A round of applause for Louise Swanson as she has been awarded another LoveReading Star Book. This is her second novel as Louise Swanson, the first was End of Story, she has also written as Louise Beech. I have loved all of her novels as different as each of them are, but this one is elbowing the others out of the way and heading towards being my favourite. I would advise that it is perhaps best not to read this at night if the dark isn’t your friend. Grace is living right on the edge of fear as the Government announces electricity cuts, her terror of the dark goes hand in hand with the past, and then she discovers that a creeper burglar has been entering her house overnight, not to steal, but to leave terrifying notes. Here Louise does what she does best, burrows down beneath all the surface layers to what lies at the heart of being human. The characters are believable, what happens feels authentic, and it feels as though this could all happen tomorrow. What she creates always feels real because she understands that it's sometimes the smallest of things that matter more than the largest. She not only messed with my head, she also ensured that my emotions were fully involved and that my heart absolutely ached. I loved the direction that this novel took, it’s bold and clever and ready to give you a kick. Piercing and full of the most intense suspense, Lights Out is a thrilling read, as well as a Star Book, I’ve also chosen it as a Liz Pick of the Month.
'[A] thought-provoking . . . examination of damaged psyches and the consequences of secrets' Times
REAL READERS LOVE LIGHTS OUT: 'Louise Swanson's writing is so powerful that I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into this world that she has created so precisely and with so much atmosphere and I couldn't let go . . .' ????? 'I was totally absorbed in this book. Louise is one of my favourite authors' ????? 'A 5 star read, shining brightly through the dark' ????? 'This whole book is filled with layers upon layers of mystery . . . very cleverly told' ????? 'Lights Out has several layers and I loved being able to peel each one back' ?????
When darkness is everywhere, nowhere is safe...
A state of emergency has been declared in the UK. From now on, at 8pm every night, all electricity cuts out. The Government promises it's a temporary measure. They promise they are always thinking of your safety.
But for Grace, the darkness is anything but safe.
Someone is coming into her house under its cover every night while she lies in bed upstairs, too terrified to sleep. Someone who knows her past, who knows why she has more reason to fear the dark than most...
And every morning she wakes to a new message from the intruder:
I have you in my sights. Love, The Night
But how can Grace escape, when there's nowhere safe left to hide?
'Tense and intriguing, creeping paranoia oozes from every page . . . Louise Swanson is a talent that shines in the dark' Janice Hallett
'The most zeitgeist thriller of 2024 . . . Terrifyingly believable and horribly real. I'd say I devoured it, but I think the truth is that it devoured me' Helen Fields
'Chillingly convincing, this is a novel that echoes around your head for a long time after reading' B.P. Walter
