Reclusive Christina is trying to build up her confidence after the end of a relationship. She joins a women’s only social group headed up by influencer Sorcha. Will she make friends and change her life for the better? Or will the past catch up with her…?
The Affair is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
The prologue starts off with a wild swimming incident between two characters and then the book goes back in the timeline to show how they get to that situation. Christina has been through a bad break up and her confidence is at rock bottom. She is almost obsessed with successful influencer Sorcha and decides to emulate her by joining her social group.
The book is written from Christina and Sorcha’s first person perspectives so that we can understand their emotions and actions. My sympathy was initially directed at Christina as she is so low emotionally and I could relate to her social anxiety. Her bravery in reaching out to an empowerment group was quite touching but there is also a slightly sinister overtone to her focus on Sorcha.
Initially it is quite a slow burn as we establish the scenario and main characters. There are hints about the link between the women in the first chapters but I liked the way we find out Sorcha’s awareness about a quarter of the way through the book. The style of writing was easy to read and the plot twists built the tension as the book progressed.
The Affair is an entertaining psychological thriller with two clearly defined female lead characters.
The Affair
Her heart is thumping now, only just distinguishable from the roar of the water and the wind. This is not safe. She is not safe…
She realises then, only one of them is coming back out alive.
She’s the person I want to be. Sorcha Hannon, survivor of a devastating affair. She’s found the healing and hope I desperately need to find for myself.
And now that Sorcha and I are friends, I am no longer alone. Instead of days hiding away from the world, I have someone to talk to. I feel as if I finally belong.
There’s just one small catch. Sorcha Hannon isn’t just a new friend to me, and she certainly isn’t a stranger. In fact, I know the ins and outs of her life, and her marriage, almost as well as she does. But if she finds out who I really am, I’ll lose everything. Then again, as Sorcha says, no one’s life is really as perfect as it seems… and I should have realised, I’m not the only one with secrets.
Claire Allan is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers and, in the past, women’s fiction.
A former reporter with the Derry Journal, she published eight contemporary women’s fiction novels with Poolbeg Press in Ireland before becoming a full time author, and switching genre to ‘unleash her darker side’
Her first domestic noir novel, Her Name Was Rose was published by Avon/ HarperCollins in 2018 and was an instant bestseller in several countries. Claire’s novels have been translated into multiple languages.
Latterly. Claire worked as a story consultant on series one of the huge successful BBC drama series ‘Blue Lights’ with Two Cities Productions. She has also written a number of rom-coms under the pen-name Freya Kennedy, and supported Sunday Times Bestseller Serena Terry while she was writing her Mammy Banter titles.
In 2023 Claire signed a multi-book deal with Boldwood Books to write four thrillers as Claire Allan, and three rom-coms as Freya Kennedy, securing her publishing into 2026.
