Portobello Book Blog

In Servitude starts with very dramatic and emotional scenes as Grace discovers that her sister Glory has died in a car crash. In the nightmare days which follow she has to cope not only with her own shock and grief but also with her grieving brother-in-law, telling her young nephews about their mother and supporting her father and mother, who she also discovers has dementia. Grace has always been very close to her sister so it comes as quite a shock to find out that Glory has been keeping some rather dark secrets from her.

My goodness, this is quite the page-turner. With its short chapters and fast-paced action, this is a book I raced through. It’s one of these books where you keep thinking ‘just one more chapter’ but then you get to the end of that chapter and you have to keep reading because of what the author has revealed. I wouldn’t have thought I’d enjoy a book about money-laundering and the Glasgow criminal underworld but Grace is such a likeable and ordinary person that I had to read on to find out how she was going to cope with all that was thrown at her. And the author certainly threw plenty at this feisty and determined character!

In Servitude is an tense thriller, fast-paced and rather addictive. It’s full of twists and turns, shocks and surprises which means that once you start to read, you may well find it hard to put down! I’m really looking forward to reading whatever Heleen Kist writes next.

My thanks to the author for my copy of the book. It is available now in paperback or as an ebook and you can order a copy online here: In Servitude

From the back of the book

Grace thought her sister led a perfect life. She was wrong.

Now she has to pay the price.

When Grace’s beloved sister Glory dies in a car crash, her carefully considered life spirals out of control. She discovers Glory was laundering money through her café for a local crime lord. What’s worse, Grace finds herself an unwitting accomplice, now forced to take over her sister’s shady dealings.

Determined to protect herself and those Glory left behind, Grace plots to turn the tables on Glasgow’s criminal underworld. But her plans unravel when more family secrets emerge and she starts to question Glory’s past intentions.

Grace grows convinced her sister was murdered. Seeking justice, she finds betrayal…

About the author

Heleen Kist is a Dutch businesswoman who lived all over the world while growing up and for her career. Then she fell in love with a Scotsman and his country, and now writes about its (sometimes scary) people from her garden office in Glasgow. 

She was selected as an ‘up and coming new writer’ and awarded a Spotlight at Bloody Scotland 2018, the International crime writing festival.

Her debut psychological suspense novel ‘In Servitude’ came #16 in the Best 50 Indie Books of 2018 competition, as voted by readers. 

That novel was inspired by Heleen’s expertise in small business finance mixed with her friend’s courageous idea to open a vegan cafe in a city renowned for its dubious diet. She is currently working on her next book, which will be dark women’s fiction.

Heleen hopes you enjoy her writing, and would love to hear from you on twitter (@hkist), Faceboook (@heleenkistauthor) or Goodreads. You can also sign up to her newsletter on http://www.heleenkist.com.