‘Blood Orange’ by Harriet Tyce Book Review
I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since it was first published in February 2019 because of all the hype that surrounded it ever since it first came out. I’ve only ever heard good things about it and finally decided to buy it when it was 99p on the Amazon Kindle store - offer is still valid but for a limited time only. If you like The Girl on the Train or The Other Wife then I would highly recommend this book.
TRIGGER ALERT/SPOILER: Would not recommend reading if you are/have been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, psychological abuse, alcohol addiction or revenge porn.
This book explores some very dark and twisted themes which are alluded to in the prologue, however only after reading the whole book and revisiting the prologue do you wholly understand the enormity of the book’s finale when everything is revealed. The prologue had me hooked despite it being quite dark, I’ve read quite a few thrillers and I find them either gripping or predictable; I never seem to find an in between. However, this book definitely gripped me because the story line was well thought through and was written really well. However I found the main character Alison quite unlikeable; I really enjoyed the fact that the main character was female led and was breaking through the glass ceiling in her career of being a barrister, but the paradox between that and her submissiveness towards [SPOILER ALERT] the man (Patrick) she’s cheating on her husband with. There are 2 particular instances that stand out to me that highlight Alison’s submissiveness and vulnerability around Patrick: 1) when they are on a train and she performs fellatio while kneeling on a urine soaked train bathroom floor and 2) when he walks into her house, rips her t-shirt off and pulls her trousers down before she’s even had a chance to consent. When initially reading this I didn’t know how entirely relevant it was to the story and it felt like these scenes were introduced purely for the shock factor, however these scenes do become relevant later on to the story which I won’t spoil. However, there is a lack of description around why Alison and Patrick are so attracted to each other which is something that I failed to grasp - there is a magnetism between the two but we never understand why, all we ever really know is that they are both attractive and that seems to be the only factor that attracts them to each other.
Another difficulty I found with the book was that Alison seemed quite compartmentalised into barrister, wife, mother and mistress. Outside of these, the only thing we really know about her as an individual is that she likes to drink excessively which isn’t really a personality trait. It feels like the only things we find out about Alison are through the men in her life; her and her husband used to travel the world and how possessive she gets when Patrick speaks to other women in front of her. Personally, I thought the more interesting and better developed character was the woman she is defending who is on trial for murder, named Madeline. Madeline is intriguing, mysterious and captivating - the way Harriet has written her and her storyline is brilliant and she’s one of the most interesting characters in the book in my opinion. SPOILER ALERT: Although the murder is quite gruesome, the backstory and gradual preview into Madeline’s past is thrilling and gripping. The parallel of this story alongside Alison’s turbulent life with her husband and paramour makes the book really interesting and riveting, I would highly recommend because even a seasoned reader wouldn’t guess the ending of the book which makes it even more exciting.
Even more exciting news is that the book is going to be adapted to become a TV drama expected to be a twelve-part series of ten episodes (see link to article here)! The whole time reading this book, I could see the TV show in my head, which is how you know the author has done a brilliant job with setting the scene and imagery - super excited to see this adaptation!
If you want to find a cheap paperback version of Blood Orange, then The Works is currently selling for £2 individually or in a 3 books for £5 offer: https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/crime-books/blood-orange/9781472252746.html?CAWELAID=720011340002883320&gclid=Cj0KCQjw59n8BRD2ARIsAAmgPmJlYsZcSSfVThH0iqksWuW-Sx1myrTXT-FJ8nlIhlNPTneLD0H6s-YaAvl3EALw_wcB