Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The characters got a bit annoying at times but the overall book and ending was amazing. I had a really hard time putting this down even with the difficult characters.
Excellent, excellent, excellent!!!
Couldn't put it down, finished it in 3 days but I would have read it in one day if I hadn't other things to do.
One of the best books I read in quite a while.
Couldn't put it down, finished it in 3 days but I would have read it in one day if I hadn't other things to do.
One of the best books I read in quite a while.
dark
slow-paced
Does this do what a thriller should? Absolutely. I had to stop reading for a bit to read something else for work and I was highly annoyed because I just wanted to keep going. If you like domestic thrillers in general I would read it. It's good enough at what it's trying to do. That being said, I wasn't blown away.
Some (very spoilery) thoughts:
-It is genuinely absurd that Helen didn't put 2 and 2 together in the end regarding Serena. Just absolutely not believable. And I think it's supposed to give us this tense moment of "wait, is she going to get away with her part in this?" but I didn't really feel that tension, it just made Helen, Katie, and Charlie look stupid.
-Katie feels like a pretty obvious author insert character.
-The use of rape as a plot device in this is not... awful in the way it often is with male writers but I didn't love it. A large part of the plot revolves around "who was the rape victim" and "are any of these men that surround Helen rapists" and the "current" rape victim exists only for plot (and maybe to give Katie character?).
-For a book that changed perspectives between several characters, I didn't feel that the different women's voices were as different as I would want them to be.
Final thoughts: not bad, it kept me interested. If you like domestic thrillers you should pick it up if it sounds interesting.
Some (very spoilery) thoughts:
Spoiler
-It is genuinely absurd that Helen didn't put 2 and 2 together in the end regarding Serena. Just absolutely not believable. And I think it's supposed to give us this tense moment of "wait, is she going to get away with her part in this?" but I didn't really feel that tension, it just made Helen, Katie, and Charlie look stupid.
-Katie feels like a pretty obvious author insert character.
-The use of rape as a plot device in this is not... awful in the way it often is with male writers but I didn't love it. A large part of the plot revolves around "who was the rape victim" and "are any of these men that surround Helen rapists" and the "current" rape victim exists only for plot (and maybe to give Katie character?).
-For a book that changed perspectives between several characters, I didn't feel that the different women's voices were as different as I would want them to be.
Final thoughts: not bad, it kept me interested. If you like domestic thrillers you should pick it up if it sounds interesting.
“Greenwich Park” is going to be a 2021 smash hit! This is exactly how thrillers should be done - sharp, twisty, brutal, clever, unexpected and unputdownable. This is a must-read for all readers, not just fans of crime fiction.
When Helen meets Rachel at an antenatal class she thinks she’s made a slightly unconventional, but nice enough new friend. When she starts to bump into Rachel increasingly frequently, Helen thinks she may have taken on more than she bargained for. As Rachel infiltrates more and more of her life, Helen becomes convinced that she may have ulterior motives for forging their “friendship”. As Helen questions Rachel’s motives more and more, dark secrets from Helen’s closest friends and family’s past begin to seep through the cracks of their seemingly perfect lives. Just who exactly is Rachel, what does she want and who is she connected to already?
Reading “Greenwich Park” is like walking a tightrope a million miles in the air. Tension, mystery and fraught atmosphere exudes from every page. This is such an accomplished mystery that I found it hard to believe that I was reading a debut throughout the entirety of the narrative. Faulkner writes with the style and ease of a novelist with many books under their belt and she expertly crafts a complex, twisted mystery that I could not guess the ending to. I had plenty of suspicions as events unfolded, but Faulkner is excellent at steering the reader in one direction, only to spin them 180 degrees. The layers of misdirection and the ever expanding ripples of events are extremely accomplished and you will be kept guessing until the very final page. There are certainly some gasp-inducing reveals, but the real power of this novel is that it is all so plausible. As the final truths are revealed, there will likely be some things that you have suspected confirmed, but it’s the way Faulkner effortlessly and logically stitches this intricate web of lies and torment together that will have you thinking, “Of course, everything makes sense...how did I not see all this coming!?” It is definitely one of those novels you will want to read immediately again, knowing what you now know.
