Book After Book

Publication: 7th July 2020 – Graydon House

Marie Langham is distraught when her childhood friend, Nina, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Before Nina passes away, she asks Marie to look out for her family—her son, daughter, and husband, Stuart. Marie would do anything for Nina, so of course she agrees.

Following Nina’s death, Marie gradually finds herself drawn into her friend’s life—her family, her large house in the countryside. But when Camilla, a mutual friend from their old art-college days, suddenly reappears, Marie begins to suspect that she has a hidden agenda. Then, Marie discovers that Nina had long suppressed secrets about a holiday in Ibiza the women took ten years previously, when Marie’s then-boyfriend went missing after a tragic accident and was later found dead.

Marie used to envy Nina’s beautiful life, but now the cards are up in the air and she begins to realize that nothing is what it seemed. As long-buried secrets start surfacing, Marie must figure out what’s true and who she can trust before the consequences of Nina’s dark secrets destroy her.

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Last year, I read many raving reviews for The Perfect Girlfriend, the debut novel by Karen Hamilton, but somehow I never got around to read it. When I was offered the chance to read her new novel, The Last Wife (with just as many raving reviews), I thought I’d finally see what everyone is raving about and now I get it. I loved The Last Wife. It is a psychological thriller about obsession, lies, and secrets with unlikable characters and many twists and, even when I wasn’t reading it, I wasn’t thinking about it, eager to go back to read and see how it ended.

The story is told from the point of view of Marie. Marie made a promise to her best friend Nina: she would take care of her family. When Nina passes away, to everyone’s surprise and displeasure, Marie moves in to live with Nina’s husband and two children to help them out during this difficult time. But Marie has her own agenda and when she starts to find out things about Marie she didn’t know about, her loyalty to her best friend is tested.

As I mentioned, I didn’t like the characters of the story, especially Marie. She is a very complex character to describe: multi-layered, intriguing, and dark, the more I read about her, the more I didn’t like her. However, the more I learned about her past, the better I understood her and, sometimes, I sympathized with her (but never liked her). Every other character in the story seems to hide a secret and, as they unravel, the twists just kept coming.

No love for the characters, but so much love for the story. Addictive, twisty, intense, The Last Wife completely captured my attention. I wanted to discover more about Nina. Is she really the perfect wife, mother, friend that everyone knew? I wanted to see how deep Marie could get entangled inside Nina’s family. Why is she so eager to move in with Nina’s family? What is she planning? Was their friendship as close as she described?

Would I recommend The Last Wife? 100% yes! It is the perfect read for all lovers of psychological thriller out there and, while I am already waiting for the author’s next novel, I am finally going to read her debut novel!

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Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years. Karen is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. She is also the author of the international bestseller The Perfect Girlfriend.

Publication: 25th June 2020 – Orbit

A sweeping tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a genre-defying story of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom.

It is the Age of Enlightenment — of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France to the weather mage Toussaint L’Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic amongst commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas.

But amidst all of the upheaval of the enlightened world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilisation into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to chaos.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/38bGgCc

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I loved The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, H. G. Parry’s debut novel, so when I saw that she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it and I wasn’t disappointed. A Declaration of Rights of Magicians is a unique and very-well written novel where fantasy and historical fiction perfectly blend together.

Set in late 18th century, the story features a world where there is magic and it is strictly controlled. In France, we are in the middle of the French revolution and the beginning of the Reign of Terror of Maximilien Robespierre. In England, Prime Minister William Pitt tries to convince the House of Commons to abolish slave trade while looking with worry at the situation in France. In Haiti, slaves fight for their freedom.

The story features real-life historical characters that everyone who studied history in school is familiar with. Maximilien Robespierre, George Danton, William Pitt are names that have made history and I remember them from my school days. The author did an amazing job recreating them on the pages of her novel. They are so well-crafted and drawn that they came to life under the author’s pen. I wanted them to succeed, I wanted to slap them when they were made wrong choices, and I felt sorry for them. 

