The Affair by Hilary Boyd

Connie McCabe is the central protagonist in this novel with a comfortable life in the south-west of England, a job as a European tour guide for coach parties and an increasingly useless husband called Devan. It's easy to tell where this is going!

There's quite a bit about the evident dissatisfaction she feels about her marriage. Devan used to be the local GP until he retired and now he hasn't exactly found his focus. He would quite like Connie to retire but she isn't ready for that and she could be ready for something else. That something else is the tall, dark and handsome godson of one of her coach tourists called Jared and, after some predictable ups and downs, good and faithful Connie takes the plunge. The affair that follows is not exactly torrid but Connie definitely falls for him. Jared appears to have the capacity to turn up all over Europe following Connie around and, in the end, he moves house to settle in her village. In a short time, he's gone from lover to apparent stalker - or has he?

Poor Connie now doesn't really know what she wants and, to make matters worse, Devan seems to have perked up and realised the error of his ways even while Jared worms his way into village life. You can see a disaster coming and it does.

If you picked up this book because you thought the title is a little spicy and you think you might fancy a little extramarital partying then this probably isn't the one for you. If anything, there is something biblical in the punishment meted out to Connie for her fairly trivial lapse and the message is that if you're a 50 something lady with a boring husband then just put up with it! Jared isn't really developed as a character. He seems to have independent means and his capacity to turn up in the precise hotel where Connie is standing and to knock on her door late at night requires a bit of a stretch of the imagination but then, maybe, he's a kind of metaphor or a projection of her unhappy desires!
It’s a well written story even if slow moving. The characters are a bit formulaic. There’s the concerned daughter who finally comes good, the scatty old school friend, the local bourgeoisie and even a grandchild and a dog. It’s very middle England!

Anyway, everything turns out all right in the end for Connie and Devan and, without giving too much away, it looks like they can put the affair behind them. However, the clear message for the reader is don't even think about it!

Finding what to write about this book without spoiling it or repeating the blurb is a little tricky, but let's try. Connie is a travel tour guide and absolutely loves her job, her hubby Devan is a very recently retired Gp, who had thought his wife would join him & retire herself. This couldn't be further from her mind and when her hubby starts to become grumpy & difficult to live with, she likes the idea even less. On one of her jobs she encounters Jared, a younger guest on one of her tours. He shows an interest in Connie & she is flattered by his attention, of which she is lacking at home. This affair is not so straightforward & Connie starts to regret her actions, this is where the story really starts to take shape. This book is quite a compelling read.

Blooming heck! What have I just read?! It was magnificent, so refreshing to have the main protagonist an older woman, and love, lust and life to be centred around her and not some 20something, nubile, doe eyed female.
This left me on the edge of my seat, I began to feel the guilt, lust, fear. It’s was so tangible and had me realising I’d paused for breath with expectation on what would be written in the next few sentences. I knew Hilary Boyd was an author I enjoyed immensely, but this has just taken her up a notch, a name I will recommend to others as I know she will be like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the usual suspects. Highly recommend this magnificent read!!

Connie and Devan are an English couple in their early 60s who up to this point have led a content and happy life. However , since Devan retired as a GP he’s slipped into lethargy and quietness and life is no longer as charmed.
Connie is a travel tour manager, as her marriage becomes more strained, her trips offer respite from her home life and on one of them she meets a younger man and her decades long marriage is threatened.

I’d never read Hilary Boyd before and I was drawn to this book as the characters were older, something that I rarely come across in popular fiction. This was a slow start and it took a while for the story to build but once it did, it held my interest . The characters of both Connie and Devan were well written and I’d empathy for them both. Unfortunately, the other characters felt a bit flimsy especially , Jared, the lover. I didn’t get to know much about him, his motivation or reasoning for his actions. He’s a fairly major part of the story, so the shadowy depiction of him as a character , for me, left the story lacking.

An easy read, though slightly sinister in parts, that I think would have been better if more emphasis had been placed on all three main players in the book, instead of just the married couple. Their marriage was captured and portrayed well. The affair was too. What happened after was weak in comparison. Nonetheless, it’s a decent story and it’s well written and I wanted to know what happened. It held my interest to the end.


3⭐️

I came for a holiday affair and I got a monologue from a woman who’s had sex a few times with a weird dude while her husband had a post-retirement depression. I’m afraid the plot was really scatty and slow. The characters didn’t hold much depth, the stalker storyline was far from explored and didn't make much sense. Why did Jared do all this? We knew nothing about him or his motivation.

I really tried to care but alas, this wasn’t the book for me.

Sadly, this wasn't for me. Pace a bit too slow and never felt that invested in the story. Really thought this had potential but felt stilted. Lack of sub plot I think too. Did like that the fact it was a nearly retired couple that had the focus, often underrepresented in books.

Connie, flattered by the attention of a younger man, cheats on her husband. There are descriptions of her anguish and her justifications for continuing to carry on the affair. It is no surprise that eventually the suitor becomes a stalker.
The denouement was totally unbelievable. Overall quite disappointing.

Such a simple story, but beautifully told and in a very relatable and sympathetic manner, that I really embraced the characters. Middle aged couple in a long standing marriage find themselves at cross purposes regarding their life after retirement. An unexpected flattery leads to consequences that can not be escaped and repercussions that have to be faced.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you to the Publisher, and to Netgalley for sending me this widget which I am always delighted to read.

Connie is a tour guide who, dissatisfied with her marriage, has a brief affair with Jared who turns out to be a mental stalker.

This could have been a brilliant novel but for me the warning signs were on about Jared at the beginning. For someone to follow you over Europe knowing your destinations as a Tour Guide its not coincidence and its not romantic. Its stalking and don’t let him flatter you.
Once I began to think that Connie should have seen through Jared at the beginning, before she got involved, the tension and drama did not hit the mark for me. Of course, he was going to turn up in his life like he did her destination

I really wanted to enjoy this novel and give it a really good review, especially as I was sent the widget, but I found myself just crawling through it.

Sorry Connie you should have seen through him from the beginning.

Hilary Boyd keeps getting better. The Affair is another well written novel about Connie, Tour Manager whose marraige becomes stale when her GP husband retired and becomes unhappy with his life. . Connie continues with her work where she meèts the enigmatic Jared who at first, seems to fill a gap for Connie left void by her ever more vacant husband. As the months go on and as Connie moves through each beautiful town and city her lover appears more and more until Connie starts to feel an unease about the whole situation. Where does lust meet stalking. Can you love someone too much and is Connie in over her head amd set to lose everything. A fast paced novel that will keep you engaged and turning the pages. I loved it

Connie McCabe is married to retired GP Devan and their relationship is in the doldrums. Devan is in a lethargic slump, it’s like he’s defeated and he almost shuts down with Connie placing their 33 year long marriage under severe strain. Connie works as a tour manager and on a trip to Lake Como she meets Jared Temple who makes it clear he’s attracted to her. What will Connie do?

This is a well written easy to read character driven novel which has the feel of a psychological thriller, capturing the emotions of those involved realistically. You feel the chemistry between Jared and Connie though realise it’s lust not love though what unfolds between them is intense. This is a good portrait of a relationship that has cast adrift and though you don’t condone Connie’s actions you can understand that Devan has been impossible to live with and he places a lot of undue pressure on her. The attraction between Jared and Connie turns to obsession and delusion and it feels suffocating. Connie finally sees things for how they are in reality and recognise that she did not see the obvious warning signs because she is not in a good place. The plot gets more and more twisty, it becomes a bit creepy and sinister raising the hairs on the back of your neck. The conclusion of the book contains a whole host of emotions from sadness to fear as there’s a spectre in the marriage that seems intent on not going away. Some of the drama takes place in beautiful places and it’s wonderful to ‘visit’ them vicariously!!

Overall, a compelling and entertaining read.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Another great read from Hilary Boyd. Connie's husband is retired and struggling, Connie is still enjoying life as a tour guide....their marriage is ailing...Connie meets the enigmatic Jared on a tour and embarks on an affair. Jared mysteriously turns up out of the blue in all sorts of places....even in their village and becomes friendly with Connie's husband. The story takes an unpleasant turn and Connie's realises that things are taking a sinister twist. Really enjoyed this...a bit of a departure from Hilary Boyds usual novel...a great read. Couldn't put it down. Highly recommend

A husband retires from a very stressful job so he can start relaxing more, but instead he hits a major depression. The wife continues to work in her travel job that she loves. When she comes home he seems unreachable and uninterested. Eventually she succumbs to the charms of a young man she meets while on one of her trips with chilling consequences.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception, great storyline and great characters. Had me hooked from the beginning to the end.

I did not really read the blurb and halfway through I found out that this is a novel with stalker elements in it. I am not a fan of stalkers but that being said this was not the traditional stalker scenarios that were presented to us. My heart went out to Connie and her struggles with her husband after he retired, I can understand the position that Connie was in. There were times that I was really scared for Connie and what would happen to her. I loved the progression of the story and how Connie and Devan tried to work through their struggles.
Great writing by Hilary Boyd.

This was my first book by Hilary Boyd, but it definitely won't be my last.
I started reading this when another book was not captivating enough and boy was I captivated by this story. I got sucked right in! The main character in this story is Connie, a woman in her sixties whose husband, Devan, has recently retired and is being a pain in the behind.... a bit stereotypical, grumpy, lost and drinking too much now that he is no longer working.

Connie works as a tour manager on European train holidays and on one of her trips something happens with a younger client, Jared, which leads to an affair of sorts.

When I started reading this book I simply enjoyed the style and had no idea it was not a women's fiction book, but more of a psychological thriller where the further into the story you get the more you wonder about what is next. How will Connie get herself out of this mess? Will the marriage survive, will Jared become completely nuts and try to hurt either of them?

I loved that the main characters were slightly older than I am used to and showing a different stage in life and their relationship not only with each other but also with their grown up daughter Caitlin was really touching.

Overal a really good read and one I will be recommending!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When you see a book with a title called 'The Affair' you think you know what you're getting but the big twist in this book is that the main character Connie is in her 60s, she still has a zest for life and loves her job as a tour leader in train trips around Europe.

Her husband on the other hand has now retired and he's struggling to adjust to it, he's drinking more, he's lost his get up and go aswell as any affection for Connie.

Connie just wants to be loved and its easy to see how she falls under another man's spell and its easy to understand how she struggles with what to do, she loves her husband but she isn't sure if he still loves her...

She isn't quite prepared to give up on her husband yet and ends things with her lover.

That's when the story takes on another twist, when her ex lover moves into her village and befriends her husband!

Really enjoyed this book, it really made me think.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book

I enjoyed this book, following Devan and Connie's marriage. Devan is low and distant, following his recent retirement, and Connie, a tour guide, is swept away by a man she meets on one of her tours. The author manages to make Connie, at times, sympathetic, despite her horrid behaviour, and the story was overall enjoyable. Read it in a couple of days.

A good premise, with a lot of predictability.

This is well written, although very drawn out in places. The tension racks up midway through and as the pace increases so does the readability. Well written - would be enjoyed by those who love a domestic read.

This has a very slow build-up and the drama doesn't ramp up until more than half way through. It was very readable and the characters are well-drawn but for me it was a run of the mill family drama. It had no sub-plots to spice it up and it was a bit predictable. There were too many descriptions of food and meals. The ending went a bit too far into melodrama.