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This is a book that will keep you wonderfully off balance, it feels as though you are being trusted with an unsettling and dangerous secret. When Ada Howell turns 18 her wealthy godmother presents her with a gift that could allow her access to the world she she craves. The shocking aftermath of a sudden death appears to pave the way for her dreams, but the route she takes comes at a cost. Ada narrates, opening a disquieting window to her world and looking at herself without sentimentality. I felt that any feelings of compassion I had for Ada would have been slapped away and yet they remained. The nostalgic recollections and empathy she does have channel themselves into the house she grew up in and lost. Laura Vaughn has previously written for children and young adults, this is her first novel for adults. She writes with an understated eloquence, slowly allowing the intrigue and tension to build piece by delicate piece. There are a number of characters, each perfectly placed and adding to the feeling of claustrophobia that haunted the pages. I felt a shiver of foreboding as the ending began to slide into place, followed by satisfaction as I closed the last page. A well-written and rewarding read The Favour slips into shadowy thoughts and finds the darkness that dwells there.
Fortune favours the fraud...
When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.
In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.
But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she's been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined...
Closing date: 30/06/2021
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to read and review this title. You can click here to read the full reviews.
A tangible and refined novel about the need to make yourself fit in to the life you think you are owed... Full review
An elegant and incisive read about family, secrets and dangerously dark obsessions. Full review
This is a “slow burner” and the reader is drawn into the claustrophobic atmosphere of this book and the group of people involved. Full review
Intelligent, elegant and immersive. I found myself absorbed by the voice and story, and fascinated by a complex narrator who made me feel both empathy and horror. -- Claire Kendal, bestselling author of 'The Book of You'
ISBN: 9781838952013
Publication date: 04/03/2021
Publisher: Corvus
Format: Hardback
| ISBN: | 9781838952013 |
| Publication date: | 4th March 2021 |
| Author: | Laura Vaughan |
| Publisher: | Corvus |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 336 pages |
| Genres: | Crime / Mystery, Debuts of the Month, Debuts, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Thriller / Suspense, |
| Collections: | 2021 Preview - Exciting New Books on the Horizon, |
| Categories: | Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Family & relationships, |
Laura Vaughan grew up in rural Wales, and studied Art History in Italy and Classics at Bristol and Oxford. She got her first book deal aged twenty-two and went on to write eleven books for children and young adults. She lives in South London with her husband and two children. The Favour is her first novel for adults.
More About Laura Vaughan
