The Girl In The Van by Helen Matthews

Friday 25 March 2022

THE GIRL IN THE VAN by Helen Matthews

Release Date: 17th March 2022

Publisher: Darkstroke Books

Genres: Psychological Thriller

A tormented mother. An abandoned girl. A deadly game of survival.

What happened to Ellie?

Traumatised by events, Ellie's mother, Laura, can’t bear to stay in the Welsh seaside town where she lives with her partner, Gareth. She escapes to London, breaking all ties with him, and refusing to tell anyone her new address.

After two years of living alone and working in a mundane job, Laura buys an old campervan and joins a singles holiday. Here, she meets Miriana, a teenage girl who bears a chilling resemblance to Ellie. As Laura uncovers Miriana’s story, she’s shocked by the parallels to her own life.

But stories can be dangerous, and someone out there will stop at nothing to prevent the truth about Ellie from coming out…

The Girl in the Van begins with Laura as she embarks on a singles camping trip in her newly bought camper van. This and the lovely cover hooked me in initially as I have a dream of owning a camper van and going on lots of adventures. For Laura, this mini adventure is a step out of her normal life which appears to be a very solitary life, keeping herself to herself and not revealing anything about her past. She prefers her own company so that way nobody can ask her any questions about the life she once had so finds it a little uncomfortable with the unwanted attention she receives at the campsite. However, Laura soon finds herself helping out a young girl who bears a striking resemblance to her daughter and seems to be in some sort of trouble. But, will it be something that she regrets doing and is she prepared for the sort of disruption this will bring to her life? Mariana will take Laura down a path she could not imagine and soon she begins to uncover the truth about her daughter's disappearance. It all seems a lot for an already fragile Laura. Will she be able to handle the fall out?

Initially I didn't really warm to any of the characters, particularly Laura. I found her too complex at times but did warm to her as the novel progressed. Her fears, anxieties and grief painted the picture of a woman who was essentially lonely and crippled by grief, despite telling herself she preferred her own company and that it was safer this way. Her relationship with her mother at first appeared to be cold and aloof but Laura has her reasons for keeping her mother at arms length and I felt quite sorry for her and willed for this to improve.

Laura meets Bill at the campsite and he takes an interest in her. I found the progression of their relationship quite strange and a little stilted and at first didn't trust him, worried he was going to hurt Laura. She has after all been holding in so much for 3 years. An all consuming grief that has seen her become a shadow of her former self. Will Bill be the person to offer her a safe shoulder to unburden herself and help solve the mysteries of Laura's past and present.

The book covers some interesting and traumatic topics and looks at issues such as child sexual exploitation, drugs, immigration difficulties and grief. Its a difficult read at times but the premise for the book is a good one. Thrilled that a percentage of the royalties of the book go to the Charity Unseen which looks to eradicate modern slavery. Well done Helen Matthew. A worthy cause.

ABOUT HELEN MATTHEWS

Helen Matthews writes page-turning psychological suspense novels and is fascinated by the darker side of human nature and how a life can change in an instant. Her fourth novel The Girl in the Van, a suspense thriller with dark contemporary themes will be published by Darkstroke Books in March 2022. Previous novels include After Leaving the Village, which won first prize in the opening pages category at Winchester Writers’ Festival, and was followed by Lies Behind the Ruin, domestic noir set in France, published by Hashtag Press. Her third novel Façade was published by Darkstroke in September 2020.

Born in Cardiff, Helen read English at the University of Liverpool and worked in international development, consultancy, human resources and pensions management. She fled corporate life to work freelance while studying for a Creative Writing MA at Oxford Brookes University. Her stories and flash fiction have been shortlisted and published by Flash 500, 1000K Story, Reflex Press, Artificium and Love Sunday magazine.

She is a keen cyclist, covering long distances if there aren’t any hills, sings in a choir and once appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall, New York in a multi-choir performance. She loves spending time in France. Helen is an Ambassador for the charity, Unseen, which works towards a world without slavery and donates her author talk fees, and a percentage of royalties, to the charity.

Social Media Links –

Twitter - https://twitter.com/HelenMK7

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/helen.matthews7/

https://www.facebook.com/HelenMK7Writer/

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