The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath #NetGalley #AreYouGuilty?

The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath

Published by HarperCollins UK

Publication Date: 7 March 2019

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

384 pages

Book Description:

You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent.

On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all? 

My Review:

The first thing which strikes me after reading this book is how self-obsessed, manipulative and shallow people can be.  I did not like any one of the characters - even the one person amongst the group who had a shadow of a conscience was too weak to stand up to a group of people who even she knew she could not truly call friends.
This is a book which is really difficult to review without giving away huge spoilers. It is one which needs to be read with as open a mind as possible.  The setting in Dorset where the group goes for a long weekend is one of my favourite places in the UK so I felt I was able to picture the scene in my head.  The events which are related through the book however do not make for comfortable reading, and I felt the whole time I was questioning my own moral compass and asking myself what would I have done in the circumstances.

The group witnessed a crime in the vicinity of a music festival they had all attended earlier in the year, however nobody stepped up to report what they had seen.  The book runs through events before and after festival which are supposed to explain why each of them was reluctant to get involved to either stop the crime or report it.  Whether any of these reasons is truly enough to let someone escape justice and possibly go on to repeat what they have done is a tricky one.  A proper moral dilemma. However I wasn't invested in the story sufficiently to really care why they didn't get involved - they were all too interested in themselves to even care about the victim so why should I care about them?
I usually really enjoy dislikeable characters but this time there was definitely something I couldn't quite get to grips with to make the book work. I can't put my finger on what was missing, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

About the Author:

Melanie McGrath is a Romford-born English non-fiction writer and crime novelist.

Born in Romford, McGrath's parents moved several times during her childhood; to Basildon in Essex, then to a village in Germany, to Kent, then north to Lancashire, and south again to Buckinghamshire. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University.
She won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1995 for her non fiction book Motel Nirvana , which examined the New Age movement, and detailed McGrath's travels around the American states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
In recent years McGrath has written crime novels, including a trilogy set in the Arctic with Inuit detective Edie Kiglatuk, and the standalone thriller Give Me the Child . As a book reviewer and travel writer, she has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent among other publications.
McGrath has taught creative writing at the universities of Roehampton University and North Carolina as well as at The Arvon Foundation. McGrath lives in London and on the Kent coast.

Social Media:

Twitter: @mcgrathmj

Website: https://melaniemcgrath.com/

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing @PenguinUKBooks @smariedowning #NetGalley @MichaelJBooks #MyLovelyWife

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Published by Penguin UK

Publication Date: 26 March 2019 ebook, 2 May 2019 hardback

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

384 pages

My sincere thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Books for the opportunity to read this advance review copy of this belter of a debut novel via NetGalley. The review herewith is completely unbiased and entirely my own personal view of the book.

Book Description:

This is a story about a married couple. They met, fell in love, had two beautiful children. So far, so ordinary.

But they have a very dark secret.

It's a story with a twist. And then another. And another.

You might think you've read stories like this before.

You'd be wrong.

By the end of the first chapter you'll be hooked.

At page fifty you might not sleep until you finish.

And when you turn the last page, you'll ask yourself one question:

How well do you really know the person you love most?

My Review:

You will struggle to read a book with more secrets, more lies and more twists than this one any time soon.  We know from the outset that our main character is not who he appears to be; we are first introduced to him as Tobias, a handsome deaf man who is looking for companionship. He 'talks' to women he notices in bars via the screen on his mobile phone, looking for the right girl - but right for what? He makes sure he stands out to the barman, yet everything he tells people about himself is a lie. Including his name.
The truth is he's a family man, a tennis coach with a wife, two children and a lovey home which he and wife Millicent have built together.  Or is it the truth? Millicent knows he's out looking for the right one, they discuss possible candidates and he checks that his wife is happy with his choice. That is his part of the deal done.  It's over to Millicent to take it from there. It was only meant to be once. But things change. People change. And boy, the changes we see throughout this book are pretty shocking - not just to us the reader, but to our couple who find things out about each other which were never part of the plan; to their friends whose lives will never be the same again, and the children who are far more perceptive and involved than even they realise.
It should have just been the two of them. But neither of them stick to the rules. And ultimately this changes the game into something far, far more sinister.
This is a story of trust and what happens when that trust is betrayed. How easy it is to open yourself up to the person who is supposed to have your back, and how vulnerable that can leave you. My analytical skills in trying to work out where the plot was going in this book fell woefully short of where they needed to be with Samantha Downing's writing talent. Just as I thought I had the characters weighed up, in came another curve ball proving I was way off target. Again!  I am blown away by the fact this is the author's debut work, which makes me really excited for her future writing.

