**Blog Tour** The Madam by Jaime Raven

Today im excited to be on the blog tour for The Madam by Jaime Raven, The Madam is Jaime’s debut novel and if like me you enjoy a gritty crime thriller then you are going to love this book. Im also able to share a guest post from Jaime Raven

 CONS AND EX CONS

Stories that feature prisoners and ex-cons have always fascinated Jaime Raven. That’s one of the reasons the author penned The Madam, the hot new thriller from publishers Avon/Harper Collins.
‘I’m a huge fan of books and movies set inside a prison, especially those involving people who are banged up for crimes they didn’t commit,’ says Jaime.
‘It’ll come as no surprise that my all-time favourite box sets are Prison Break, Orange is the New Black, and How to Get Away with Murder.’
The Madam centres on Lizzie Wells, a young prostitute who’s wrongly accused of killing a client in a hotel room in Southampton.
In jail she strikes up a loving relationship with her cellmate, Scar, and when they’re eventually released they both embark on a mission to find those who were responsible.
Jaime says: ‘It’s hard to imagine how awful life inside must be for people who are victims of rough justice. Their lives are shattered through no fault of their own.
‘I’ve tried to make the storyline in The Madam as realistic as possible. I’m hoping readers will find it informative as well as entertaining.’

 

Book Description

Three years and eleven months. That’s how long Lizzie Wells has been banged up inside Holloway prison, serving time for a crime she didn’t commit.

Six months. That’s how long it’s taken Lizzie to fall in love with her fellow inmate, Scar.

Now they are both finally free and, together, they are about to embark on a vengeful search to find those who framed Lizzie . . . and to make them pay.

THE BUSINESS MAN. THE COPPER. THE MADAM.

I was intrigued when I read the book description for The Madam and jumped at the chance to get my sticky hands on a copy, and from the first page I was dragged into this tale of revenge. The Madam is the debut crime novel from new author on the block Jamie Raven, I’m a big fan of crime thrillers of this nature normally, so i was interested to see if this book would live up to my expectations. Lizzie Wells spent nearly four years in prison for a crime she never committed, now she’s out and looking for vengeance, a quest which will put both Lizzie, and the people closes to her in danger.

Lizzie was a character that I didn’t particularly feel any connection with and I’m hard pressed to say why, although I did find the way she went about things rather gung ho she never thought about the consequences of her actions, and did seem a little to eager to let her fists do the talking. Although considering she was wrongfully imprisoned it was hardly surprising her character is portrayed as one angry and hot tempered lady. Lizzie’s relationship with her girlfriend Scar, an inmate she met and formed a relationship with whilst in prison is an interesting one, Scar tries to keep Lizzie on the straight and narrow, but this proves to be an almost impossible task, especially when Lizzie is hell bent on revenge. I did feel their relationship was unevenly matched and Scar appeared to be putting more of her time and energy into their relationship, but then I guess this is true of many relationships.I did have one small criticism I would have liked to learnt more about Lizzie’s time in prison and how her experiences inside made shaped her character.

As Lizzie begins her quest for vengeance The Madam runs along at a good pace, the story is well plotted with a few twist and turns along the way. At times The Madam is very gritty and peppered with plenty of swearing, which I know will put some readers off, although I felt the swearing was in context with the plot and Lizzie’s character. The writing style of The Madam reminded me very much of the author Martina Cole when she first started out. The feelings of anger that radiate from Lizzie throughout The Madam was palatable at times and considering her predicament, very understandable, and add to the tension of the story, as you aren’t sure what Lizzie’s going to do next in the name of revenge. Some of the scenes are violent to say the least, but they are in keeping with the plot, and not just thrown in for “the shock” factor. The Madam is a novel about vengeance and getting justice, and if you are looking for a crime read that focuses on the violence and the more gritty side of life you may want to grab yourself a copy.

4 ☕️☕️☕️☕️out of 5

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Avon (19 May 2016)

Kindle
Paperback

Dont forget to check out the other fabulous bloggers posts on The Madam blog tour