The format Faulkner has chosen is also very clever and not like anything I’ve read before. Split into sections that reflect the number of weeks Helen (and Serena, roughly) are pregnant, the narrative progresses with an impending sense of the baby’s arrival, which adds an underlying tension that meanders throughout the increasingly stressful scenarios that Helen finds herself in. The novel is also written from multiple character viewpoints, which is becoming an increasing staple of crime fiction, but Faulkner does it extremely well. The chapters are predominantly written in first person from the lead female characters’ perspectives (excluding Rachel) and Faulkner has created distinct voices for each. Helen is slightly self-deprecating and meek character who is the lead voice. She lacks confidence, but she gives off an air of trust and reliability. The narrative is very much a journey for Helen and it is interesting to see how she grows and develops, her past and present tragedies define her to some degree, but she finds herself and is reborn as a mother. Serena is the opposite of Helen - a sleek, glamorous, confident woman who is slightly aloof and a little icy. Her chapters help to heighten the tension in the plot, as she’s a much more guarded and mysterious character. Katie is a reporter with a naturally inquisitive nature, who we discover snippets of information with along the way. She is the character I enjoyed reading the most - she’s confident, opinionated and gutsy, whilst remaining down to earth and unequivocally likeable. Her dedication to finding the truth is admirable and I trusted her voice entirely throughout. Although there aren’t any chapters written in her first-person voice, Rachel is the centre of the narrative and Faulkner has created a marvellously complex character. As the narrative progressed and my suspicions started to formulate, I was constantly shifting opinions between whether Rachel was an outright villain, a mentally disturbed delinquent or a mentally destroyed victim. As Rachel’s truth was revealed, it is safe to say that it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, which is testament to Faulkner’s skill as a writer. There are very definite shades of noir at play here and I enjoyed trying determine who exactly was a femme fatale in this group of women. Even if some of my suspicions rang true, there’s so much depth and richness to this story, I was left feeling excited and satisfied as I turned the final page. This is just what I want in a thriller!
Quite frankly, this is a triumph of a debut novel and it should be at the top of your “to be read” pile as soon as it’s released! Highly, highly recommend.
When Helen meets Rachel at an antenatal class she thinks she’s made a slightly unconventional, but nice enough new friend. When she starts to bump into Rachel increasingly frequently, Helen thinks she may have taken on more than she bargained for. As Rachel infiltrates more and more of her life, Helen becomes convinced that she may have ulterior motives for forging their “friendship”. As Helen questions Rachel’s motives more and more, dark secrets from Helen’s closest friends and family’s past begin to seep through the cracks of their seemingly perfect lives. Just who exactly is Rachel, what does she want and who is she connected to already?
Reading “Greenwich Park” is like walking a tightrope a million miles in the air. Tension, mystery and fraught atmosphere exudes from every page. This is such an accomplished mystery that I found it hard to believe that I was reading a debut throughout the entirety of the narrative. Faulkner writes with the style and ease of a novelist with many books under their belt and she expertly crafts a complex, twisted mystery that I could not guess the ending to. I had plenty of suspicions as events unfolded, but Faulkner is excellent at steering the reader in one direction, only to spin them 180 degrees. The layers of misdirection and the ever expanding ripples of events are extremely accomplished and you will be kept guessing until the very final page. There are certainly some gasp-inducing reveals, but the real power of this novel is that it is all so plausible. As the final truths are revealed, there will likely be some things that you have suspected confirmed, but it’s the way Faulkner effortlessly and logically stitches this intricate web of lies and torment together that will have you thinking, “Of course, everything makes sense...how did I not see all this coming!?” It is definitely one of those novels you will want to read immediately again, knowing what you now know.
The format Faulkner has chosen is also very clever and not like anything I’ve read before. Split into sections that reflect the number of weeks Helen (and Serena, roughly) are pregnant, the narrative progresses with an impending sense of the baby’s arrival, which adds an underlying tension that meanders throughout the increasingly stressful scenarios that Helen finds herself in. The novel is also written from multiple character viewpoints, which is becoming an increasing staple of crime fiction, but Faulkner does it extremely well. The chapters are predominantly written in first person from the lead female characters’ perspectives (excluding Rachel) and Faulkner has created distinct voices for each. Helen is slightly self-deprecating and meek character who is the lead voice. She lacks confidence, but she gives off an air of trust and reliability. The narrative is very much a journey for Helen and it is interesting to see how she grows and develops, her past and present tragedies define her to some degree, but she finds herself and is reborn as a mother. Serena is the opposite of Helen - a sleek, glamorous, confident woman who is slightly aloof and a little icy. Her chapters help to heighten the tension in the plot, as she’s a much more guarded and mysterious character. Katie is a reporter with a naturally inquisitive nature, who we discover snippets of information with along the way. She is the character I enjoyed reading the most - she’s confident, opinionated and gutsy, whilst remaining down to earth and unequivocally likeable. Her dedication to finding the truth is admirable and I trusted her voice entirely throughout. Although there aren’t any chapters written in her first-person voice, Rachel is the centre of the narrative and Faulkner has created a marvellously complex character. As the narrative progressed and my suspicions started to formulate, I was constantly shifting opinions between whether Rachel was an outright villain, a mentally disturbed delinquent or a mentally destroyed victim. As Rachel’s truth was revealed, it is safe to say that it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, which is testament to Faulkner’s skill as a writer. There are very definite shades of noir at play here and I enjoyed trying determine who exactly was a femme fatale in this group of women. Even if some of my suspicions rang true, there’s so much depth and richness to this story, I was left feeling excited and satisfied as I turned the final page. This is just what I want in a thriller!
Quite frankly, this is a triumph of a debut novel and it should be at the top of your “to be read” pile as soon as it’s released! Highly, highly recommend.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated