Published by Bantam Books, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers
Publication Date: 10th April 2025
My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book via the NetGalley platform
Book Description:
The night Jack Smyth ran into flames in a desperate attempt to save his wife from their burning home, he was, tragically, too late - but hailed a hero.
Until it emerged that Kate was dead long before the fire began.
Suspicion has stalked him ever since. After all, there's no smoke without fire.
A year on, he's signed a book deal. He wants to tell his side of the story, to prove his own innocence in print. He just needs someone to help him write it.
Emily has never ghostwritten anything before, but she knows what it’s like to live with a guilty secret.
And she's about to learn that some stories should never be told . . .
My Thoughts:
I have enjoyed every one of Catherine Ryan Howard's books that I've read so far. I've just discovered that one of my personal favourites, 56 days, is being adapted for TV ready for 2026 which makes me very happy. I read an ARC of that book and had to wait ages to discuss it with anyone! I still have a couple of her backlist waiting on my shelf to enjoy which, while I want to read them, I don't want to be left without something I know I'm going to enjoy (first-world reader issues!).
I've left writing this review a week or so to allow me time to order my thoughts and I'm still not sure I have done. I did enjoy the book however not quite as much as I have done with the books I've previously read by this author. I've been left feeling like I have a jigsaw piece missing but I can't say why.
Former world class cyclist Jack Smyth is looking for a ghostwriter to put into words the events which have significantly affected his life. Emily has been approached by her publishers with the task of talking through with Jack what he needs to put on paper, and writing for him in a way which will form a best selling book. She's never ghost written before, but has a two book deal with the publishers which she still needs to complete the final fifty per cent of, else she will have to return half of the advance which she was paid. So basically, write Jack's book for him or pay back thousands of euros to her publisher. Sadly, Emily can see no other options as she does not have the money available to be able to choose.
The place Emily finds herself in to meet with Jack and work on the book is deserted. It's a whole new town still under construction, but apparently the place they are staying is owned by Jack's best friend and former cycling team mate, Ben. Emily feels there's something very "off" about the whole place and she's pretty sure there was a woman on her flight to the US that she's seen again since she got here. Is she being followed? A feeling which recurs as she takes a walk around the area surrounding the complex they are staying in. Surely she's imagining things, way out here?
The whole vibe of something being off seemed to rub off onto me as a reader - the reasons for Jack wanting to write this book in the first place make for a feeling of mistrust among the characters and in what Jack is reporting as "his side of the story". He feels very much like an unreliable narrator, but why would that be if the whole point of the book is to put the record straight? Catherine Ryan Howard's writing skills certainly portray the discomfort being felt by Emily so in that respect this is a successful novel but whether I can use the word "enjoyable" I'm not sure. I found it to be quite a strange reading experience from start to finish. That said, I didn't dislike the book although I did feel like I blinked and missed a bit near the end and had to go back and reread a section in case I had flicked over a couple of pages by mistake. I hadn't.
I personally found this to be my least favourite of this author's books, but I won't let that put me off reading the rest of her back list. 3.5 stars out of 5 for this one.
About the Author:
Catherine Ryan Howard is an award-winning, no. 1 bestselling thriller writer from Cork, Ireland. Her novels have been included in the New York Times Best Thrillers of the Year, the Washington Post’s Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Year and the Sunday Times Best Thrillers of the Year. Her work has been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the CWA New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Daggers, and the Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year multiple times. She is published in 20 languages and a number of titles are being developed for screen. An adaptation of her lockdown thriller, 56 DAYS, starring Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia, will debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in early 2026. She lives in Dublin.
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