Pre-Pub Book Buzz: The Dark Rose by Erin Kelly

Like any other reader out there, I love it when an author wows me so much that I just have to have more. Erin Kelly's fabulous and dark debut, The Poison Tree, was one of those books. In fact, in finding the original post to link up here, I realized I even called it a WOW read. Haha. Didn't remember that.

Anywho, when I saw that Kelly's second book was releasing soon, I immediately put it on the wishlist/must buy list. I was lucky enough to get a copy for review and am taking a brief break from it to put up a pre-pub post. The Dark Rose is due out on Thursday, Feb 2, so if you like deliciously dark psychological thrillers/mysteries, mark your calendar! (And The Poison Tree is due out in paperback Tuesday, Jan 31.)

Here's the description from Kelly's website (note the UK title is The Sick Rose):

Paul has been led into a life of crime by his schoolyard protector, Daniel – but one night, what started as petty theft escalates fatally. Now, at nineteen, Paul must bear witness against his friend to avoid prison.

Louisa has her own dark secrets. Having fled from them many years ago, she now spends her days steeped in history, renovating the grounds of a crumbling Elizabethan garden. Her fragile peace is shattered when she meets Paul; he's the spitting image of the one person she never thought she'd see again.

A relationship develops between these two scarred people, and Louisa starts to believe she can again find the happiness she had given up on... but neither of them can outrun their violent pasts.

A story of secrets and guilt, The Sick Rose explores the extremes of obsessive love and loyalty, devotion and desperation.

And here's an interesting piece wherein Kelly talks about the upcoming book and some of her inspiration: