Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald

 

Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald.

Published 18th January 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover ofthe book:

They’re the housemates from Hell…

When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.

Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…

And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.

Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…

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When Lou O'Dowd's relationship with a married man ends badly, she is desperate for a new start. Her sketchy employment history makes it difficult to find an appealing job where she lives in Melbourne, Australia, so she hits on the idea of joining her cousin in Edinburgh for a Scottish adventure - and blags her way into a job covering the night shift in a halfway house for serious offenders on parole, which she is sure will give her the purpose she is searching for.

However, Lou is completely unprepared for the reality that shatters her illusions on the very first night of her new job - for within the walls of the impressive Edinburgh townhouse that serves as the halfway house lurk two murderers, a celebrity paedophile, a sex pest, and a neurotic drug-dealer, who are much more of a handful than she anticipated. The fresh start among the 'castles' of Scotland that Lou was looking for soon descends into chaos, and unexpected dangers threaten not just her own life, but the lives of her loved ones too...

I was first introduced to the work of Helen Fitzgerald in a thrilling baptism of fire through her book Worst Case Scenario about a Scottish social worker on the edge, so I knew I was in for quite a ride with Halfway House - and I was not disappointed!

This brand new, darkly comic thriller delves into a bevy of similar themes - which is not surprising given Fitzgerald's background in social work - this time through the experiences of Aussie ex-pat Lou, whose eyes are well and truly opened about the reality of working with serious offenders who are out on licence in the community. The story begins with a delicious prologue in which Lou is branded as #TheImpaler which makes it clear from the outset that events are going to get pretty hairy for her, and then rewinds to two months earlier to unfurl in all its unnerving glory. 

Lou is a tricky protagonist to like, and her ability to make good choices is hampered by her selfishness, her tendency towards being a fantasist, and a decidedly off-kilter moral compass. However, I did find myself warming to her as Fitzgerald reveals how and why Lou finds making meaningful connections difficult, and there are lovely little glimmers of the Lou inside that occasionally shine through the utter mess she gets into, revealing the kind of person she could be given different circumstances. Eventually, I was totally on her side through every breathtaking move and counter move for survival she became embroiled in within the walls of that horrifying halfway house, which I thought was beautifully managed by Fitzgerald. 

For a book of under 300 pages, this little gem is packed with insight, observations, and subtle commentary about so many themes, particularly the more unsettling aspects of the world of social work. You find yourself pondering on a knotty mass of issues about reintegration of serious offenders back into society, especially addicts and those convicted of sexual and manipulative crimes; and I cannot help but feel some of the more bizarre approaches to modifying behaviour to within more acceptable bounds that Fitzgerald pokes fun at are uncomfortably based on truth. She also takes some intriguing sideswipes at the kinds of people attracted to working in this environment, and what their motivations might be. And I am really impressed at how she incorporates the media frenzy around high-profile crimes, and the way they are reported in this story - and the unintended consequences of the information you share on social media. There are some lovely bits about family too - including the curious, often transient, bonds of found family.

It seems odd to describe this one as a 'caper', given the subject matter, but this book is packed to the rafters with disconcerting situations steeped in pitch black humour in Fitzgerald's characteristic vein. Once you start reading, you cannot stop until all the surreal twists and turns work themselves out in a frantic, headlong journey towards the incongruous conclusion... which definitely makes this a 'caper' in my book. Highly recommended if you enjoy an offbeat style that makes you laugh at the darker side of life. I absorbed it in one tasty bite! 

Halfway House is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support the very best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and adapted for a major BBC drama. Her 2019 dark-comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in the Literary Review, Herald Scotland, Guardian and Daily Telegraph, shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and won the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. 

Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.