The Fall by Gilly Macmillan @CenturyBooksUK @GillyMacMillan #TheFall #bookreview #booktwt #NetGalley

 

The Fall by Gilly Macmillan

Published by Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century

Publication Date: 25th May 2023

Book Description:

Be careful what you wish for...

Nicole and Tom's lives are changed overnight by a ten-million-pound lottery win.

Before they know it they've moved into a state-of-the-art Glass Barn conversion in the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire.

But their dream quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool, with a wound on his head.

Someone close to home must be responsible. But other than the young couple who live in the Manor, and their housekeeper in the Coach House next door, there's no one around for miles.

Who among them is capable of murder?

My Thoughts:

Nicole and Tom are the ideal couple, devoted to one another and quite happy with their lot, living an average life in their average house on a regular housing estate. Then their fortunes change with a staggering £10 million win on the lottery. They have a state-of-the-art, all singing, all dancing smart home built in the area where Nicole has fond memories of visiting as a child with her dad. Tom is a very passive person, he's happy as long as Nicole is happy. The only thing he insists on is having the best technology in the house that money can buy - and they clearly have no problems there - oh, and every man's dream: the flash Maserati on the drive. Nicole's more than happy keeping herself busy with the interior design of the property, but she has a strong dislike of all the techy stuff Tom has had installed. The camera and security system should put her mind at rest that they are safe from intruders and the like, but it's constantly glitching and she can't get to grips with the controls. Tom says he'll get it sorted but he never seems to get round to it and it sets her on edge rather than calming her nerves.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints, but it's always crystal clear whose voice the reader is hearing, so this is never an issue. The reader gets to hear different people's opinions and secrets that are never vocalised to anyone else but even so, when Nicole returns home from a day out to find Tom dead in the pool we are as much in the dark as she is. 

I don't think there is a reliable narrator among the whole cast of this book - except maybe the detectives, Hal and Jen. Nobody is exactly who they purport to be and some of the later revelations were particularly shocking. There are the obvious ones who make up the bulk of the story but some of the others will be complete curve balls - unless I'm just not particularly astute at noticing the clues!

May be some events in the story are a little far-fetched, but not to the point of being off-putting. I did however feel the ending ran out of steam a little compared with the detail of earlier parts of the book but there is the potential that the whole thing could have dragged on too much if it were any different.

A very engaging read - the moral of the story: Trust no-one!

About the Author:

Gilly Macmillan is the New York Times bestselling and Edgar-nominated author of What She Knew, The Perfect Girl, Odd Child Out, I Know You Know, The Nanny and To Tell You The Truth.

She grew up in Swindon and studied at Bristol University and The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She has worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery and has been a lecturer in photography.

She now writes full-time and lives in Bristol with her family.

The End of Us by Olivia Kiernan #NetGalley @QuercusBooks #bookreview @LivKiernan #TheEndOfUs @riverrunbooks

 

The End of Us by Olivia Kiernan

Published by Quercus Books, riverrun

Publication Date: 27th April 2023

Book Description:

It all started to go wrong the day the Wrights moved in next door

Myles and Lana Butler live on a gorgeous new development in Wimbledon, leaning on a mortgage that is just within reach. When one of Myles' investments fails they are bound to lose everything.

Gabriel and Holly Wright have just moved in next door. The Wrights are sophisticated, ambitious and apparently very wealthy. At an after-dinner drink with their new neighbours, Myles and Lana share their worries and a solution is suggested between the couples. Life Insurance fraud. For a cut of the pay out, the Wrights would help them.

No one thought they were being serious. No one agreed they'd actually go through with it. And no one mentioned it would involve murder.

Then, one night, Lana doesn't come home.

My Thoughts:

Myles and Lana Butler: the local GP and his beautiful wife. The impression of a successful life must be maintained at all costs. The truth of the situation is that Lana's father has financially supported them in their move to Belvedere Court, alongside a mortgage which was always only just within reach. Then an investment suggested by their bank manager goes spectacularly wrong, leaving Myles in danger of losing the house and everything they own. His panic about Lana discovering their precarious position leads him to make some decidedly dodgy decisions - but none of these is a shadow of the proposition made to him at a dinner party with new neighbours Gabriel and Holly Wright.

