Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things about Dark Is The Sky

 

About Dark is the Sky

Twelve years earlier, Olivia and Joel Cameron invited the family to spend the weekend at their new country home. Olivia hoped to provide them all with a much-needed escape from their anxiety over the recession crippling the nation; instead, the visit ended in tragedy when Scott, Joel’s wild and outrageously sexy youngest brother, was found dead. The repercussions tore the family apart.

Now, Olivia’s sister Violet has persuaded her to host a reunion. She claims it’s time they finally put the past behind them and laid their ghosts to rest. However, some wounds run too deep to heal, and some secrets are too destructive to remain hidden. Still grieving for the man she loved, Violet is determined to uncover the truth behind his death—a truth she believes lies within her own family. As the web of deceit and hostility begins to unravel, family ties are tested to the limit, and no one will emerge unscathed.

Thursday Thirteen by Jessica Chambers

1. For 12 years, the Camerons have lived in the shadow of the tragedy that tore their family apart. As they reunite for the first time since that fateful summer’s day, the truth of what really happened is about to come back to haunt them. Will already fragile family ties be able to withstand the strain?

2. Scott, whose death forms the focal point of the novel, was the youngest of the four Cameron brothers. Wild, charming and devastatingly handsome, he was a magnet for women and the life and soul of any party. He also adored his nieces and nephew, and was ever ready to entertain them with a hilarious anecdote.

3. Yet, on that summer’s evening twelve years earlier, Scott arrived at the house-warming party given by his brother and sister-in-law, harbouring a terrible secret. It was a secret that would rock the family to its foundations, threatening their very livelihood, and which ultimately led to his death.

4. If Scott had lived, there is just one woman who might have tempted him from his philandering lifestyle: high-powered lawyer Violet … smart, confident and ambitious. Their families could never understand the mutual attraction—on the surface, the two of them just seemed too incompatible—but somehow it worked. Sadly, fate had other ideas… 

5. Despite throwing herself into her work, rising to the top of her profession, Violet has never got over losing the man she loved. She has been unable to move on, feeling in her heart that there is more to Scott’s death than a tragic accident. Finally, she persuades her sister to host a family reunion in the hope of uncovering the truth. 

6. Violet’s sister Olivia is married to Joel Cameron, one of Scott’s elder brothers. Vivacious and warm-hearted, she would normally be looking forward to entertaining the family. However, she has discovered evidence of what she believes to be her husband’s infidelity and is utterly devastated. Does she have the strength to survive the weekend, and is there any hope for her marriage?

7. If possible, Olivia’s husband Joel is dreading the reunion even more than she is. Most of all, he is dreading seeing his twin. He and Tim were once inseparable, the closest of friends. Then everything changed. A chasm opened up between them, and they have barely spoken in twelve years. Tim committed what Joel perceives to be the ultimate betrayal, and he can never forgive him. 

8. Unlike her parents, Olivia and Joel’s seventeen-year-old daughter Lottie can’t wait for the family reunion. She recently met her cousin Adam on a geography fieldtrip with their respective schools, and by the time they realised their relationship to one another, it was too late. They had fallen madly in love. Now, Lottie can’t wait to see him again, though she knows they will have to keep the affair secret from their family.

9. One thing mars Lottie’s precious time with Adam. For as long as she can remember, she has been haunted by a nightmare, a nightmare so terrible her conscious mind has blocked it out. Now the family have come back together, the dream is more vivid than ever. Could it hold the key to what really happened to her Uncle Scott?

10. Joel’s mild-mannered twin brother Tim and his beautiful, materialistic wife Carla have the perfect life. They mix with the best people, dine at the most exclusive restaurants and their children, Emma and Adam, attend one of the top schools in the country. Little do they suspect that the past is about to catch up with them and bring their comfortable world crashing down. 

11. Rafe is the eldest of the Cameron brothers. Pompous and insensitive, He is rather fond of listening to his own voice. He also takes his self-appointed position as head of the family investment bank very seriously. In fact, it means as much to him as his brothers, and far more than his wife. Nothing can be allowed to threaten the company … nothing and no one. 

12. Rafe’s wife Phoebe has never been strong. She was bullied at school for being plain, and has since had to endure her husband’s constant putdowns. It is her greatest sadness that she has never had children of her own. For her, returning to the scene of Scott’s death is particularly hard, as she was the one who found him. In fact, the ordeal is in danger of plunging her into a nervous breakdown.   

13. So, the Camerons come together after a twelve-year estrangement. Hostilities are rekindled, and old wounds reopen. Piece by piece, a picture of what really happened on that long-ago summer’s day begins to form, until the shocking truth is revealed. Will anyone emerge unscathed? Buy Dark is the Sky to find out!  

Jessica Chambers has been inventing stories even before she was old enough to hold a pen. She has a passion for writing contemporary novels packed with emotion, complex relationships and often a touch of mystery.
Visually impaired from birth, Jessica currently lives with her family and Staffordshire bull terrier in the English town of Windsor. In addition to devouring fiction of all genres, she loves watching TV quiz shows and admits to being extremely competitive when it comes to a game of Trivial Pursuit.
Her latest book is Dark is the Sky.
You can visit her website at www.jessicachambers.co.uk.