I’m thrilled to announce that The Brotherhood and The Refuge will be re-released by Bloodhound Books on 10th December and I thought it would be fun to talk about the themes of each book on this blog!
This week I’ll be talking about The Brotherhood, so if you’re interested in religious sects, vulnerable but resilient characters and dark, disturbing thrillers, read on…
When I started writing The Brotherhood, the idea was to create a ‘closed room’ environment, where isolation was a key feature and there was nowhere to go for help.
Melissa, my main character is in an untenable situation when she meets Dominic, leader of The Brotherhood. She’s just lost her parents and is being pursued by a violent ex-boyfriend. When Dominic offers her sanctuary at the abbey, where the Brotherhood is based, it seems like a great solution – new friends, a community and a chance to get away from normal everyday stresses and grieve. And the ex-boyfriend would never find her there.
Unfortunately, it’s very much a case of jumping out of the frying pan. This is no little fire though, more like an inferno from hell.
Melissa does make friends with many of the members, but her turbulent relationship with Dominic becomes dangerous when her friendship with fellow resident, Mark, develops into something deeper.
When Melissa becomes pregnant, things come to a head, and threats to her life and that of her baby drive her to extreme measures.
This is a story of friendship, love, betrayal, abuse, survival, resilience and fear. Moral questions are raised, and there is a murky world underneath the surface of this religious community. Murder, rape and torture are kept hidden from view, but the threat is real. Will Melissa and her friends ever manage to escape from this hell? How far will they go to survive?
About the Book:
Faith. Love. Manipulation.
After the sudden death of her parents, 22-year-old Melissa falls under the spell of Dominic, the enigmatic leader of The Brotherhood. Drawn into the Abbey’s world, she finds solace but soon becomes trapped in Dominic’s web of control.
Caught between her growing affection for the kind-hearted Mark and her dangerous infatuation with Dominic, Melissa’s life spirals out of control. When she becomes pregnant, Dominic’s jealousy turns violent and Melissa is imprisoned, her life and sanity at risk.
As the truth about Dominic unravels, Melissa takes matters into her own hands, leading to a shocking and deadly confrontation. In the aftermath, can she and Mark uncover the Abbey’s dark secrets and rebuild a future free from Dominic’s influence?
The Brotherhood is a dark and suspenseful psychological thriller about grief, control, redemption and love.
This book contains themes of physical and psychological abuse.
“A definite page-turner.” – Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This is a great book!” – Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Intriguing, creepy, realistic… highly recommended.” – Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Brotherhood is available for pre-order from Amazon and will be released on 10th December: https://geni.us/The-Brotherhood
About the Author:
Jo Fenton grew up in Hertfordshire, UK. She devoured books from an early age, particularly enjoying adventure books, school stories and fantasy. She wanted to be a scientist from aged six after being given a wonderful book titled “Science Can Be Fun”. At eleven, she discovered Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, and now has an eclectic and much loved book collection cluttering her home office.
Jo combines an exciting career in Clinical Research with an equally exciting but very different career as a writer of psychological thrillers.
When not working, she runs (very slowly), hikes, and chats to lots of people. She lives in Manchester with her husband and golden retriever/husky cross. Her grown up boys live within car-sharing distance! She is an active and enthusiastic member of two writing groups and a reading group.
Social Media links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jl_fenton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jofentonauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jo.fenton137/
Bluesky: jof137.bsky.social
