Someone To Blame by J.J. Green published October 28th with The Book Guild and is described as ‘a mystery thriller with a twist on the poison pen concept’. I am delighted to be sharing an extract, with an introduction from J.J. Green, with you today in celebration of its launch so I do hope you enjoy.
[ About Someone To Blame ]
Shay Dunne is a poison pen. Not that she wants to be one. But a recent tragedy in her life has left her hell-bent on dishing out some punishment to the two people she blames. Sending them a letter containing a vague accusation will do the trick.
Only the letters set in motion a series of unintended consequences, and Shay soon discovers that in the close-knit Irish village she calls home, a community still reeling from Covid, there are sinister secrets everywhere.
[ Extract with Introduction by J.J. Green ]
“Many thanks to Mairéad for this opportunity to contribute to her blog, as she did for my first novel in 2023. This time round, my novel is a mystery thriller that follows the journey of Shea Dunne who gets tragic news and who wants someone to blame. She sends a generic, poison pen letter to a couple of people she blames the most. But she doesn’t anticipate the consequences, and the letters take on a life of their own, creating a whole series of calamities that are beyond her control.
The book deals with themes of grief, loss, and family. But it also looks at the secrets people hide, and how it’s their own guilt that causes them to react, not really the poison pen letters. I thought the idea of the poison pen letters was intriguing. I heard a story when I was little about a woman who sent nasty letters to people in her village, and it caused a lot of hurt. The idea of a poison pen can really only work in a small place or community where everybody knows everybody else – though the letters reveal that they don’t really know each other at all.”
[In this excerpt, one of the poison pen’s targets receives his letter]
His brain was too overloaded to think about Rory. All that shit was behind him – or it would be if Natalie would knock it on the head. Not that he’d done anything wrong, not really. It was just business. It wasn’t personal.
‘He was honest,’ Natalie was droning on. ‘Hard-working, decent. More than I can say about you. You just took him for a ride.’
‘Give me a break. He was far from perfect and you know it – but let’s stop bullshitting each other. We both took him for a ride and you were up for that. Don’t forget it. That’s who you are, who we both are.’
‘Don’t tar me with the same brush,’ Natalie said, raising her voice. ‘I didn’t know what was going on until it was too late.’
‘Me thinks the lady does protest too much.’
‘Fuck you. And it’s “doth”, you dickhead. If I had known what was going on, things might’ve worked out different.’
‘I can imagine how you wanted them to work out.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Nothing. I mean nothing.’
He wasn’t going to get dragged into talking about what he thought – no, what he knew – when it came to her feelings for Rory before he disappeared. She didn’t press him, he noticed. Maybe she didn’t want to go there either.
‘I’m doing my best for you,’ he said, instead. ‘I love you.’
She shook her head. Tears brimmed in her eyelids but didn’t spill out. ‘If you really mean that then stop the wide-boy nonsense and get a proper job that brings in a steady wage.’
‘I’m working on it. Trust me. I won’t let you down.’
‘Whatever,’ she said, pulling the blanket tighter.
He smiled, though a half-hearted smile was all he could manage. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t looking anyway.
He turned to the white envelope he still had in his hand. He tore it open and pulled out a folded A4 page. His eyes widened. He stared down at the single sentence typed in italics across the middle of the page: I know what you did. Be prepared for the consequences.
He gasped, loud enough for Natalie to look over. He felt his body go cold. His heart was racing. Somebody knew. Fuck, somebody knew. How could they? How could anybody know?
Someone To Blame ~ Purchase Link
[ Bio ]
J. J. Green is an Irish writer who hails from Donegal and lives in Derry. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her non-fiction work is published as political essays focusing on economic and environmental injustice. Her first novel, The Last Good Summer, was published in February 2023. Someone To Blame is her second novel.
X ~ @JJGreenwriter
