully written, and with today's topical debate on women being abused in thriller/crime books, I think that this book shows survival, redemption and the sheer power of recovery are important stories to tell. Authors don't hurt women, it happens regardless. What we must never do is stop talking about it. A strong 5 stars from me. A fantastic read.

Louise (Lou) Wandsworth is thirty two years old when she moves back to her home town to clear out her Father’s house ready to sell on after his death. She isn’t married (she hadn’t had a relationship last longer than three months!) and sent her last boyfriend packing when her tried to surprise her.

But none of these things particularly matter to Lou. She is still damaged from being groomed as a teenager by her then karate teacher Michael (Mike) Hughes. She knows she shouldn’t look him up, she should leave everything be and try once and for all to move on with her life.

But she can’t.

Particularly not when she realises that Mike is involved with another teenager, Chloe Meadows. The situation is eerily similar. Both Lou and Chloe were insecure teenagers with few friends and broken, sometimes violent or drunken families.

Mike offers a chance to get away from real life, tells them he loves them, that they are beautiful and that he wants to be with them forever. Lou believed him, and knows that she must somehow get to Chloe or stop Mike before history repeats itself.

When Mike took Lou to France, he promised her the Earth. She didn’t realise it was abduction until it was too late. She cannot let Chloe be Mike’s latest victim, she must do something. After trying the Police under a false name she realises it’s useless without evidence.

What now? Lou must think of something, and must act quickly

The Fear tackles a few very difficult subjects with sensitivity and as for the ending. It’s a fast paced novel, in the sense that you want to keep reading to see where you are being led and as for that ending - well let’s just say it doesn’t disappoint. Another amazing novel from C.L. Taylor.

A good read but a bit unbelievable in terms of what happened, I did enjoy it a lot!

I would normally shy away from books with this specific subject matter, but I was interested to read this much talked about book. Cally Taylor has created a gripping and utterly compelling drama told from the perspective of the characters at the heart of the action.

Lou has never really recovered from her deeply traumatic teenage experiences with her karate teacher, Mike. Years later, she still has trouble trusting and is not able to form long term relationships.

Wendy is a deeply frustrated and vengeful divorcee. She knows who is to blame for the collapse of her marriage and with that collapse, her loss of status, nice house and garden and decent social life. With a restraining order against her for attacking her ex, she is a bitter woman.

When Lou returns to her childhood home after yet another relationship break up, her plan is to sell up her deceased parents rambling old farmhouse once she has cleaned it up and cleared it of clutter. While she is home, she takes a job to keep the cash flow going.

What she doesn’t bargain for, though, is having to face her teenage ordeal all over again when, by chance, she sees Mike kissing a young girl. Chloe is introverted, chubby and not massively popular at school. Her parents aren’t really getting on and Chloe feels lost and alone.

Lou is horrified; not only because it brings back memories she has been trying to suppress for years, but also because she never thought that her abuser would have been able to carry on with his horrifying practices.

Riddled with guilt, because she refused to testify at his hearing, Lou is in a quandary about what to do. Frightened and horrified in equal measure, she needs to get the police and the girl’s parents to hear her concerns without giving away her own traumatic history. And it is that flawed reasoning that leads to a series of catastrophic choices for Lou that leave her acting in ways she never thought possible.

To protect Chloe and redeem herself, she will go to extraordinary lengths, but not everyone will see things the way that Lou does, and that includes Chloe.

The Fear is a well told, emotionally raw story that handles a very difficult subject well. There are sometimes actions which feel slightly too far-fetched, but overall this is a powerful and timely book on a subject of immense importance.

A chilling finale and with lots of twists and turns, I’d recommend this psychological thriller.