A Declaration of The Rights of Magicians is an epic story of magic and politics full of political intrigue, idealism, people who want to change the world, humor, and darkness. I really enjoyed reading A Declaration of The Rights of Magicians, but I won’t lie, it is a big book, more than 500 pages, and there are moments when the narrative dulls and slows down. I am a fast reader and yet it took me longer than I expected to finish it, but despite this, I still loved the story and the characters and I heard there is a sequel planned for publication next year that I am not going to miss.

A huge thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Pubblication: 9th July 2020 – Hodder & Stoughton

Brilliantly creepy and completely absorbing, Finders, Keepers follows the growing obsession between two neighbours and shines a ruthless spotlight on the vanities of modern middleclass urbanites.

Ailsa Tilson moves with her husband and children to Trinity Fields in search of the new. New project – a house to renovate. New people – no links to the past. New friends – especially her next-door neighbour, the lonely Verity, who needs her help.
Verity has lived in Trinity Fields all her life. She’s always resisted change. Her home and belongings are a shield, a defence to keep the outside world at bay. But something about the Tilsons piques her interest. Just as her ivy creeps through the shared garden fence, so Verity will work her way into the Tilson family.

And once they realise how formidable she can be, it might well be too late.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/38mG6rS

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Good morning and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Finders, Keepers, the new novel by Sabine Durrant.

Let me start by saying that this is my first novel by Sabine Durrant, but I think Finders, Keepers is a good starting point to discover this author because I fell in love with her captivating writing style and her intriguing plot and I am already trying to decide which of her other books read next.

The story starts with the protagonist, Verity, deciding to write down how she came to be involved with the Tilson family starting from the day they moved in next-door. Right from the beginning, Verity is drawn to Ailsa Tilson, her husband Tom, and their three children, especially their son Max, who she starts tutoring in English. Soon, both Verity and Ailsa get more and more entangled in each other lives and they form a kind of friendship. However, each of them has their own secrets to protect and, one day, tragedy strikes.

I devoured this novel. First of all, the characters are brilliant. They are multi-layered and full of secrets and I can’t say I really liked any of them. We see these characters through Verity’s descriptions of them, so how much can we trust what she says? Verity is a very complex characters. The story is told from her perspective and the author takes you right into her head. I found fascinating and intriguing reading Verity’s thoughts, her fears and her hopes, and the secrets that she slowly decides to unravel kept me glued to the page. There’s something about Verity that gave me the chills, although there were a few times that I felt sorry for her. Her friendship with Ailsa is beneficial for both, but also an unlikely friendship. They are two completely different characters and you will find this mirrored simply in the way they each dress or the way they keep their house: Verity’s second-hand clothes and house full of things and memorabilia don’t match with Ailsa’s expensive dresses and spartan house. And yet these two different women spend more and more time together, telling each other secrets and depending on each other.

Finders, Keepers is a dark, chilling, slow-burning tale of obsession, of manipulation, of secrets that will capture from the very first page and won’t let you go until you reach the last pages where the unexpected ending will take you completely by surprise.

A huge thank you to Jenny and Hodder & Stoughton for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Sabine Durrant is the author of four psychological thrillers, Under Your Skin, Remember Me This Way, Lie With Me, a Richard & Judy Bookclub selection and Sunday Times paperback bestseller, and Take Me In. Her previous novels are Having It and Eating It and The Great Indoors, and two books for teenage girls, Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles and Ooh La La! Connie Pickles. She is a former features editor of the Guardian and a former literary editor at the Sunday Times, and her writing has appeared in many national newspapers and magazines.
She lives in south London with her partner and their three children.

Publication: 9th July 2020 – Michael Joseph

The victim was his friend. So was the murderer.

Twenty-five years ago, troubled teenager Charlie Crabtree committed a shocking and unprovoked murder.

For Paul Adams, it’s a day he’ll never forget. He’s never forgiven himself for his part in what happened to his friend and classmate. He’s never gone back home.

But when his elderly mother has a fall, it’s finally time to stop running.

It’s not long before things start to go wrong. A copycat killer has struck, bringing back painful memories. Paul’s mother insists there’s something in the house.