A few weeks later, Gabe manages to secure admission for them all to a gala dinner - the perfect chance for Myles to network professionally in the hope of establishing some new contacts and potentially new opportunities.  Lana never makes it home after the event, and from there on in life will never be the same for Myles - the pace picks up and quickly spirals out of his control. He is well and truly out of his depth. Can he manage to get both his work and personal life back under control or will the authorities in both cases get to the answers before him? Many of the characters are decidedly shady, and it really is a race against time which will determine the outcome for Myles. 

This is an excellent storyline which will have you trying to work things out even when you don't have the book in your hand - whether it would be as easy to emulate a person's disappearance as easily as the book suggests, I'm not convinced but it does make for a cracking read!

About the Author:

Olivia Kiernan is an Irish writer living in the UK. She was born and raised in County Meath, near the famed heritage town of Kells and holds an MA in Creative Writing awarded by the University of Sussex. The Murder Box is the fourth book in the acclaimed Frankie Sheehan series.

The Summer Holiday by SE Lynes #NetGalley @bookouture #TheSummerHoliday @SELynesAuthor #e-arc

 

The Summer Holiday by SE Lynes

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 9th May 2023

Book Description:

One loving couple. One surprise guest. One week to destroy everything…

When the doorbell rings, I take one last look round the villa. The nuts and olives are in bowls; the white wine is chilling in the fridge; everything is ready for my old college friend, the guest I’m dying to impress.

When I open the door, Coco steps from the dusty street into the cool tiled hall, as effortlessly beautiful as ever. But then her face freezes in horror, her mouth falling open. I turn to see my husband Jeff behind me, his eyes wide, his cheeks pale.

After a moment, they both smile, pretending nothing happened at all. But I know what I saw.

This holiday was meant to rescue my marriage, not ruin it.

But the connection between my friend and my husband isn’t what I thought.

All three of us have something to lose, and something to fight for.

And when the truth comes out, not all of us will survive…

My Thoughts:

If ever there's a cautionary tale which reinforces the saying "Be careful what you wish for" this would be it.  With husband Jeff ploughing all his efforts into his career, and wife Kate setting up her own business in catering which she started from home while their daughter was growing up, their marriage has very much taken a backseat over the years. Kate is hoping a fortnight away at the villa they own in Spain will be the chance to press the reset button and get their relationship back on track. The prologue of this book tells us that Kate's hopes probably aren't going to be fulfilled, but which of the women featured in the book will prove to be the one running barefoot down the road remains to be seen.

The setting for this book is stunning, and the photographs featured on the author's social media pages recently really helped me set the scene in my head. The beaches, bars, and cafes are a perfect backdrop for Kate's planned holiday. Then as she strolls along the beach one day, Kate can't quite believe who she's seeing: one of the most popular students in her year group at Leeds University, the sassy Coco Moss, sitting with her family at a bar. Kate always craved to be part of Coco's clique of friends back in the day - maybe she can make that a reality now she and Jeff have a far more desirable lifestyle than they did back in Leeds?

Personally, I wanted to shake Kate as she tried her best to impress Coco. She seemed to revert back to a silly teenager trying to impress the cool kids at school - and Jeff wasn't much better either. Coco represents everything I dislike in people who seem to think they are better than others. They just make me prickle! We quickly see from the chapters written from Coco and Jeff's points of view that there are many layers to be peeled away in order to get to the truth of just who Coco Moss is, and how she coasts through life. I was silently screaming at Kate that she really would be better off in blissful ignorance and not getting involved, but that wouldn't make for the gritty story we are left with once the bomb goes off and all three of them are left picking up the pieces.

Was I happy with the ending? Hell, no! I was not impressed with where everyone ended up but I do love that the author has made me so mad! I'm genuinely looking forward to reading people's opinions on this book and how things pan out for the various characters. This could be an interesting choice for book clubs with its selection of moral dilemmas to discuss.

About the Author:

Formerly a BBC producer, S.E. Lynes turned to writing following the birth of her third child. After completing an MA in Creative Writing, she became a tutor at Richmond Adult Community College, where she taught creative writing for over ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing. Her debut, Valentina, was published by Blackbird Digital Books in 2016. Her next book, the dark and twisting best seller, Mother, was published by Bookouture in November 2017 and Susie has gone on to publish gripping psychological thrillers with them ever since.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh @BooksSphere @claremackint0sh #bloggersbuybooks #bookreview #paperbackbooks

 

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

Published by Sphere Books (an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group

Publication Date: 4th August 2022 (hardback)

Book Description:

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.

His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year's Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.

The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family - and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.

