For my third and final post of the day I’m pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the stunning A Song of Isolation by Michael J Malone. Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this dark and insightful book.
About the book:
Film star Amelie Hart is the darling of the silver screen, appearing on the front pages of every newspaper. But at the peak of her fame she throws it all away for a regular guy with an ordinary job. The gossip columns are aghast: what happened to the woman who turned heads wherever she went?
Any hope the furore will die down are crushed when Amelie’s boyfriend Dave is arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. Dave strongly asserts his innocence, and when Amelie refuses to denounce him, the press furore quickly turns into physical violence, and she has to flee the country.
While Dave is locked up with the most depraved men in the country and Amelie is hiding on the continent, Damaris, the victim at the centre of the story, is also isolated – a child trying to make sense of an adult world…
Breathtakingly brutal, dark and immensely moving, A Song of Isolation looks beneath the magpie glimmer of celebrity to uncover a sinister world dominated by greed and lies, and the unfathomable destruction of innocent lives… in an instant.
About the author:
Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country.
He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers.
His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died and In the Absence of Miracles soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller.
Michael lives in Ayr.
My Review:
It isn’t very often that a book leaves me speechless, but A Song of Isolation by Michael J Malone is one such book. Dark, disturbing and brutally honest, it is a bone chilling and thought provoking read that will stay with me for a long time to come.
In A Song of Isolation the author tackles the shocking and always difficult subject of child abuse, with the story told from three differing points of view. Former film star Amelie Hart gave up fame to settle down with a regular guy with a normal job. But now her boyfriend Dave has been arrested on charges of child sexual abuse, which he strongly denies. When she refuses to denounce him things quickly turn violent, with Amelie soon having to flee the country. At the centre of the storm is Damaris, alleged victim of the accused who is trying to make sense of everything going on around her. All three are living in isolation, caught up in a harsh world of greed and lies.
Michael J Malone has written a fast paced and insightful story with plenty of twists and turns that kept me on my toes throughout. I don’t want to go into too much detail for fear of spoilers but make no mistake, this is a dark and disturbing read that shocked me to the core on more than one occasion. An intensely moving, deeply realistic and heartbreaking tale that really does make you think, A Song of Isolation takes a devastatingly honest look beneath the glitz and glamour of celebrity, uncovering a world that is as believable as it is horrifying.
I love Michael J Malone’s writing. Once started I could not put this book down, the story moving along at a cracking pace as it raced towards its final, shocking conclusion. A Song of Isolation is a stunning and thought provoking read that moved me beyond words, rendering me speechless as I turned the final page.
A powerful and scarily relevant book that I would highly recommend, A Song of Isolation is an incredible read that really did take my breath away. I honestly can’t praise Michael J Malone’s writing highly enough and can’t wait to see what this hugely talented author comes up with next.
A Song of Isolation by Michael J Malone is available to purchase now: Amazon UK
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Fantastic review! I’m glad to hear you loved A Song Of Isolation too. xx
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Thanks so much for the blog tour support x
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Woohoo I loved the book. Apparently I had another your today and I reviewed this one. It was just sooooo good
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