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mvhartv's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the alternate chapter structure and the concept, but not the feeling of claustrophobia that persisted throughout and certainly not the end.
mamabh's review against another edition
3.0
A very intriguing idea. Kept me guessing and thinking. I wasn’t sure how it would/could end, but I couldn’t have been more pleased.
kayleigh1309's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to on audio. Really not sure how I feel about this one. I loved the concept of a sliding doors type story but the reality was I found it very confusing to follow. Maybe if I’d read it, it would have been a different experience… who knows. I felt it went on a bit in places but some bits I really enjoyed which is why I’ve given it a “middle of the road” 3 stars.
silentsyren's review against another edition
3.0
It had a great premise and good execution. However, I felt as though Joanna was punished either way, and for something that any other woman would understand. The Conceal Joanna got too paranoid and the Reveal Joanna got too passive. I had a hard time in the middle of the book, which is why this one took me longer than normal.
endlesslycurious's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting concept for a story and it is not a bad book by any means. It is just that it is average. It is probably the most average book I have read this year. The protagonist is foolishly naive and makes bad decisions on both of her paths. She isn't very interesting which is probably what this book lacks. It doesn't help that her partner is also naive. I just wish this intriguing concept had better execution.
cassies_books_reviews's review against another edition
4.0
Imagine walking home in the dark after having drinks with a girlfriend, you hear the sound of footsteps coming up behind you, you stop the footsteps stop. You hear the blood pounding in your ears. You starting picking up the pace you turn around give the person a shove. This is the situation are main character Joanna finds herself in. The unknown assailant is at the bottom of the stairs not moving. She believes it’s the man that was aggressive at the bar after she ignored him, but it’s not. The man is unconscious laying in an awkward position. Should she do the right thing and call an ambulance, explain why she shoved him?, or should she run from the scene? This is where the book takes off the author gives us two different scenarios like sliding doors, going back in forth where if Joanna ‘reveals’ where she reports herself and calls an ambulance and the other where she ‘conceal’ where she hides what she has done and lives with the guilt of being discovered. It’s gives the reader an inside look of having to live with one mistake for the rest of your life a fight or flight with only seconds with having to live with the choice you make. You face morals and the judgement of others even from your own partner and friends. I read this book quickly and I could relate with Joanna at times. I give this book four stars!
damppebbles's review against another edition
4.0
I am absolutely ashamed to admit that I haven’t (as yet!) managed to read McAllister’s debut, Everything But The Truth. It’s another of my TBR that’s been giving me that come-hither look for a while now but thanks to my need to overindulge in blog tours it’s been left, literally ‘stood up’ on my bookshelf! I promise, after having read the wonderful Anything You Do Say, to make it a top priority!
Anything You Do Say is quite possibly the cleverest suspense thriller I have read. The author has managed to write two different stories (albeit with the same characters) in the one book! Two for the price of one; what a bargain us readers are getting. Following a night out and a frightening confrontation in a bar, Joanna heads home to husband Reuben. Traipsing the streets of London she is suddenly aware that someone is following her. A quick glance tells her it’s the man from the bar, the one that…. Joanna starts to panic, she knows he’s followed her so he can finish what he started. Utterly consumed by fear and panic she lashes out at her attacker and watches as he falls, head first into a shallow puddle at the foot of the steps. In a moment of misguided self-defence, Joanna has changed her life forever. Now, the decision she makes will dictate the direction which her life takes. Call the police and report the incident or run home to Reuben and pretend it never happened. Which decision will it be…?
The reader is given a fascinating ‘Sliding Doors-esque‘ look into what happens to gentle, indecisive Joanna as she changes her life forever. The chapters are headed either ‘cover‘, where Joanna decides to run away from what she’s done and hide her crime from everyone, even her husband Reuben or ‘reveal‘, where Joanna dials 999 and has to live with the consequences of that decision. I found it riveting reading, the differences created; the repercussions of her situation and how it affects absolutely everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) else in her life. Throughout the reveal chapters, I could feel Joanna’s despair emanating from the pages in front of me. During the cover chapters, I watched as the decision totally devastated a nice, normal middle-class woman bit by agonising bit.