About the Author:

Born in the Bay Area and now living in the Big Easy, I consider both to be home. Along the way I went to school, worked a few jobs and learned a thing or two. Throughout it all, I wrote. Never studied writing, it's just a hobby that grew into a passion. A dozen books later, my first novel will be published in 2019. My Lovely Wife is not the first one I wrote, it's the first one I submitted (trust me, the other eleven are terrible).

​

When I was a kid, my mom brought me to the library every two weeks. I checked out a stack of new books and new worlds. The best thing was becoming so absorbed in a book I couldn’t put it down. I walked around with it in front of my face, I took it to the bathroom, the kitchen, the book came with me wherever I went. I tripped, ran into walls and stubbed my toes because I never watched where I was going.

​

This is why I write. I want to tell stories that make people walk into walls.

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @smariedowning

              @PenguinUKBooks

              @MichaelJBooks

Website: www.samanthadowning.com

No Way Out by Cara Hunter #NetGalley @carahunterbooks (DI Adam Fawley#3) #NoWayOut @PenguinUKBooks

No Way Out by Cara Hunter (DI Adam Fawley #3)

Published by: Penguin UK/Viking

Publication Date: paperback 18 April 2019, ebook 22 March 2019

480 pages

Genre: Psychological/Mystery & Thriller 

First of all can I express my sincere thanks to Penguin UK and NetGalley for their very kind offer to read one of my most favourite crime writers' books well ahead of publication in exchange for my unbiased review. It has probably been one of the books I have most nervously awaited approval for! Was it worth it?  Here's all about the book, and my thoughts about it.

Book Description:

DID YOU SEE ANYTHING ON THE NIGHT THE ESMOND FAMILY WERE MURDERED?

From the author of CLOSE TO HOME and IN THE DARK comes the third pulse-pounding DI Fawley crime thriller.

It's one of the most disturbing cases DI Fawley has ever worked.

The Christmas holidays, and two children have just been pulled from the wreckage of their burning home in North Oxford. The toddler is dead, and his brother is soon fighting for his life.

Why were they left in the house alone? Where is their mother, and why is their father not answering his phone?

Then new evidence is discovered, and DI Fawley's worst nightmare comes true.

Because this fire wasn't an accident.

It was murder.

My Review:
I have been waiting very (im)patiently for the next instalment of the DI Fawley series , desperate to know what Cara Hunter had in store next for Adam and his team.

The opening scenes throw the reader straight into the action with the team being called to a severe house fire where it is clear virtually from the off that at least one life has been lost.  Initial thoughts are that the children of the family have been left home alone. DI Fawley and his officers Gislingham and Quinn want to know where they are and more importantly why they felt it okay to leave 2 youngsters on their own in the house.

This novel follows the author's signature style with plenty of red herrings to throw the reader off the true course of events.  These twists take us on an emotional journey, feelings which are reflected in the detectives words and actions.  The forensic evidence gradually mounts up and together with facts unearthed by the officers regarding the family's background, the events leading up to the night of the fire fall in to place and the full horror of what has happened is revealed. The pacing of the book is perfect and while I kind of suspected the end destination of the story, some of the discoveries along the way still managed to shock me.

Cara Hunter continues to impress, writing about scenarios which cannot fail to shock yet are dealt with sensitively and with clear background research. There are sufficient references in each book to link it with previous instalments yet there is plenty of content to make each book a strong standalone novel.  This writer has very quickly made her way onto my personal list of top quality writers and once again I am waiting eagerly for her next book. No pressure, Cara...

About The Author:

I'm lucky enough to live in the city I write about. Oxford will be familiar to crime fans across the whole world because of the fabulous Morse novels and TV, but my version of the town is a long way from the beautiful ivy-clad colleges. A much edgier place where the crimes are darker and closer to home.

I've always been a voracious reader and viewer of crime - I've learned so much from the outstanding writing that we now see on crime TV like Line of Duty or Broadchurch, and I've tried to recreate the experience of watching series like that for my readers. I love true crime TV as well - my husband used to tease me about it but now just nods sagely and says 'research' !What else about me? I have pet cats who do their best to distract me whenever I get close to a keyboard (if you have cats, you'll know), I love travelling, spending time with friends, and I have never knowingly turned down a glass of champagne.... 

See my review of the DI Fawley series here: Close To Home (December 2017)

                                                                            In The Dark (July 2018)

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain #Review #NetGalley @SpainJoanne #DirtyLittleSecrets @QuercusBooks

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain

Published by Quercus

Publication Date: 7 February 2019

Genre: Mystery & Thriller/Crime

416 pages

Book Description:

Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.

In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people's lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege - the residents have it all. Life is good.

There's just one problem.

Olive Collins' dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they're shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight.

The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive's neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

The new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Confession, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty.

