#BlogTour Clear My Name by Paula Daly #ClearMyName @PaulaDalyAuthor @TransworldBooks @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours #BookReview

Hello! This lazy Saturday I’m delighted to welcome you to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Tour for Clear My Name by Paula Daly, which will be published in hardcover and ebook by Bantam Press/Transworld Digital on 8th August 2019 (links below).

About the book

Innocent? When Carrie was accused of brutally murdering her husband’s lover, she denied it. She denied it when they arrested her, when they put her in front of a jury, and when they sent her to prison.

Now she’s three years into a fifteen-year sentence, away from the daughter she loves and the life she had built. And she is still denying that she is to blame.

Guilty? Tess Gilroy has devoted her life to righting wrongs. Through her job for Innocence UK, a charity which takes on alleged miscarriages of justice, she works tirelessly to uncover the truth.

But when she is asked to take Carrie’s case, Tess realises that if she is to help this woman, she must risk uncovering the secrets she has struggled a lifetime to hide…

We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.

Clear My Name is a compelling stand-alone murder mystery thriller, from the very skilful Paula Daly.

Daly has created an original setup: there are many police procedural, private eye or even true-crime-podcast-based novels around now with similar themes – many of which I have enjoyed – but this is the first time I’ve read about a team of volunteers working in this way to resolve alleged miscarriages of justice.

Tess is a great, no-nonsense but imperfect lead character, Carrie is sympathetic, complex and credible and I just loved Avril – she had brilliant character development.

As always, I enjoyed a story with flashbacks and forwards, and the twin narrations of Tess and Carrie help the real picture come together, whilst simultaneously raising further questions and intrigues about both of their lives.

The story is well-plotted and you are right there with Tess, never quite knowing what or who to believe. For some time I smugly thought I’d worked out a twist but I had, in fact, done nothing of the sort! *facepalm*

The story is gripping and very readable, with three-dimensional characters, some good twists and an extremely shocking ending. I’ve previously only read one of Paula Daly‘s short stories, but I will definitely be exploring more of her novels.

Thank you to Bantam Press/Transworld Digital for the ARC of Clear My Name and to Emma Welton of #damppebblesblogtours for my spot on the blog tour.

About the author

Paula Daly © Stephen Lea

Paula Daly is the critically acclaimed author of six novels.

She has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year award, and her books have been developed for the new ITV television series, Deep Water, starring Anna Friel.

She was born in Lancashire and lives in the Lake District with her husband, three children, and whippet Skippy.