Crushed Violets (DCI Martin's Series Book 1) (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

Have you ever felt jealousy towards someone in your family? A brother? A sister? A father? Sylvia Simmons does – but the real reasons are so deeply rooted in her past – her tormented mind cannot come to terms with them. Her sister, Victoria, is younger, prettier, slimmer, and more popular and has a sweeter temperament. What is there not to hate? After their parents are killed in a car accident, it falls to Barbara Simmons’ best friends to become their guardians. Sylvia is fourteen and Victoria is six years old. The formative years for the girls growing up together, are a minefield for Victoria, never knowing how her sister will react to any given situation. Victoria has to endure spitefulness, jealousy and mental cruelty from the only living relative she has in the world. When Sylvia finally marries in order to gain access to her inheritance, Victoria suffers the ultimate betrayal from Laurie, a man she considers to be her friend as well as brother-in-law – he rapes her on the anniversary of her parents’ death. She is fifteen years old. Victoria runs away from her sister’s home and travels to Wales to be with her guardians. Discovering she is pregnant, she confesses to her guardians who the father of her child is, and they arrange for a termination. Things do not go according to plan and Victoria tries desperately to carry on with her education and make some sort of life for herself –knowing she will never be able to have children of her own. As adults the two sisters never meet or talk to each other, until Victoria meets a wealthy American who wines and dines her. Having a very high newsworthy profile, they are photographed everywhere they go. Because they make a very handsome couple, the tabloid’s spotlight is trained on Victoria and she becomes the overnight delight of the paparazzi. This unwelcome notoriety takes Victoria’s life down a different path where she has to look over her shoulder every minute of the day. Her days are filled with strange happenings and minor unexplained accidents - until she is kidnapped and a ransom demand is received. Her whole objective in life is to stay alive. She crashes her car while escaping her captors. Her injuries are serious and it takes several courage months to overcome them. The kidnapping attracts the attention of the police and DCI Martin and his team are called in to investigate. More and more circumstantial evidence appears to point the finger squarely at Sylvia, and DCI Martin’s efforts to find her, only result in finding dead bodies. It seems that nothing and nobody is allowed to stand in her way. The tension mounts and Victoria realises that she has to face Sylvia alone in an attempt to put their differences behind them. Their fateful meeting takes place on the ninth floor of a multi-storey car park where Victoria learns the horrific truth about their past. A tragic past that could have terrible consequences for the future. It has to be Victoria’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the ones she loves.