My Review:

What a brilliant concept for a book! The prologue manages to encapsulate the overall plot for the book and yet tell you nothing about why or how what happened came to pass.  The horror of realisation of what must be hidden behind Olive Collins' front door is related as her neighbour sees a huge cloud of bluebottles rising from the chimney.  The author then gives us a hint of what relationships were like between the residents of the prestigious Withered Vale gated community. The police are going to have their work cut out solving this case.
Frank Brazil is due to work this one last case before retirement, with the help of his colleague Emma. They work their way round each of the neighbours' properties interviewing everyone - even needing to ask the younger residents a few questions about their relationships with Olive and it soon becomes obvious that any one - or more - of the neighbours could have reason to assist in Olive's demise.  There are certainly some eye opening things going on behind the gates of Withered Vale, things which certain residents thought they had managed to keep concealed from their neighbours. But the curtains of the Vale have been twitching, and some things are not as secret as those involved would hope. Yet how come nobody noticed Olive's absence for 3 whole months?

The reader gets to follow not only the police interviews, but the conversations which happen between residents once the detectives have moved on. Interspersed with Olive's own take on the events leading up to her death we gradually build up a picture of what has been going on. 

All Olive wanted in life was to be part of a close, friendly little community but unfortunately she was not able to achieve this during  her time in the Vale. Maybe that would be her legacy to her neighbours once she had departed. But whose fault was it that she didn't quite fit in - hers or her neighbours? And did any of them have sufficient gripe with her to go as far as to end her life or was an outsider involved? I really had no idea 'whodunnit' virtually all the way through the whole book.

Despite Withered Vale being a rather elite gated community I can't say I envied or particularly  liked any of its residents.  The detective duo are constantly given potential motives for murder at each of the properties they visit, only to reach a dead end each time. This is a very well written novel which reads very much like a game of Cluedo as evidence is presented, explored and added to the case file.  It will have you mulling over what you know and the questions you want answering right up to the end.  And the end will surprise you. Nothing which had gone before prepared me for the conclusion to the book which I felt reflected Olive's place in the community rather well.  On the one hand I felt a little sorry for her but I could also understand the viewpoint of her neighbours and their reluctance to be too involved with the spinster at number 4..

Certainly a book I would highly recommend. Read it - and please let me know if you worked it out any less than 90% through the book!

About the Author:

Jo Spain's first novel, top ten bestseller With our Blessing, was one of seven finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition. It was named as an Irish Times crime fiction book of the year by Declan Burke. Beneath the Surface (2016) and Sleeping Beauties (2017), the second and third in the DI Tom Reynolds series followed, to further critical acclaim. Her standalone thriller, The Confession, released in January 2018, became a number one bestseller and sold in multiple territories. Jo is releasing the fourth Tom Reynolds, The Darkest Place, in 2018 and a new standalone Dirty Little Secrets in 2019.

Jo also writes for TV and is the co-writer of new series Taken Down.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and their four young children. Jo previously worked as a policy advisor in the Irish parliament and as vice-chair of the business body InterTrade Ireland.

Jo’s debut novel is set against a background of the infamous Irish Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby homes. The author’s own father was born in one such home in Dublin and the novel’s backdrop was constructed based on the in-depth research she undertook while attempting to trace her family roots.

Her favourite writers include Pierre LeMaitre, Fred Vargas, Louise Penny, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, B.A. Paris, Elizabeth Haynes and Agatha Christie.

The Truth About Love and Dogs by Lilly Bartlett @MicheleGormanUK

The Truth About Love and Dogs by Lilly Bartlett (aka Michele Gorman)

Published by Notting Hill Press

Publication Date: 13 October 2016 (re-launched March 2019) 

Genre: Romantic Comedy

332 pages

Book Description:

Four little words, uttered by her husband…
‘Oh my god,’ he gasped into her shoulder. ‘Shannon!’

There’s just one problem: her name isn’t Shannon.

Rewind six months and Scarlett and Rufus aren’t in the honeymoon stage anymore so much as the honey-should-we-bother phase. Desperate to get their sparkle back, Scarlett has plotted, planned and waxed more than any woman should have to, but none of it is working. Which makes it very hard to start the family they want.

At least her business is going strong, even if her marriage isn’t. She and her best friend spend their days tangled up in dog leads and covered in fur. Scarlett is the fairy dogmother, training hopeless pets like compulsive eater Barkley, impulsive Romeo Murphy and bossy Biscuit. Meanwhile, her best friend walks the dogs and pines for the man who doesn’t know she exists. Thank goodness the women have each other.

If only Scarlett could work out how to get her marriage back on track. But Rufus isn’t sharing his feelings with her. He is, though, sharing with her best friend. Her best friend, Shannon.

Meet your new best friends in the witty, uplifting, utterly hilarious tale that will make you laugh, cry and say “I know the feeling”. Perfect for fans of Marley and Me, Marian Keyes and Jenny Colgan!

