The Cliff House: One hen weekend, seven secrets… but only one worth killing for

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You might have known someone for ten years and you don’t really know anything intimate about them and equally there are people you have known your own life can be more of a threat to you because they know all your secrets.

My first book by this author. It’s a dark twisted thriller set on an isolated Scottish island. A hen party who has made their way here find their weekend of luxury destroyed when a murder is committed. There’s supposedly no one else on the island, so who is responsible. When an anonymous call comes through for one of the party to confess a sin, they all begin to look at each other, and themselves, to try to work out who should be confessing. There are seven protagonists in THE CLIFF HOUSE, with the narrative perspective shared between all of them. This was so that it is not obvious to the reader who is favoured, innocent or guilty. I spent three months constructing their personalities and their individual crimes, so that their hidden sins would be appropriate to each of them. What was fascinating was that when I put them together on the island, things started sparking between the characters that I had not anticipated, as I started to understand how they would react to one another. No matter, she has a hen do to think about. She and six other women on a remote Scottish island for a weekend of fun, fizz and fancy meals – what could possibly go wrong?

Who can you trust in The Cliff House?

Jennifer is forty-two and getting married for the second time, but that doesn’t mean she can’t go all out for her bachelorette weekend. She’s taking her closest friends to the kind of place that has a years-long waiting list for a booking: three days of super-exclusive luxury accommodation on a remote Scottish island. So excited by the complicated means of transport required to get to the island, no one gives much thought to the implications for getting off again, especially if the weather should turn. But why would they? They’re in for a time they will never forget. Just not for the reasons they imagine. In theory a hen party should be the chance for the bride to celebrate with all the people she loves around her, but the reality can be different. “Once I put them all in a room together I began to get to know how they would behave. There are some good red herrings as the pace builds, some intriguing cons and counter cons as it builds to an ending it does require some disbelief suspenders though I do still enjoy the entertaining denouement! As well as Jen, there’s the pop diva and the estranged ex-bandmate, the tennis pro and the fashion guru, the embittered ex-sister-in-law and the mouthy future sister-in-law.

Then came reveal after reveal, each more ridiculous than the previous one and had me rolling my eyes as the story descended into an over the top, ridiculous story. It was all just too much and totally ruined the book for me. It felt like the author was throwing out absolutely everything he could think of into one story. As a writer I do plot things out quite carefully but you always need room to allow the characters to breathe – it’s always a kind a balancing act. East Neuk Literary Festival When this book started I found it to be intriguing, atmospheric and it had a lot a tension. I was enjoying it and found the characters to be well defined and was never confused as to who was who (as I find that can happen when there are a lot of characters in a story) Parts are quite chilling especially about who is controlling the narrative although I do guess correctly I also enjoy how all the secrets come leaking out as water through a sieve deepening the plot and the mystery of who the ultimate target is. He read adult fiction and devoured Tolkien, Douglas Adams and Ian Fleming’s books– “young adult fiction hadn’t been invented yet,” he points out.The extent to which you might enjoy this convoluted and twisty tale will very much depend on your willingness to suspend disbelief. The initial set up is a little far fetched however at around the halfway point it stretches the bounds of credulity to beyond breaking point, and by the conclusion it's just plain ludicrous.