This is my go-to genre but recently I have been a bit disappointed with the books I have read. So much so that I was toying with the idea of taking a break from them for a while. But, having read and enjoyed all this author's previous books, I though I'd sneak just one more in before I took my break. Boy am I glad I did! This book epitomised everything I want, need and love about a good psychological thriller. Grabbing me from the start, holding on to my attention throughout, and leaving me satisfied at the end.
Set in the present day, with flashback to the past, we follow Lou as she returns to her childhood home to sort out her late father's house. This move back reminds her of a time in her life when she was very unhappy and turned to the affections of one of her teachers. This "relationship" culminating in the two of them running away abroad. Her teacher, Mike, is now out of prison and still living in the town and Lou is shocked to say the least when she sees him with a young girl. Knowing what she herself went through, she knows that she much stop this relationship before things get worse. But will anyone believe her? What will it take for her to protect the child and bring the predator to justice once and for all?
I absolutely loved the direction this book took. Unlike a lot of this genre of book, I decided early on that I had no idea where we were going so I just allowed the author to take me on her characters' journeys. I gave up trying to second guess and just went with the flow and I think I had a much better reading experience doing this. And boy was it a thrilling ride!
Characters and indeed character development through the book was absolutely brilliant. I loved the way that several of the characters came of age through the book. I am not just talking about the young characters here either. Even some of the more mature characters have moments of clarity and awakenings throughout the book. The book is told from multiple points of view throughout and we get to see some of these things pretty much first hand. I am not over keen on this method of storytelling as a general rule but, when it is done as well as it has been here, it just makes for a really great read as it fits the plot and its development absolutely perfectly.
Lou's backstory is told in flashback with the salient parts drip fed in exactly the right moments to complement the story as it unfolds in the present. There are certain things that maybe don't quite gel in the present and have to be held into until the appropriate past explanation but this just added to the level of intrigue that the book held me in throughout.
There's also a lot of shocking and rather questionable "means to an end " action contained within the book but, to be honest, they are pretty much all justified and had me questioning my own morals a bit throughout. Some of the things that happen to certain characters along the way do seem a little dubious but, when you get to the final chapter, which I loved by the way, you do get the feeling that sometimes it's the only way.
Pacing was absolutely perfect and, despite the underlying theme of child grooming, there were the odd lighter moments that made the book remain balanced. I personally don't like it when a book is too dark but here, the author stays the right side of things throughout. She also treats the subject matter with great respect and has obviously done her research. Yes, there is a lot of really nasty stuff contained within the pages but all included for story telling and plot development rather than shock tactic.
All in all, another really great addition to an already really impressive back catalogue. I really can;t wait to see what the author has in store next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Her best book yet.

Thirty-something Lou Wandsworth has a troubled past. A teacher groomed her at school and attempted to run away with her. Now as she gather the courage to confront her abuser she finds that he is grooming another school girl and as she tries to stop it, finds herself getting more & more tangled up in his web of lies.

A dark, disturbing and suffocating book about a very dark subject. You are sitting on the edge of your seat screaming at characters and I have only felt this way about certain stories in movies.
Great read, but not for the faint-hearted.

At age 14 Lou Wandsworth runs away to France to be with Mike, a much older man who is her karate instructor. After escaping and trying to build up her life she returns to her home town at 32 to find that Mike is grooming another young girl – can she stop the past from repeating itself?

The Fear is a dark and twisted psychological thriller; it actually took me a while to read this book which I usually take as an indication that it will be given a low-star review but that was absolutely not the case with The Fear. It took me so long because this isn’t really a book to enjoy, it’s dark and disturbing and there were a few times I had to put it down to distract myself with something lighter for a few minutes – not something I often feel I need to do. The story is told through the perspectives of Lou, Mike’s ex-wife Wendy and the 13 year old Chloe who is Mike’s current victim – the characterisations were spot on and you really felt drawn to the characters and sympathised with them. The portrayal of manipulation and control was creepy but you never felt like it was over-done and Mike, although a horrible character, never felt too much like an outright pantomime villain – it was nicely balanced.

