Road trip and crime thriller set in HELSINKI and rural FINLAND
Psychological thriller set in LONDON, SCOTLAND and BORDEAUX
27th November 2025
A Song of Isolation by Michael J Malone, psychological thriller set in London, Scotland and Bordeaux.
Michael J Malone’s psychological thriller, A Song of Isolation, is a disturbing, emotional story of love, loyalty and betrayal. The story begins with a shocking accusation of sexual abuse and builds to a fever pitch of fear for both the protagonists.
Amelie Hart is a famous film star who has retreated from the limelight after a recent traumatic incident. She moves from London to a cottage in rural Lanarkshire with her partner, Dave Robbins. Partly due to her traumatic experience, she and Dave are in different places in their relationship, and it is far from certain that it will continue. When Dave is arrested and accused of molesting the child next door, Amelie doesn’t know who to believe and where to turn for help. While Dave is swallowed up by the process of justice, she must decide whether to stick by him. Is her desperate desire to do the right thing just naivety? For his part, Dave has to learn to cope with the accusations and his notoriety. His safety is also in jeopardy.
Amelie’s traumatic incident in London resurfaces as she has to learn to live without Dave. She wonders whether the London perpetrator has returned to torment her. Her adoring public now hates her for her association with Dave. Her future also looks fraught with issues and possible danger. Not knowing who to trust, she keeps her circle of friends small but eventually she must step out into the world again. This story reveals what happens when she does`
As far as location is concerned, the early part of the novel doesn’t concern itself much with setting, so London and Lanarkshire are a kind of out-of-focus backdrop to the story. Equally, Dave’s experience of being incarcerated is movingly described but not so much in terms of his surroundings as the emotional turmoil and fear that it engenders. It seems that Malone really warms to his subject when the action moves to Bordeaux. He describes the streets of the city and the region famous for its vineyards in poetic detail – you can almost feel the sun beating down on the pages of the book.
The title comes from a particularly lyrical passage in the latter part of the book. It reflects the point at which Amelie and Dave are separated and alone. It is rather a bleak title, and the cover illustration is even more bleak, but there is a warmth and optimism in many of the relationships in the book that definitely redeem it. It’s a bold step to choose paedophilia as the topic for a novel but despite the edgy subject matter, A Song of Isolation is up to Malone’s very high standards and I recommend it.
Sue for the TripFiction Team
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