And someone is following him.

Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.

It wasn’t just the murder.

It was the fact that afterwards, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again…

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/3ifyJ9Y

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One of my favourite novels last year was The Whisper Man, the debut novel by Alex North, so I have been really looking forward to reading his second book, The Shadow Friend, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Twenty-five years ago, the small village of Gritten was shocked by the horrific murder of a high-school student and Paul Adams, shocked and feeling guilty about the tragedy, swore he would never return home until, one day, he receives a call that informs him that his mother is dying in hospital so he has no choice but to go back and face the past. Many miles away, in the village of Featherbank, detective Amanda Beck is investigating another gruesome murder of a student. Is this connected to what happened in Gritten all those years ago?

The story is very well-written and addictive. It has supernatural elements that perfectly fits with the dark and creepy atmosphere. The tension is always high so that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading and it’s full of surprising twists, especially one that make me jump from the couch and yell “WHAT???”.  The story is set in Featherbank with the reader is already familiar with if they’ve read The Whisper Man, but mostly in Gritten which the author describes as occupied by run-down houses, industrial estates, and neglected neighbourhoods and with a dull and gray air that made me feel claustrophobic.

The Shadow Friend is told from the points of views of the two protagonists. Paul and Amanda are very intricate and well-developed characters. I loved reading Paul’s flashbacks of his teen years, how he took care of his friends and wasn’t afraid to stand up to bullies and take action. Adult Paul was also an interesting and realistic character and I really felt for him. Amanda also feels authentic and relatable and I really liked her.

Alex North is a brilliant author. He creates unforgettable and chilling plots that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down. Like The Whisper Man last year, The Shadow Friend is one of my favourite books of 2020 and I am already looking forward to reading book number 3!!!

A huge thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

 

Publication: 7th July 2020 – Hodder & Stoughton

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away from everyone, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming . . . human or demon. Princess or monster.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/2Boe16S

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Girl, Serpent, Thorn is getting a lot of raving reviews and there is a reason for that. A captivating story mixing fairy tales, magical creatures, and Persian culture with well-developed characters and a fantastic world-building.

Soraya is a princess, but she is a princess with a curse. Her body is full of poison that can kill at the touch so she is kept isolated from everyone. Feeling alone and rejected from her family, Soraya tries to put an end to her curse, but the consequences are worse than she imagined…

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a compelling story of diversity and acceptance and also a story of self-discovery as Soraya’s search for normalcy and inclusion leads her to question who she is and who she wants to be. Soraya and the other main characters are deeply flawed and they make many mistakes that make them more human. Even the villain of the story, who makes horrible things, has its own humanity and the more you find out about him, the more you get to understand him and feel (a bit) sorry for him. I liked how the characters develop as the story progresses and they try to correct their mistakes, especially Soraya, whose choice at the end of the book I found perfect, emotional, and very well-thought.

Of course, there is romance, but not the usual love story you would expect. I won’t say much about it to not spoil it, but it’s full of surprises that you won’t see coming and it splendidly grows throughout the story.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a beautiful and addictive novel. It’s just a bit more of 300 pages, but a lot happens in those pages and you won’t regret reading it.

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Melissa Bashardoust received her degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, where she rediscovered her love for creative writing, children’s literature, and fairy tales and their retellings. She currently lives in Southern California with a cat named Alice and more copies of Jane Eyre than she probably needs. Melissa is the author of Girls Made of Snow and Glass and Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

 

Publication: 2nd July 2020 – Corvus

Everyone knows the story of the girl from Widow Hills.

When Arden Maynor was six years old, she was swept away in terrifying storm and went missing for days. Against all odds, she was found alive, clinging to a storm drain. A living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book, and fame followed. But so did fans, creeps and stalkers. It was all too much, and as soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and left Widow Hills behind.

Now, a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden is known as Olivia. With the twentieth anniversary of her rescue looming, media interest in the girl who survived is increasing. Where is she now? The stress brings back the night terrors of Olivia’s youth. Often, she finds herself out of bed in the middle of the night, sometimes outside her home, even streets away. Then one evening she jolts awake in her yard, with the corpse of a man at her feet.

