A Black Widow’s Web by Phil Martin [Blog Tour]

Did you know? At least 1 in 7 children experience child abuse. This is a disturbing statistic, and goes against my personal Rule Number One: Don’t. Hurt. Kids.

What happens when the child abuse never actually happened? 

A Black Widow’s Web addresses this subject in a unique way, making it a book that is extremely difficult to put down.

I received A Black Widow’s Web for a Blog Tour with Damp Pebbles Blog Tours, because this book sounded amazing. I didn’t quite know what to expect from the story, which is actually something I enjoy.

Going into a book almost blind usually means I won’t have any bias, or preconceived notions that could affect my review.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it extremely hard to put down, even when watching tv with my husband. Whenever a commercial would come on, I’d grab a couple seconds with Lawrence and his troubles.

Thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles Blog Tours, and Phil Martin, the author, for a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: mentions of rape, child abuse, molestation of a child, and assault. This story revolves around a man accused of these things, so it’s not a story for the faint of heart.

Estate agent Lawrence Hennessey has his eyes firmly on the prize, a future away from the mother of his daughter and a multi-million-pound property deal to fund his new life.

His dreams are shot to pieces though when he is arrested for the most heinous sexual crimes against his seemingly embittered ex, Summer, and their seven-year-old daughter, April.

He claims his absolute innocence, but the evidence is so strong that his world quickly turns against him. Having breached his bail conditions, he is sent to prison awaiting a trial that, with his life now in constant danger, may never come.

Only one person stands with Lawrence; his sister Grace.

Desperate to break the allegiance between mother and daughter, Grace vows to leave no stone un-turned in her quest to clear her brother’s name before it is too late.

She unearths a web of vicious deceit in Summer’s turbulent past but nothing to prove her brother’s innocence. She is convinced though that if she keeps digging she’ll unearth something much bigger about her brother’s accuser to weaken the validity of her claims.

But as the evidence against Lawrence gets more sinister, his alcoholism, blackouts and activity on the Dark Web paint a much different story to the one her brother is telling.

At first, I fully believed in Lawrence’s innocence, and I was rooting for him to find justice. The author is amazing at something, though, and that is making the reader doubt his or her own feelings.

At not even halfway through the book, I started to doubt myself, and wonder if Lawrence really is who he claims to be.

I loved the storytelling in this book, despite the fact that it covers a topic that breaks my number one rule: Don’t. Hurt. Kids.

The plot moves forward at a swift enough pace that I didn’t have time to get bored, and I needed justice regardless of who was guilty of what. It seemed that all the characters had secrets, and I never quite knew who to believe.

This book reminded me a little of the Saw movies. Not in its goriness, or anything like that, but in the author’s ability to keep the reader from knowing exactly what was going on at any given time.

Just when I thought I had it figured out, the narrative would change and I’d be confused again. The first Saw movie did this to me, and it’s one of my favorite things about the movie. So needless to say, I loved that about this book.

Things I didn’t like about A Black Widow’s Web

I did come across something that, quite frankly, irritated me. I’ve worked in Mental Health for quite some time, so when I come across things like this, it irritates me.

I doubt many people who haven’t worked in MH would notice, but I have a pet peeve about these things. It was a statement that referred to the DSM-5 as a test for psychopathy, and it just really bothered me.

See, the thing is, the DSM-5 is the standard diagnostic tool for ALL mental disorders, and this statement made it sound like it’s only for diagnoses of psychopathy.

It wasn’t bad enough to make me want to quit reading the book, but it did bother me.

I do have a pet peeve in this particular area (I’ve been known to yell at my tv when the characters say something wrong), and I’m willing to admit my own bias.

I will say, however, that this makes it look like the author didn’t do much research in this area, and brings into question his research in other areas.

I also noticed a typo in the spelling of “semen,” which, since the story revolves around the accusation of a man accused of rape, is rather distracting. I noticed at least 2 instances of this within the first half of the book.

Luckily, both of these things are easily fixed. I do hope the author takes these suggestions to heart, because this story is very well written in many ways, and I don’t like the idea of something small distracting readers and making them not buy his book.

If you don’t mind stories that cover a horrible thing like child abuse, then yes, I would recommend this book.

I was on Twitter several times talking about this book, and while I won’t call it GOOD, because of the horrible subject matter, I will call it well-written, and I will recommend that you read it.

The author has a way of creating intrigue and thrills that throw the reader into the deep end of the story and keep them there. This book is not for the faint of heart, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

About The Author

Phil Martin has published seven ebooks in the crime genre. He is a journalist in the global casino and sports betting sectors. “I grew up in the creative cauldron of nineties Manchester when Madchester rocked the charts and the Hacienda ruled clubland.

The city has shaped me as a writer. I write thrillers and crime stories based on the fine folk of Manchester and Salford and sell them online as ebooks.

The Amy Walker series is an international thriller taking in Manchester, London, Morocco, Barcelona, Monza, Zurich, Lake Como, Moscow, Chechnya, Buenos Aires, Georgia… and Milton Keynes.

Where’s Phil?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/philmartinbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philmartinbooks

Website: http://www.philmartinbooks.co.uk/

Buy this book. I promise, the story is worth it, even if parts of it are hard to read. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, because I had to know what was going to happen to Lawrence.

A Black Widow’s Web covers some of the most horrific imagery I’ve read in a book in a long time, but the plot is so well written, sometimes you don’t even realize it’s about child abuse.

The author covers so many different types of crimes, that one just doesn’t seem to cover it. I loved this book, even while I hate that kids actually go through these situations. It’s well worth a read.

Thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles blog tours and Phil Martin, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed this book review, please leave a comment for me or Phil below! While you’re here, please subscribe! You’ll get a weekly notifcation of new posts, and I never spam. Promise!

Until Next Time, Friends!