Blood Orange
Harriet Tyce
Today’s #RecommendedRead is a book that has been out for some years, Harriet Tyce’s brilliant debut novel Blood Orange. I missed this when it first came out, but my mother passed it on to me recently, and I was very impressed.
The central crime in this book concerns a woman accused of murdering her husband, after being found with his blood-soaked body. That in itself is a satisfying tale, but this is a primarily a character-driven book about toxic relationships and obsession.
Told from the first person perspective, it centres on Alison, a barrister with a loving family, whose career appears to be going from strength to strength.
But all is not as it seems.
She’s embroiled in a torrid affair, and her binge-drinking is threatening to destroy everything that she loves.
I read this book quickly over a few days and found myself sucked in immediately. Alison is in turns a sympathetic character and someone you just want to shout at. Much of the narrative, especially in the last half, unfolds with a grim inevitability, but you still want to continue reading – and without giving away spoilers, there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.
The author, Harriet Tyce, was a practising barrister and so provides an insight into the daily routine of the ‘glamorous’ side of law – spoiler, it really isn’t glamorous! The public perception, bolstered by the media and popular TV series, is that barristers are the peacocks of the legal profession. They are the ones that stand in court in a wig and gown, representing clients to the crown court. They swan in after the solicitors have done all the real work, and simply present to the court. Yet that isn’t how it really works, and this novel lays that bare.
I strongly recommend this, and will be looking out for more of Harriet Tyce’s work.
The central crime in this book concerns a woman accused of murdering her husband, after being found with his blood-soaked body. That in itself is a satisfying tale, but this is a primarily a character-driven book about toxic relationships and obsession.
Told from the first person perspective, it centres on Alison, a barrister with a loving family, whose career appears to be going from strength to strength.
But all is not as it seems.
She’s embroiled in a torrid affair, and her binge-drinking is threatening to destroy everything that she loves.
I read this book quickly over a few days and found myself sucked in immediately. Alison is in turns a sympathetic character and someone you just want to shout at. Much of the narrative, especially in the last half, unfolds with a grim inevitability, but you still want to continue reading – and without giving away spoilers, there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.
The author, Harriet Tyce, was a practising barrister and so provides an insight into the daily routine of the ‘glamorous’ side of law – spoiler, it really isn’t glamorous! The public perception, bolstered by the media and popular TV series, is that barristers are the peacocks of the legal profession. They are the ones that stand in court in a wig and gown, representing clients to the crown court. They swan in after the solicitors have done all the real work, and simply present to the court. Yet that isn’t how it really works, and this novel lays that bare.
I strongly recommend this, and will be looking out for more of Harriet Tyce’s work.
