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mfrabbiele's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
readers_block's review against another edition
3.0
I think I honestly would have liked this book better if she had just turned out to be a psycho who killed her husband. I felt like the whole thing was pretty good but then unraveled in the last twenty pages, with a series of too-neat coincidences and things to tie up the plot. People who played barely any part in the book turned out to have an outsize role in what happened, which I didn't love.
It was fun throughout (I liked the fact that she interspersed bits of the podcast in there and that's how we found out major plot points), but overall not a standout for someone who reads a lot of thrillers.
It was fun throughout (I liked the fact that she interspersed bits of the podcast in there and that's how we found out major plot points), but overall not a standout for someone who reads a lot of thrillers.
lottiereads's review against another edition
3.0
Okay… soo does anyone else want to see Sophie get murdered for scaring the crap out of everyone!! I nearly quit this book at about 78% in but ploughed though and I’m sooo glad I did!! The twist!!!
dany_v's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
birtee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
mommasaystoread's review against another edition
3.0
With so many psychological thrillers out there, they really need to stand out to be seen above the competition. Unfortunately, this one does not. It's an okay read, but that's about as far as I'd go. I think what ultimately hurt this one is that there is just too much going on. All the back and forth as well as so many different threads was just too much. It just ended up being a distraction. Overall, the story isn't a bad one, but it's not a particularly good one either, which lands me smack in the middle.
becca_9393's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
3.0
This book sounded just like the kind of book that I was going to love. A murdered husband and a wife who can't remember what happened. A podcast re-investigating the case - sign me up.
I did enjoy The Murder of Graham Cotton,. It was addictive and had all the elements of a fantastic psychological thriller. I love books that reveal the truth over multiple time lines and plenty of twists. Hannah, the wife, was not the most likeable of women.
The narrator did a fantastic job
Thanks to Harper Collins UK for my audiobook via Netgalley to read.
I did enjoy The Murder of Graham Cotton,. It was addictive and had all the elements of a fantastic psychological thriller. I love books that reveal the truth over multiple time lines and plenty of twists. Hannah, the wife, was not the most likeable of women.
The narrator did a fantastic job
Thanks to Harper Collins UK for my audiobook via Netgalley to read.
laurenkd89's review against another edition
3.0
Hannah McLelland is a psychologist living in a small town, going along with her life somewhat happily. Until a hit true crime podcast called Conviction returns for its newest season, targeting Hannah's past life as its topic, and pointing the crosshairs right at Hannah.
Ten years ago, Hannah's husband Graham was murdered in his bed in their London flat, with Hannah unconscious in the bathroom and their infant daughter asleep upstairs. Hannah doesn't remember anything from that night, despite being in the house. The police gathered some evidence and a jury put away a young man named Mike Phillips, who's now been in prison for ten years. But Conviction intends to show that the prosecution's case against Mike was full of holes, and they really should have gone after someone else instead: Hannah.
The premise of this book was intriguing - I'm a fan of the trend of integrating podcasts into domestic thrillers, sort of like [b:The Night Swim|51169341|The Night Swim|Megan Goldin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569898236l/51169341._SY75_.jpg|70932279]. Whereas The Night Swim was told from the podcaster's perspective, Possession is told from the victim/target's perspective - and it's certainly an unreliable one. Hannah is an extremely unreliable and rather unlikeable main character. This is probably how she's meant to be portrayed, and sometimes this choice makes for an interesting, twisty read, but I just ended up hating Hannah by the end of it all.
As other reviewers have said, this book also tries to do A LOT. There are a ton of storylines floating around: her interest/obsession with Hawkwood House, leaning more Gothic/Ruth Ware-y; her frenemyship with her boss, Sarah; her somewhat fraught relationships with her daughter Evie and boyfriend Dan; the tragic history with one of her patients; the current work she's doing with another patient; the weird kind of haunting of her dead husband; flashbacks to her husband when he was alive; and the podcast. Whew! It's a lot to keep track of, and not everything ties up nicely at the end. I think it could have moved a bit faster and leaner without some of these excess plots weighing down the main story.
Overall, this was not a bad read, and I sped through the last 25% or so in the way that good thrillers make you want to do. But the execution probably could have been a tad bit stronger. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!
Ten years ago, Hannah's husband Graham was murdered in his bed in their London flat, with Hannah unconscious in the bathroom and their infant daughter asleep upstairs. Hannah doesn't remember anything from that night, despite being in the house. The police gathered some evidence and a jury put away a young man named Mike Phillips, who's now been in prison for ten years. But Conviction intends to show that the prosecution's case against Mike was full of holes, and they really should have gone after someone else instead: Hannah.
The premise of this book was intriguing - I'm a fan of the trend of integrating podcasts into domestic thrillers, sort of like [b:The Night Swim|51169341|The Night Swim|Megan Goldin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569898236l/51169341._SY75_.jpg|70932279]. Whereas The Night Swim was told from the podcaster's perspective, Possession is told from the victim/target's perspective - and it's certainly an unreliable one. Hannah is an extremely unreliable and rather unlikeable main character. This is probably how she's meant to be portrayed, and sometimes this choice makes for an interesting, twisty read, but I just ended up hating Hannah by the end of it all.
As other reviewers have said, this book also tries to do A LOT. There are a ton of storylines floating around: her interest/obsession with Hawkwood House, leaning more Gothic/Ruth Ware-y; her frenemyship with her boss, Sarah; her somewhat fraught relationships with her daughter Evie and boyfriend Dan; the tragic history with one of her patients; the current work she's doing with another patient; the weird kind of haunting of her dead husband; flashbacks to her husband when he was alive; and the podcast. Whew! It's a lot to keep track of, and not everything ties up nicely at the end. I think it could have moved a bit faster and leaner without some of these excess plots weighing down the main story.
Overall, this was not a bad read, and I sped through the last 25% or so in the way that good thrillers make you want to do. But the execution probably could have been a tad bit stronger. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!