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kp_12's review against another edition
5.0
Just when you think you have it all figured out - there’s still a few final twists.
elliecatrin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jadedoodes's review against another edition
5.0
I genuinely couldn’t put this fast-paced psychological thriller down. It was full of twists and turns from the very beginning, things that had you questioning the characters and what was really going on. An intense story about revenge, lies, crimes, loyalty. Just wow.
urbansapphire's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A distress call to the police from a screaming woman starts off this twisty tale of murder and intrigue. The dead line is traced and Sergeant Stephanie King arrives at the sumptuous cliff-top home of Marcus (Mark) North, to find him dead on his bed in a pool of blood, and his wife Evie, injured. We know Evie killed Mark because she tells the police so - immediately - but why? Was it self defence? Evie claims so; Mark was abusive and regularly hurt her, and she had no choice but to kill him in order to save her own life and that of their little girl, Lulu. In fact, Evie has been covered in bruises, and injuries for weeks; her friends have been talking bout it and suspect that she has been covering up for Mark, saying all is ok and she is just really clumsy.
The house itself and victim Mark are familiar to Sergeant King as this is not the first tragedy to have happened there. Previously, Mark's first wife Mia - the source of Mark's fortune - was found dead at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement gym. Although foul play was suspected, Mark was not around at the time of the accident, and Mia was ruled to have tripped over a rogue shoelace case closed. However Stephanie's spidey senses are once again tingling after this latest piece of 'bad luck' to happen here and she's not surprised to hear that Mark was not the paragon of virtue he was made out to be.
Evie is left facing murder or manslaughter, depending on which side of the story you believe. Mark's sister Cleo - virtually obsessed with her brother and jealous of any of his partners, doesn't believe a world of it and is determined to see Evie behind bars for life for what she has done. On the other hand, Evie's lawyer believes that Evie can be a poster girl for women who refuse to suffer at the hand of a domestic abuser is determined to get her off the hook.
As the tale unfolds from three different perspectives, we see how Evie came into Mark's life in the first place and secured a place in his life and the real story begins to unfold through the three main characters, while the real action is taking place in the courtroom.
The story keeps you guessing all the way through. You think you know what's going to happen, then suddenly, it all changes and you don't. I felt it got a bit over dramatic towards the very end but the actual ending was quite surprising all the same. All in all, a good stand-alone thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
A distress call to the police from a screaming woman starts off this twisty tale of murder and intrigue. The dead line is traced and Sergeant Stephanie King arrives at the sumptuous cliff-top home of Marcus (Mark) North, to find him dead on his bed in a pool of blood, and his wife Evie, injured. We know Evie killed Mark because she tells the police so - immediately - but why? Was it self defence? Evie claims so; Mark was abusive and regularly hurt her, and she had no choice but to kill him in order to save her own life and that of their little girl, Lulu. In fact, Evie has been covered in bruises, and injuries for weeks; her friends have been talking bout it and suspect that she has been covering up for Mark, saying all is ok and she is just really clumsy.
The house itself and victim Mark are familiar to Sergeant King as this is not the first tragedy to have happened there. Previously, Mark's first wife Mia - the source of Mark's fortune - was found dead at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement gym. Although foul play was suspected, Mark was not around at the time of the accident, and Mia was ruled to have tripped over a rogue shoelace case closed. However Stephanie's spidey senses are once again tingling after this latest piece of 'bad luck' to happen here and she's not surprised to hear that Mark was not the paragon of virtue he was made out to be.
Evie is left facing murder or manslaughter, depending on which side of the story you believe. Mark's sister Cleo - virtually obsessed with her brother and jealous of any of his partners, doesn't believe a world of it and is determined to see Evie behind bars for life for what she has done. On the other hand, Evie's lawyer believes that Evie can be a poster girl for women who refuse to suffer at the hand of a domestic abuser is determined to get her off the hook.
As the tale unfolds from three different perspectives, we see how Evie came into Mark's life in the first place and secured a place in his life and the real story begins to unfold through the three main characters, while the real action is taking place in the courtroom.
The story keeps you guessing all the way through. You think you know what's going to happen, then suddenly, it all changes and you don't. I felt it got a bit over dramatic towards the very end but the actual ending was quite surprising all the same. All in all, a good stand-alone thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
5.0
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. This is the first book that I have read by Rachel Abbott and I’m in for a treat catching up if they are as good as this.
The scene that faces police officers Stephanie and Jason is a grim one. Af first it appears that both of the people covered in blood are dead but Evie is still alive. And she has a tale to tell.
The novel is mainly about women. Evie, the accused but also victim, Cleo, Evie’s sister-in-law, Stephanie, the police officer who has attended two deaths at the Cliff top house, Harriet a woman’s rights lawyer and Aminah, who I had a lot of sympathy for, she was a friend to both Evie and Cleo and had the misfortune to be caught up in the middle of Evie’s and Cleo’s relationship.
I read this novel via the Pigeonhole app and it was serialised over ten days. Each ‘stave’ ended on a cliffhanger and had me wishing my life away, anxious to find out what would be revealed next.
Very few of the characters were shown favourably. Aminah was the only one that I liked. The others all had too many hidden agendas or secrets. Cleo was probably my least favourite. Too possessive and controlling of her brother and I didn’t like the way she was with her niece.
I changed my mind constantly about what was happening. Why did Evie do what she did? Was Cleo involved in Mia’s death? Or was it all connected by events from years earlier?
Very little went the way I thought it would. I was duped through most of the novel and I wonder if I would have thought differently if I had it read it the normal way. At first I thought the ending a little abrupt, it was definitely unexpected. But on reflection it worked very well.
A fantastic novel, and I loved the way I read it. Having the control taken out of my hands with how much I could read added to the intrigue and Rachel Abbott is an author I am looking forward to reading again.
The scene that faces police officers Stephanie and Jason is a grim one. Af first it appears that both of the people covered in blood are dead but Evie is still alive. And she has a tale to tell.
The novel is mainly about women. Evie, the accused but also victim, Cleo, Evie’s sister-in-law, Stephanie, the police officer who has attended two deaths at the Cliff top house, Harriet a woman’s rights lawyer and Aminah, who I had a lot of sympathy for, she was a friend to both Evie and Cleo and had the misfortune to be caught up in the middle of Evie’s and Cleo’s relationship.
I read this novel via the Pigeonhole app and it was serialised over ten days. Each ‘stave’ ended on a cliffhanger and had me wishing my life away, anxious to find out what would be revealed next.
Very few of the characters were shown favourably. Aminah was the only one that I liked. The others all had too many hidden agendas or secrets. Cleo was probably my least favourite. Too possessive and controlling of her brother and I didn’t like the way she was with her niece.
I changed my mind constantly about what was happening. Why did Evie do what she did? Was Cleo involved in Mia’s death? Or was it all connected by events from years earlier?
Very little went the way I thought it would. I was duped through most of the novel and I wonder if I would have thought differently if I had it read it the normal way. At first I thought the ending a little abrupt, it was definitely unexpected. But on reflection it worked very well.
A fantastic novel, and I loved the way I read it. Having the control taken out of my hands with how much I could read added to the intrigue and Rachel Abbott is an author I am looking forward to reading again.
dorthepedersen_reads's review against another edition
4.0
En krimi med et ekstra lag :-) Langt hen ad vejen var jeg tilbøjelig til at give tre stjerner for den gode, stabile læseoplevelse, men hen mod sidste del af bogen tager tingene fart på den medrivende måde!
lostinthepages20's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
inesbeato's review against another edition
4.0
Livro muito bem escrito e personagens tridimensionais, bem desenvolvidas.
No entanto, vi "o filme todo" logo no início, pelo que a minha curiosidade e interesse esmoreceram um pouco, porque acabei por não me surpreender com a maioria das ações e reviravoltas que se foram sucedendo.
No entanto, vi "o filme todo" logo no início, pelo que a minha curiosidade e interesse esmoreceram um pouco, porque acabei por não me surpreender com a maioria das ações e reviravoltas que se foram sucedendo.
canderson_12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sara_slm's review against another edition
3.5
fast and enjoyable read but all of the characters except one were unlikable, the ending was too much (some connections and coincidences were wayyy to unrealistic) and the two main detectives had some weird romance going on that didn’t add anything to the story (but there is another book with them in it so maybe the romance continues there, idk).