Book description
What if you could get away with murder?
Single mom Kristy Tucker works as press agent for the Texas Department of Corrections – handling everything on death row, from inmate interviews to chronicling the last moments during an execution. Her job exposes Kristy to the worst of humanity and it’s one that’s beginning to take its toll.
So when Kristy meets Lance Dobson, her son’s martial arts instructor, she believed she finally found her happy ending. She was wrong.
Kristy soon discovers that Lance is a monster. Forced to endure his verbal and physical abuse, Kristy is serving her own life sentence . . . unless she’s willing to take matters into her hands. Perfectly poised to exploit the criminal justice system she knows so well, Kristy sets out to get rid of Lance – permanently.
There are plenty of psychological thrillers on the market that deal with domestic abuse and I’ve read a large majority of them, so I’m always looking for something that makes a story “unique”, a book that stands out from the crowd. The Walls connection to death row makes this book original and I really had high hopes for the latest book by Hollie Overton as it’s a book that explores domestic violence, the morality of murder and how far one woman will go to protect her family.
Personally I found The Walls a slow burner, in the authors defence she spends the time developing her characters and their background. We learn how Kristy is a single mum working as a Public Information Officer for the Texas Dept of Corrections, dealing with death row inmates, housed in The Walls. Her life pretty much revolves around her job, her teen age son and her elderly father. So when the charming Lance enters her life, Kirsten thinks she’s found her “happy ever after” but things take a sinster and dangerous turn and Kirsty soon realises she’s made the biggest mistake of her life. Kirsty thought the biggest monsters were the ones behind “The Walls” but she soon learns that’s not necessarily true.
It was interesting to see how Kristy’s opinions of the Death Row inmates changed as Lance’s violence and mind games escalated. I should point out at this point although this book deals with a difficult subject the author never goes over board, but just gives enough detail to show how abuse both mental and physical escalates. The letters that Kristy receives from an inmate highlight the injustices that exist within the walks, but it’s these letters that give her the strength and determination to do everything she can to protect herself and her family.
Although I enjoyed The Walls and it made for a quick read I did feel this book lacked the “thrilling” element, I really thought the author was going to throw in an almighty twist but unfortunately it never came to light. Although the story gathers momentum and suspense at the half way mark I was expecting something more. I’m sure there will be many readers who will rave about this book and I can see why, but I think because I read so many books in this genre I expected more thrills and chills, I want to finish a book thinking “WOW” unfortunately this wasn’t the case. I think I sometimes expect to much from a book and it’s author, and I definitely think The Walls is one of those books where I’m going to be in the minority.
Buying links: Amazon UK 🇬🇧
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Century (10 Aug. 2017)
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