My Thoughts:

I am a big fan of Clare Mackintosh's writing since I read her early book "I Let You Go", but somehow this one managed to wait on my shelf a good six months before I finally managed to get to it (sorry Clare!).  I love the cover design, which is one reason I am so surprised that it took me such a long time to read it - I am a bit of a "cover judge" and will often be swayed to buy/pick up a book purely because of its beauty. I also like when there is a map of the area covered in the book (tick!) and this time I found the author's list of cast members particularly useful. There are quite a few people introduced in a short time and having that list as reference at the start of the book really helped me.

The scene is set around Llyn Drych, a lake on the border of England and Wales and the nearby village of Cwm Coed - don't worry about how to pronounce these Welsh place names, there are handy pronunciation references along the way, and I found that because they're a bit tricky for us English folks it helped reinforce the sense of a divide between the English side of the lake and the Welsh side. Hostilities run deep between some of the locals and the residents of the new resort, named The Shore, which sits on the English bank of the lake.  The fact that the developer happens to be a long-time resident of the Welsh village only helps to underpin the locals' resentment that the resort even came into existence.

Rhys Lloyd grew up in Cwm Coed but shot to fame after being discovered in a local Eistedfodd, or music festival. His fame changed his life completely, although whether this was for the better is debatable after he is found floating in the lake on New Year's Day following the opening party for The Shore. This was the point I first found the cast list useful, as residents and villagers are introduced in quick-fire succession. 

Local detective Ffion Morgan is drafted in from the Welsh constabulary to investigate, and there's only one person as shocked as she is when her English counterpart Leo Brady signs in as the English contingent on the case.  It appears it's not the first time they've met...

With such a large cast and so many secrets held within Cwm Coed over decades, if not centuries, of small-town friendships and gossip, there are lots of opportunities for the author to plant red herrings and to smoke screen who is responsible for maybe having a hand in Rhys's demise, and indeed who could be trying to protect him when he was unable to defend himself. One of the characters points out that you're not considered to be a local until you have at least four generations laid to rest in the local graveyard, so the detectives' job of solving the case was never going to be easy. The simmering relationship between the two detectives is another thread to the storyline and I enjoyed seeing how the two worked around the elephant in the room whilst remaining professional and getting the job done.

There are many layers to this storyline and it's easy to get so engrossed that you lose track of time. The writing flows so easily off the pages. The main characters have plenty of depth to them and I grew to love a few of them as much as I continued to dislike some of the others along the way.

Personally, I give this book a strong 4-star review, the last star missing due to the large cast list which at times made the story feel a little too busy.

About the Author:

Clare Mackintosh is a police officer turned crime writer, and the multi-award-winning author of six Sunday Times bestselling novels. Translated into forty languages, her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide and have spent a combined total of sixty-six weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller chart. Clare lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children. For more information visit Clare’s website http://www.claremackintosh.com or find her at http://www.facebook.com/ClareMackWrites or on Twitter @ClareMackint0sh

The Hike by Lucy Clarke @lucyclarkebooks @HarperCollinsUK #NetGalley #TheHike #bookreview #BookTwitter

 The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Published by HarperCollins UK

Publication Date: 27th April 2023

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.

Book Description:

THE PERFECT DAY FOR A HIKE

Leaving behind their everyday lives, four friends hike out into the beautiful Norwegian wild – nothing between them and the mountain peak but forest, sea and sharp blue sky.

THE PERFECT PLACE TO DISAPPEAR

But there’s a darker side to the wilderness. A woman went missing here one year ago, scarring the mountain with suspicion and unanswered questions.

Now, the friends are hiking into the heart of the mystery. And waiting on the trail is someone who’d do anything to keep their secrets buried – and to stop the group walking away alive. 

My Thoughts:

One of my favourite books ever was written by Lucy Clarke, so to be offered the opportunity to read this new one ahead of publication is absolutely amazing - thank you so much to the team at Harper Collins UK!

The four friends featured in this book go way back to school days and have been a pretty tight group of four ever since. Even though they have very diverse jobs and family situations back home they have kept in close touch and insist on a girls' trip away every year. This year local GP Liz has decided they need something a little more challenging than a week soaking up the sun and has chosen to make a childhood dream come true and come hiking up a mountain in Norway. Not everyone is keen on the idea - in fact Joni hasn't even responded to the suggestion, so it's just the three others who set off on the trip of a lifetime to climb the mountain which featured in their school geography project.

