The Beauty of the End - Debbie Howells

After reading Debbie's first book, The Bones of You, I was super excited to be offered an advance copy of The Beauty of the End. A hauntingly brilliant psychological thriller, I found myself intrigued and captivated by Noah's attempts to uncover exactly what has been happening to his ex-girlfriend for her to end up in hospital, accused of murder. This was one read that I really wasn't able to put down until the very last page. Today, for my stop on the tour, I have a piece from Debbie on her writing space.

"I was fourteen when I fell in love with a goddess . . .

A love he'd never forget

Ex-lawyer Noah has never forgotten his first love. When, years later, he hears that she's suspected of murder, he knows with certainty that she's innocent. With April on life-support and the evidence pointing towards her guilt, he's compelled to help her. But he's also unprepared as he's forced to confront what happened between them all those years ago.

A secret she would never reveal

April Moon had loved Noah. She never wanted to hurt him. But there was something - and someone - dark in her life which made happiness together impossible.

A family she could never forgive

Ella is a troubled teenager with her own secrets to tell. But no one will listen. What Ella knows holds the key to finding the killer. But as Noah, April and Ella's stories converge, shocking revelations come to the surface. The truth is obvious. Or so everyone believes . . ."

My writing space:

At the moment, I mostly write from the comfort of an old leather sofa, the floor around me piled with my notebooks, flowers on the coffee table – whatever’s growing outside, which at the moment is sweet peas and herbs.  On the subject of notebooks, I have dozens of them, all sizes – pocket sized to large artists’ sketch books.  I could not write a book without them.

The room is filled with natural light from the huge windows which are usually open, so that I can hear the wind in the trees and the birds.  This spring, there’s been a noisy nest of magpies.  At my feet, I have faithful Bernard, our large and very dear golden retriever.

I write in silence (apart from the magpies) or maybe with music, quietly, in the background.  Lyrics are too distracting, so it’s classical or instrumental - or sometimes, Ibiza chillout – a reminder of the times I’ve spent out there.  But it depends what I’m writing.  Music’s a powerful mood thing – the twisted, dysfunctional people I write about suit a dark, atmospheric soundtrack!

The Beauty of the End is out now and you can get it here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk

**My thanks to the publisher for my ARC**