Blog Tour – Book Review – The Cost of Living by Rachel Ward

Publisher: Sandstone Press

Publication Date: 21st September 2017

Format: ARC eBook

Note: This book was received from the publisher in return for an honest review

About the book:

After a young woman is brutally attacked on her way home from the local supermarket, checkout girl Bea is determined to find out who’s responsible. She enlists the help of Ant, the seemingly gormless new trainee – but can she really trust him? Customers and colleagues become suspects, secrets are uncovered, and while fear stalks the town, Bea risks losing the people she loves most.

What I Thought:

The Cost Of Living is the first book aimed primarily at adults by Rachel Ward. Bea is a 20 something checkout girl, content with her life and keeping an eye on her regulars, but when someone begins stalking the women of her town she finds herself considering all the people in her life and wondering if any of them are capable of stalking and attacking women like her.

I really enjoyed The Cost Of Living, if you’re familiar with my blog you’ll know I tend to lean towards police procedurals and slightly darker crime series, this is different but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all, it was a nice lighter interlude. As always I won’t talk much about the plot as I don’t want to spoil it for any potential readers!

While the case does obviously play a role in the overall plot as The Cost Of Living isn’t a police procedural there’s no emphasis on post-mortems, forensics and police interviews, instead Rachel has taken the opportunity to build on her central characters, the result is two wonderful main characters and a great cast of supporting characters, who by the end of the book feel well developed. Bea is a fantastic character, anyone who has worked in a supermarket will find something to relate to with Bea, I certainly did! I found myself second guessing the male characters in the book alongside her. I also found her relationship with her mum Queenie really interesting. And Ant! I think I fell a little bit in love with Ant; from the ‘dodgy’ family on one of the estates Ant’s actually a bit misunderstood, he struggled at school, but he’s proud and doesn’t want to show weakness and admit his difficulties, so he doesn’t always make the best first impression, and sometimes he may act up to others preconceptions about him, but once he lets Bea in it’s clear that he will genuinely try his best to help out however he can. While talking about the characters I can’t not mention Dot, I loved the relationship between Bea and Dot!

Would I Recommend?

If you enjoy a cosy crime, or want a break from some of the darker crime and thrillers out there I would definitely recommend The Cost Of Living, it’s a strong character driven story with interesting sub plots surrounding the main story line, there was a satisfying ending and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more adventures from Bea and Ant!