All In Her Head by Nikki Smith

A haunting and compelling book that shines a light on the darkest corners of the human psyche and makes us question our limits.

Alison is more alone than she's ever been. She is convinced that her ex-husband Jack is following her. She is certain she recognises the strange woman who keeps approaching her in the canteen.She knows she has a good reason to be afraid. She just can't remember why.Then the mention of one name turns her life upside down.Alison feels like she's losing her mind . . . but it could just lead her to the truth.

About the author

Nikki studied English Literature at University before pursuing a career in finance. She always had a passion for writing and in 2017 she applied for a Curtis Brown Creative writing course. Later that year she had a short story published and submitted the opening chapters of her novel to a competition where she won the opportunity to be mentored by the author Amanda Reynolds, and the rest was history.

Review

All In Her Head is a compulsive read, it’s heart breaking, at times painful to read but deals with the subject with true empathy and understanding. It has you questioning everything you are reading and once you start the book you can’t stop!

This is Nikki’s debut novel and it doesn’t show! The physiological tension ramps up at the fast-paced rate, the characters are great, the premise is completely unique and it’s plot is cleverly complex.

I loved the characterisation of Jack and Alison. You could tell from the get go that they were both going to be unreliable narrators, it’s one of those books. But it had you analysing every word and action to try and figure out what the heck was actually going on.

I feel like I can’t really say much on the plot without giving it away! Let’s just say there was an understanding showed by the author in dealing with all aspects of this book. She must have done a lot of research to on the subject and it shows with how she treats her characters. Just remember that all families have their secrets and how these can affect others!

All In Her Head is a cracking read, a compulsive thriller that you just can’t put down. I thoroughly recommend it.

Trigger warnings - domestic abuse, mental health issues.

Thank you to Orion Books, Random Things Tour and Nikki Smith for asking me to be part of this tour.