Last Bank Holiday by Christina Delmonte

Release:12th October 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Delmo Publishing
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon

A BEDROOM DOOR LEFT OPEN TO THE NIGHT RIPS ONE FAMILY APART FOREVER.
Karen, Will and the twins enjoy a luxury weekend away in the tranquil Cheshire forest.
Amidst a freak heatwave, they leave a door open to the elements that night.
Mistake number one…

There’s a secret lurking in the woods.
A secret better left buried.
The events that follow turn their lives upside down and change things forever.

Do they overcome that bank holiday weekend?
Can they put their lives back together?
Will they survive?
The book is an unputdownable psychological thriller.

About the Author:

This is Christina Delmonte’s debut novel.
Christina has had a successful career in the Art, Design and TV Industry before owning her very own Art Gallery.
Inspired by her love of reading, Christina decided to put pen to paper and create ‘Last Bank Holiday’.
Splitting time between Europe and the UK, she lives in the beautiful county of Cheshire, which has provided much of the inspiration for the novel, along with her husband and two children.

Website | Tiktok | Instagram | Goodreads

Last Bank Holiday Review:

The author did a lovely job on a debut novel. She starts the story with a bang, where we see Karen’s family torn apart from the incidents that transpire on their getaway. We go back and forth between the past and the present of events that lead to the incident and how the characters cope with moving forward, and I was curious to know what was happening.

What stood out for me is how the author portrayed Karen’s emotions. On the one hand, Karen has an attacker who could come back to get her; on the other hand, she has to deal with Will’s hostility; over that, she has to deal with what her mother goes through. Will was my favorite character in the story because of how complex the author made him. There is always an aura of secrecy where you feel like Will is hiding something, no matter how tragic his tale is. The author adds family drama nicely to the story, and I enjoyed reading about Jez’s perspective.

However, the psychological aspect gets resolved early on, and only a little happens in the second half. At times, the author spends more time on the family angle between Karen and her mother, and I would have liked to see a balance with the psychological aspect, as well as more from Will’s perspective. On a side note, the repeated use of “Mind You” and “Bless her” felt unnecessary and diluted the story’s suspense.

Apart from that, the author has the talent and creativity to write many interesting novels, and I look forward to reading more of her books!