Hello! Welcome to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Tour for Halfway House by Helen FitzGerald which will be published by Orenda Books on 18 January 2024.
About the book
They’re the housemates from Hell…
When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.
Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…
And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.
Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
I was drawn to Halfway House by the wild sounding synopsis and then fully into the book by its very intriguing prologue. Very clearly something dramatic has happened to Lou but we’re kept in the dark for now, apart from a couple of juicy sounding hashtags. It definitely made me want to read on – in fact, Helen FitzGerald‘s whole book has a very readable, engaging style and very dry, humorous narration.
The first third of the book builds up a picture of Lou – what she’s like, where she’s come from, what she’s been through and how she’s ended up where she has. I can’t say I particularly liked Lou to begin with, but her chaotic existence makes for compelling reading and she really grew on me as the book went on, particularly as she interacts with the new people in her life, all of whom add something to the plot.
The job in the halfway house sounds like an absolute nightmare for many reasons and it was engrossing – almost guiltily addictive – to read about the residents, their outrageous behaviour and what was required from the staff.
I particularly enjoyed the final third of the book which descends into dark farce and by then I was rooting for Lou throughout. The book is a quick, intense ride with an entirely fitting ending and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little bit different.
With huge thanks to Orenda Books for my copy of Halfway House and to Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book:
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
About the author
Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of thirteen adult and young-adult thrillers,
including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and adapted for a major BBC drama. Her 2019 dark-comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in the Literary Review, Herald Scotland, Guardian, Sunday Times, The Week and Daily Telegraph, shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and won the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. The critically acclaimed Ash Mountain (2020) and Keep Her Sweet (2022) soon followed. Helen worked as a criminal-justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.
About the Blog Tour
Please check out the rest of the great posts on the tour for Halfway House:
juliapalooza.com 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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