The Evidence Against You by Gillian McAllister #NetGalley #TheEvidenceAgainstYou @PenguinUKBooks

The Evidence Against You by Gillian McAllister

Published by Penguin Books UK (Michael Joseph)

Publication Date: 18th April 2019

Genre: Legal Thriller

437 pages 

First of all I must thank the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title via Netgalley. All opinions and views stated here are my own and unbiased.

Book Description:

It's the day Izzy English's father will be released from jail.

She has every reason to feel conflicted - he's the man who gave her a childhood filled with happy memories.

But he has also just served seventeen years for the murder of her mother.

Now, Izzy's father sends her a letter. He wants to talk, to defend himself against each piece of evidence from his trial.

But should she give him the benefit of the doubt?

Or is her father guilty as charged, and luring her into a trap?

My Review:

I always enjoy Gillian McAllister's writing.  Not necessarily action-packed, but there is always plenty going on to make your grey cells go on overtime and The Evidence Against You is in her signature style.  Every book of hers I have read have had me considering whether the characters acted in the way I would if I found myself with their moral dilemmas.

This time we are presented with Izzy English whose mother was murdered when she was a child and her father tried and convicted for the offence.  Her maternal grandparents took her in and brought her up, meaning that she is influenced by their biased opinions about her father and is encouraged not to pursue the dreams she had as a child and lead a very 'safe' existence.

Gabe English is finally released after serving his sentence for the murder of his wife and immediately makes contact with his daughter, pleading for the opportunity to put his side of the story.  We follow Izzy's dilemma as to whether it is safe for her to meet her father - after all, he could be coming after her as well in order to complete his mission. Or he could, genuinely have been as innocent as he always professed to be from the outset.

We follow the pendulum of thoughts which Izzy goes through, trying to work out if she should risk giving her father his chance to speak: she's worried that the evidence she gave which contributed to his imprisonment all those years ago may mean he wants revenge. Her gut instinct is that she should listen to him, give him a fair hearing - but what if she's wrong? What if she is making a terrible mistake?  Her husband is a very safe character - a police analyst who sees things in black and white, no grey areas. She dare not tell him her dad has been in touch; he wouldn't understand and would have him returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence as per the conditions of his licence.  She has nobody to turn to.  Her uncle and cousin are too close to offer a considered opinion and she has no one else close she can bounce ideas off - the product of the 'safe' environment she has been conditioned into: trust no one.

I went through all the emotions with Izzy - and her father as well at times. I didn't know who to trust, who was responsible for the crime so to imagine being Izzy herself took me through some emotional turmoil.  What I didn't see coming was the final outcome, that was a total curveball for me.  Whether I had got myself too deeply into Izzy's character to see the facts as they were presented, I don't know but what I can say is that I was completely invested in the whole story and was emotionally wrung out by the end.  I can imagine that this book might be a bit too slow-moving for some people, but I personally loved it and would recommend it along with all of Gillian's other work.  Clever writing from one of the best in the genre in my opinion.

About the Author:

Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling author of Everything But The Truth, Anything You Do Say, and No Further Questions. They are all standalone and can be read in any order. She is published in ten countries around the world. The Good Sister is her US debut, coming June 2019 from Penguin USA, and is the American title for No Further Questions. 

You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @gillianmauthor. She also blogs at http://www.gillianmcallister.com