I’m not sure I liked Joanna. I wanted to, and I really felt for her but I don’t think we got anywhere near the ‘liking’ stage. I found her a little too dreamy at times and wanted to give her a good shake so she’d wake up and actually face what was happening to her. Joanna’s husband, Reuben is also quite a frustrating character. He’s very closed off to everyone around him, apart from his wife who he adores in his own, special way. I desperately wanted him to notice that Joanna was gradually falling apart during the cover but he was oblivious. Despite not really liking either of the main characters I was, however, totally invested in their lives and where, whether it be cover or reveal, they were headed.
Beautifully written and heartbreaking in places; my congratulations to McAllister for the amount of intricate research she has put into this novel. As a reader, it was incredibly obvious to me how much time and effort had gone in to making Joanna and Reuben come alive.
Would I recommend this book? I would. I don’t think I’ve read a suspense novel quite like this before. It takes a little while to get your head around the fact that you are, essentially, reading two different stories about the same characters but it’s well worth it. In a perfect world, I would have liked a more surprising conclusion but that’s just me and my personal taste! Nothing more. A great read with a very interesting plot which pulls you in and keeps you hooked till the end.
Four out of five stars.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Anything You Do Say. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
Anything You Do Say is quite possibly the cleverest suspense thriller I have read. The author has managed to write two different stories (albeit with the same characters) in the one book! Two for the price of one; what a bargain us readers are getting. Following a night out and a frightening confrontation in a bar, Joanna heads home to husband Reuben. Traipsing the streets of London she is suddenly aware that someone is following her. A quick glance tells her it’s the man from the bar, the one that…. Joanna starts to panic, she knows he’s followed her so he can finish what he started. Utterly consumed by fear and panic she lashes out at her attacker and watches as he falls, head first into a shallow puddle at the foot of the steps. In a moment of misguided self-defence, Joanna has changed her life forever. Now, the decision she makes will dictate the direction which her life takes. Call the police and report the incident or run home to Reuben and pretend it never happened. Which decision will it be…?
The reader is given a fascinating ‘Sliding Doors-esque‘ look into what happens to gentle, indecisive Joanna as she changes her life forever. The chapters are headed either ‘cover‘, where Joanna decides to run away from what she’s done and hide her crime from everyone, even her husband Reuben or ‘reveal‘, where Joanna dials 999 and has to live with the consequences of that decision. I found it riveting reading, the differences created; the repercussions of her situation and how it affects absolutely everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) else in her life. Throughout the reveal chapters, I could feel Joanna’s despair emanating from the pages in front of me. During the cover chapters, I watched as the decision totally devastated a nice, normal middle-class woman bit by agonising bit.
I’m not sure I liked Joanna. I wanted to, and I really felt for her but I don’t think we got anywhere near the ‘liking’ stage. I found her a little too dreamy at times and wanted to give her a good shake so she’d wake up and actually face what was happening to her. Joanna’s husband, Reuben is also quite a frustrating character. He’s very closed off to everyone around him, apart from his wife who he adores in his own, special way. I desperately wanted him to notice that Joanna was gradually falling apart during the cover but he was oblivious. Despite not really liking either of the main characters I was, however, totally invested in their lives and where, whether it be cover or reveal, they were headed.
Beautifully written and heartbreaking in places; my congratulations to McAllister for the amount of intricate research she has put into this novel. As a reader, it was incredibly obvious to me how much time and effort had gone in to making Joanna and Reuben come alive.
Would I recommend this book? I would. I don’t think I’ve read a suspense novel quite like this before. It takes a little while to get your head around the fact that you are, essentially, reading two different stories about the same characters but it’s well worth it. In a perfect world, I would have liked a more surprising conclusion but that’s just me and my personal taste! Nothing more. A great read with a very interesting plot which pulls you in and keeps you hooked till the end.
Four out of five stars.
I chose to read and review an eARC of Anything You Do Say. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
thequirkymomnextdoor's review against another edition
3.0
I love the way this was written with the two possibilities playing out but I don't really like the ending. It kept my attention but I feel like there could have been more to it. I liked it. 3 and a half stars.
marigold82's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0