The plot itself is full of twists and turns and kept surprising you right until the end chapter. The build-up of stakes kept you reading and the way each of the characters individual plots intersected at various points and came together towards the end was really nicely written.

Overall although The Fear is far from an ‘enjoyable read’ but it certainly is a compelling and sadly relatable story with many twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I definitely preferred this one.
A gripping psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. There are no huge surprises, you know what is going on from the start but it’s the anticipation of how it will end that compels you to turn the pages.
One of the best of this genre I’ve read for quite a while.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author fir this copy.

When Lou was young she was involved in an affair with her karate teacher Mike, they went on a trip to France for the weekend but Lou soon finds out that Mike is the man she thought he was. Now Lou is 32, she is terrible at holding down relationships and blames Mike for everything. Her dad has died so she has to go back home to sort out the estate and while she’s there she’s going to confront Mike. However, things turn nasty when she sees Mike kissing a 13 year old called Chloe and Lou decides that there’s no way history can repeat itself so she takes matters into her own hands.

I read this is two sittings, I was on the edge of my seat and I literally couldn’t wait to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I thought this was brilliantly written and I can’t recommend this book enough!

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for letting me review this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a book !!
I loved this, an intense drama that tells the story of two young women 18 years apart but the same sorry story....
My favourite character was Lou, a woman with a dark past and memories that are stealing her future.
I have to say that Wendy was my least favourite initially but that quickly changed. This is a struggle for the truth, for the past to be lain to rest and to live a normal life.
Outstanding, unputdownable and thrilling to the very last page....amazing

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to preview this fabulous read.

It's a real page turner, dealing with the unsettling subject of grooming that starts with the odious Mike and his relationship with a young schoolgirl. It's told from the perspective of 3 females in Mike's life. All characters are well rounded and you really feel you're on the journey with them. It's so thought provoking and concerning as you can see just how easily young people can be manipulated. I hope young women read this and discuss within the family. A truly cautionary tale! And a really, really good read!

C L Taylor is one of my go to authors. I immediately buy any book she brings out because I know that I am going to enjoy them. I did not investigate what this book was about. I really don’t like books that involve paedophiles/grooming. When I realised the subject of the book I was a bit worried about whether it would upset me. I was so glad that I did read it, this was written brilliantly. The story is told from several different points of view.

Lou is now an adult and has tried to move on from the incident were Mike her karate teacher groomed her and took her to France to start a new life together. Lou has to move back to her dads house after he died. After she accidentally sees Mike and is convinced he is grooming another girl Lou feels she has to do something about it. This book is full of twists and turns that kept me wanting to read late into the night. My only criticism of this book was that the ending did not leave me satisfied.

There’s not much to say about this without inadvertently letting something slip. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read/review this clever thriller.
From its opening pages you know there’s something odd going on. But it’s not until you get to the very end that you see just how odd.
There’s a large cast of characters here, and lots of timelines/stories to distract you. Suffice to say, this is a gripping story and even though the main characters exhibit plenty of behaviours that make you unsure whether or not to trust their version of events, this is a story that I couldn’t help but try to unpick.
Sadly, I was nowhere near accurate in working out exactly how this plays out but it was so good it didn’t irritate me too much.

Unflinchingly Gritty.

This is a triumph! Honest, gritty and disturbing, the plot fearlessly delves into the darkest topics and unflinchingly tells it how it is.
The multiple narratives are woven with such intensity that it was nigh on impossible to tear my eyes away from the page. I relished the flawless drawing together of past and present as the time shifts made my skin crawl with dread.

Thank you so much to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy. This is a book that will get under you skin in all of the right ways. Highly recommended.

5 stars! This book had me gripped from the off, once I started I literally couldn't put it down. Lou is a character I really felt for, this book tackles a difficult topic and it is very well written. Full of twists and turns that had me guessing all along the way, I have recommended this book to all my fellow book worms. I love am of Valley's books and I look forward to reading more in the future. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read.