Five Little Words by Jackie Walsh - Blog Tour and Review

I'm thrilled to welcome you today to my blog for a stop on the tour for Five Little Words by Jackie Walsh! I previously reviewed The Secrets He Kept on this blog, so when the opportunity came up to read another of Jackie's books I jumped at it. 

Here's the description of the book:

Five Little Words... Can destroy your life

'Wow, wow, wow, this book had me guessing all the way to the end!' ☆☆☆☆☆ Reader Review

When new mother, Laura Caldwell, opens the card dropped through her letterbox, she expected to see a heartfelt note, congratulating her on the birth of baby Shay.

Instead, she sees a message that makes her blood run cold. 'Your husband is a murderer.' It couldn’t be true, could it? Not Conor, her adoring husband. He couldn’t be behind the brutal killing of local barmaid, Vicky. Not him.

But while Laura fights to discover the truth about her husband, she’s also holding dark secrets of her own; secrets she’s spent years trying to hide. Could the card be a desperate attempt at revenge – or could her husband really be a murderer? There’s a tangled web between this perfect couple – and the truth might just destroy them...

Here's Jackie's bio:

Jackie Walsh lives in Dublin with her husband Paul and dog Layla. She is a member of the Irish Writers Centre and The Irish Crime writer’s group. After years spent building her own business she decided to take time out and pursue her interest in writing. With a lot to learn, Jackie attended classes, writing groups and travelled to lots of festivals and launches She secured a publishing deal with Hera Books who published Familiar Strangers and The Secrets He Kept in 2019 and Five Little Words in 2020.

Twitter: @JackieWalsh_ie

And here's what I thought:

I was intrigued by the premise, about a person who has just brought home her baby when she hears an accusation about her husband, so I signed up for this blog tour. I read this book while I was on holiday in September and it was perfect holiday reading. 

Laura is an outsider in the village. Conor is the heir to a brewing empire in a little town about an hour away from Dublin. I didn't like Conor much, I could truly believe he was a murderer! He didn't want to inherit the brewing empire, but the premature death of his dad, Seamus, who baby Shay is named after, meant he had to. Laura and he haven't known each other very long. Conor was seeing a girl called Olive, who still works for him at the brewery, when he met Laura, but broke it off when Laura was pregnant. He and Laura got married quite quickly and now obviously have a baby, but it starts to dawn on Laura that she doesn't know her husband at all really. 

They live in a big house and have an ex employee of the brewery, Pat, living on the grounds. Laura finds it difficult to fit into the house, to not feel like she's just a lodger there. She also struggles to get on with Conor's overbearing mother, Maggie. She used to live in the house and does somewhat treat it like her own still. Laura is desperate for just some time with Conor and Shay, but Maggie doesn't know where she's not welcome. 

As for the girl who was killed, Laura had only met Vicky a couple of times, as she was a local barmaid. She doesn't know of any relationship between Conor and Vicky, but now she's suspicious. Then there's Conor's best friend, Noel, who Laura doesn't trust. 

Laura is close to her sister, Amanda, who still lives in Dublin but who is a sympathetic ear for her, and a good auntie to Shay. Laura has secrets of her own, secrets about her painful past, which she hasn't yet shared with Conor, and now feels like she can't. 

I really liked the book - it kept me reading and was compelling. I loved the setting, I could imagine the house and village really well. I liked Laura and felt a lot of sympathy for her. I thought the set up was a good one and enjoyed the mystery. I'll definitely read something else by Jackie Walsh, I think she has a way of telling a story that I really like.

Please do check out the other stops on this tour!