Buy your copy here: Amazon UK

                                   Amazon US

My Review:

At first sight, Scarlett and Rufus have it all.  Successful jobs, happy marriage, nice home. Scratch the surface and the veneer soon rubs off to reveal a couple drifting apart due to the struggle they are facing in trying for a family.  Further challenged by Scarlett's sister's bombshell announcement and Rufus' slip of the tongue at a crucial moment and their marriage is suddenly at crisis point.
Scarlett gets through her days by focusing on the dogs she is trying to train, along with their owners. She can't even talk things through with her best friend Shannon because, well, she seems to be a big part of the problem.
There are comedy canine capers aplenty, scenes where the tears you will cry won't be those from laughing and heart warming scenes where things don't seem half as bad as they first appeared to be.
There are insta-famous pugs, a randy pooch whose owner can't face the inevitable and an extremely loveable bulldog not to mention all the owners who go with these adorable hounds. I defy anyone not to love Lilly Bartlett's rom com about finding out what is important in life and just how much our 4 legged friends are as much our family as our human relations.

About the Author:

Lilly Bartlett’s cosy romcoms are full of laugh out loud moments, quirky characters and guaranteed happily-ever-afters.

Lilly is the pen-name of Sunday Times and USA Today best-selling author, Michele Gorman, who writes best friend-girl power chick lit under her own name.

Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd #NetGalley @Bookouture @nholten40 @ClareBoydClark #HerClosestFriend

Her Closest Friend by Clare Boyd

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 5 March 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

372 pages

My thanks to Noelle Holten and the publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.  All opinions given here are entirely my own and are unbiased.

Book Description:

Pop music blares from the radio. She sings drunkenly from the backseat. The thrash of windscreen wipers against the driving rain. The screech of tyres. A thud. Naomi and I are best friends.
School runs, dog walks, a shoulder to cry on over a glass of wine, we’re inseparable.
But now my husband has walked out, I need her more than ever.
I know she will help me pick up the pieces.
Because she knows about the lie I told to protect her.
She knows how much I’ve sacrificed for this friendship.
And she’d never let anyone hurt me.
Would she?

This extraordinary page-turner will suck you in from the very first page and keep you gripped until the breathtaking finale. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl Before and Gone Girl will adore this twisted tale of toxic female friendship.

My Review:

This is the story of a decades old friendship. A friendship which is deeply ingrained with secrets and denials. A friendship steeped in alcohol, which only seems to bring out the bad for those involved.  Sophie is a needy soul, the product of a broken marriage which her mum could not cope with, leaving her alcoholic grandfather as her sole carer. Naomi has a settled childhood, but meets Sophie at uni and feels sorry for her background in a way, wanting to show her that life isn't all bad.
Events during their final weeks at uni mark a significant turning point in the girls friendship, cementing a lifelong bond which the girls each deal with in different ways. Both girls get married, only Sophie once again is unlucky and faces an uncertain future when husband Adam announces he is leaving her for another woman.  Naomi fares better in the marriage stakes, finding a reliable husband with a steady job to provide a rosy homelife for them.  Alcohol plays a huge part in the lives of the girls, with Naomi running a blog page based on wine tasting and recommendations of what is good to be presenting to guests in different social settings.  Sophie can't help but be jealous at Naomi's charmed life, the envy sitting sourly in her gut and eating away at her and making her very bitter.
As the story unfolds we find out more about their time at uni and how this affects how the two women interact. Sophie gets more and more unpredictable however with her revelations of what really happened at the end of their time in Exeter, the power in the relationship starts to shift and it's Naomi's turn to start facing facts.  My sympathies switched between the two of them on several occasions but at the end of the day I couldn't forgive Sophie for her actions both then and now. Her inability to take responsibility for anything in her life frustrated me and made me angry so much I cannot put into words. Naomi tries so hard to let her head take control in their friendship but she is so entangled in trying to make life better for Sophie she constantly gives in to her heart.  It's not until she feels her own family is under threat from Sophie that she finds the strength to face the truth of all that has gone before.
This is a superb book dealing with toxic friendship, heart wrenching tragedies and misplaced loyalties. It will make you angry, it will make you sad but I guarantee it will keep you turning the pages and you won't ever fathom where the story ends. Buy your copy here:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B07N6HJQ2MSocial

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2E665pM

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2DuDhWE

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/q8Q130nFNL2

About the Author:

Clare lives with her husband and their two daughters in Surrey, where her little green shed at the bottom of the garden provides a haven for her writing life. Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold.

Clare's books LITTLE LIAR and THREE SECRETS are published by Bookouture and are available to buy now.

You can follow Clare on Twitter at  https://twitter.com/clareboydclark and follow the tour to find out what other bloggers are saying about 'Her Closest Friend':