The first part of the book, the preparation for the trip and the travel there, is fairly slow but sets the scene that despite all the ladies being a tight knit group that certainly doesn't mean they don't have secrets from one another - and quite significant ones at that. Once part two kicks in and the mountain starts making its presence felt then the pace ramps up - and, it would seem, the ladies aren't the only ones with secrets. The locals let slip that a woman went missing at the same time the previous year - and some of them are more touchy about it than others. What is it between a small group of them which creates such a bad atmosphere the night before the girls set off on their trek? 

I loved reading about the experiences of the different women on the hike - the fact that Liz was the only one who had done any of the prep work and exercise plan beforehand; Maggie's worries about her daughter and whether she's brave enough to complete the journey and Helena's constant whinging about her blisters right from the get-go. The mood changes as the weather closes in and the plot takes a decidedly sinister turn.  Will any or all of the women get back safely? And who is that who keeps making shadowy appearances along the way?

I was perched on the edge of my seat at one part of the story (and literally yelled "NOOO!" at my kindle at one of the characters for the action they took) and I can say quite assertively that I won't be signing up for a mountain hike in Norway anytime soon, no matter how beautiful the scenery is before the weather takes a turn for the worse!

A great story of friendship and how far we will push ourselves out of our comfort zone for those we love.

About the Author:

Lucy Clarke has a first class degree in English Literature, and is a passionate traveller and diarist. She has worked as a presenter of social enterprise events, a creative writing workshop leader, and she is now a full-time novelist. Lucy is married to James Cox, a professional windsurfer, and together they spend their winters travelling and their summers at their home on the south coast of England.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister @MichaelJBooks @GillianMAuthor #NetGalley #bookreview #WrongPlaceWrongTime

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Published by Penguin Michael Joseph UK

Publication Date: 12th May 2022 (hardback), 2nd March 2023

My thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to this book in order to offer my review.

Book Description:

CAN YOU STOP A MURDER AFTER IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED?

It's late. You're waiting up for your son.

Then you spot him: he's with someone. And - you can't believe what you see - your funny, happy teenage boy stabs this stranger.

You don't know who. You don't know why. You only know your son is charged with murder. His future is lost.

That night you fall asleep in despair. But when you wake . . . it is yesterday. The day before the murder.

Somewhere in the past lie the answers - a reason for this crime.

And your only chance to stop it . . .

My Thoughts:

The first thing to say about this book is: wow! I am blown away with the planning of this book.

Secondly, do not let the whole "time travel" thing put you off. That is the whole reason I left this book on my shelf for SO long, thinking that I wouldn't be in the mood for a book with a sci-fi slant. How wrong was I? Although our main character is indeed stuck in a time loop, it doesn't affect the feel of the book as it is very much a mystery thriller but very cleverly written in reverse. Kind of. I very much wish I had read this book as soon as it landed on my virtual shelf and am SO impressed with Gillian McAllister's ability to write this book, keeping all the facts in order and lined up despite working in the opposite direction to the way this kind of book usually works.

Jen and Kelly have a great relationship. They met when Kelly arrived at Jen's father's law firm, him touting for business as a painter and decorator. Kelly is mega chilled, so laid back he's horizontal, as the saying goes. Jen is the super organised one, the disciplinarian who makes sure their 18 year old son Todd knows right from wrong and is one of the nice guys. It is therefore a major shock when Jen watches as her son comes home from a night out, is approached by an older guy. Todd turns and stabs him to death outside their family home. He's arrested and taken to the police station where he's kept for questioning.  Jen and Kelly have no choice but to return home, shocked and tired, leaving Todd to the consequences of his actions. Or do they?

Jen wakes up the next morning - except it's not the next morning, it's the day before. Once Jen can compute in her mind what's going on, she realises she's been sent back in a time loop in an attempt to put things right for her son and change his future. 

It's a few days since I completed this book and I am still totally overwhelmed at how an author can so accurately write this storyline. Every detail was spot on in how it fitted with other facts in the book later on (or earlier, depending on how you look at it). The characters are fleshed out perfectly at the various ages they would have been given the change in period. It's all just SO DARNED CLEVER and the conclusion to the book was an absolute pleasure after reading the challenges Jen and Kelly had to face along the way. I can honestly say I have never read a book like this before and Gillian has set the bar so high if any other author wants to try a similar theme for their next book.

About the Author:

Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the following novels:

Everything But The Truth (2017)

Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America

No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America

The Evidence Against You (2019)

How To Disappear (2020)

That Night (2021)

Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)

All are standalone and can be read in any order.