I Did It For You by Jayne Cowie

💥💥💥 due for publication 31-August-2023 💥💥💥

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"If you could test your son for a gene that predicts violence, would you do it?

Antonia and Bea are sisters, and doting mothers to their sons. But that is where their similarities end.

Antonia had her son tested to make sure he didn't possess the "violent" M gene.

Bea refuses to let her son take the test. His life should not be determined by a positive or negative result.

These women will go to any length to protect their sons.

But one of them is hiding a monster.

And there will be fatal consequences for everybody...."

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I haven't read anything by Jayne Cowie before and after finishing this, I won't make that mistake again!!

I Did If For You is a gritty look at a world that has found a way to predict aggression and violence in men.  A negative test means the best schools, the best jobs ... the best of everything but a positive test means the complete opposite, and if you refuse, it's as if the result was positive ... what would you do?  Could you condemn your son to a life of barriers and hardship for a crime he hasn't committed or would you risk it to get the best that life can offer?

This is the dilemma facing two sisters, Antonia and Bea; they each make a choice which has far reaching and devastating consequences for them, their families and for those around them.

With a very different and intriguing plot, great characters and written at a good pace, this is a really good, thought-provoking read and although I guessed some of the twists, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of this book.

Thank you to the author, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of I Did It For You.

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After Dark by Jayne Cowie

 

Description from Goodreads:

"WELCOME TO A WORLD WHERE WOMEN HOLD THE POWER.

They dominate workplaces, public spaces and government.

They are no longer afraid to cross a dark car park, catch the last train, or walk home alone.

With the Curfew law in place, all men are electronically tagged and must stay at home after 7pm.

It changed things for the better. Until now.

A woman is murdered late at night and evidence suggests she knew her attacker.

It couldn't have been a man because a Curfew tag is a solid alibi... Isn't it?"

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What an interesting and different read that was!

In a country that has decided that enough is enough when it comes to violence against women, a radical solution is put in place - men are electronically tagged and are not allowed outside between the hours of 7pm and 7am.  Women are no longer afraid to go out at night and it appears to be 'working' when, one morning, the badly beaten body of a woman is found in a park.  It couldn't have been a man ... could it?

The premise of the story is an interesting one but, for me, it didn't really deliver how I thought it would; I was hoping there would be a balanced view but it felt to me like is was very anti-male and the overwhelming thought is that all men are evil.  We know that is not the case but there wasn't one male character in this book that provided another viewpoint and this was disappointing for me.  I do, however, recognise that I have never been subject to male violence and therefore may have come at this from a different frame of reference and because of this, I can certainly see why some may think the future world described in this book would be utopia but, for me, I don't like tarring everyone with the same brush.

Told from different points of view and in two timelines, this book moves along at a good pace.  The characters, both male and female, are not particularly likeable with the teenage daughter being the most irritating and, annoyingly, stereotypical and this caused me to not care about any of them particularly so the mystery around who was murdered wasn't that intriguing but I did like how we didn't find out until towards the end.

Overall though it was an interesting and thought-provoking read but not as good as I think it could have been but I must thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and share my thoughts.

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