The girl from Widow Hills is about to become the centre of the story, once again.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/2YdEL39

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Happy Sunday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Girl From Widow Hills, the suspenseful new novel by Megan Miranda.

Meet Olivia. In her twenties, she is an hospital administrator in North Carolina. She lives in a semi-isolated house outside of town, next to a neighbour who constantly checks on her and keeps a shotgun ready to scare away intruders. She has a few friends who she keeps at a distance and don’t know anything about her past and she is estranged from her mother who exploited on a childhood trauma to earn money. Who is really Olivia? Her real name is Arden Maynor and she is remembered as the six-year-old child who went missing for three days and miraculously was found alive. She changed her name to keep away journalists, stalkers, fans, and her mother, but it seems that her past is catching up with her…

An unreliable and paranoiac protagonist who suffers from memory loss is my favourite kind of character when it comes to psychological thriller and Megan Miranda did an amazing job in creating the character of Arden/Olivia. Her childhood trauma, sleepwalking, her complicated relationship with her mother, the fear to be recognized… who wouldn’t be paranoiac? She may have committed a crime, but she has no recollection of the time. Since she doubts herself and she can’t trust herself, I didn’t trust her either and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time as Olivia tries to figure out what happened.

The isolated house miles away from population gave the story a claustrophobic atmosphere that at times gave me goosebumps (and made me check the locks twice at night before going to bed). The ending was AMAZING! I really didn’t see it coming and made me gasp in surprise.

Megan Miranda is definitely on my list of favourite authors and I always look forward to reading her latest novel. Do not miss this twisty and chilling read!

A huge thank you to Anne Cater and Corvus for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Follow the rest of the blog tour:

 

Megan Miranda is the author of All The Missing Girls, The Perfect Stranger, and The Last House Guest, which was the August 2019 Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine pick. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. Follow @MeganLMiranda on Twitter and Instagram, or @AuthorMeganMiranda on Facebook.

Publication: 9th July 2020 – Michael Joseph

Welcome to The Close – a beautiful street of mansions, where gorgeous Stella is the indisputable Queen Bee . . .

It is here that Laura, seeking peace and privacy after her marriage falls apart, rents a tiny studio. Unfortunately, her arrival upsets suspicious Stella – who fears Laura has designs on her fiancé, Al.

When Laura stumbles on the big secret Al is hiding, suddenly Stella’s perfectly controlled world, not to mention Laura’s future, are threatened.

Taking a chance on beating Al at his own twisted game, these two former strangers are fast becoming best friends.

But has Laura forgotten that revenge never comes without a sting in the tail?

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/2Vt4nae

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Queen Bee is Jane Fallon’s brand new novel and its protagonist is Laura, a woman looking for a place to live after the unexpected divorce from her husband. She finds a studio in The Close, a posh neighbourhood of well-to-do families in which the husbands have important and well-paid jobs while the wives spend their days socialising, shopping, and having cosmetic procedures. And the queen and king of The Close are Stella and her soon-to-be husband Al. Stella’s disliking for Laura is clear from the very beginning, but things take a turn for the worst when Stella starts to wrongly suspect that Laura is interested in Al. In her eagerness to prove Stella wrong, Laura stumbles on a secret that could destroy Stella, but, instead, it leads to an unexpected alliance between the two women.

I really enjoy Jane Fallon’s novels because the protagonists are always women seeking revenge – usually against men who wronged them – and they are so good at getting it and very inventive. Her books are fun to read and Queen Bee is an entertaining and engrossing addition to her already fantastic list of novels. The characters are vividly drawn – I could picture the trophy wives in my head -, some are likable, some not so much, but I loved the protagonist, Laura, who I found authentic, honest, and relatable.

Queen Bee is another enjoyable and refreshing read from Jane Fallon and I am already looking forward to next year for her next novel. Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

 

 

Publication: 23rd June 2020 – Headline Eternal

The stakes have never been higher – but is it time to take a leap, and tumble into love?

After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended Avery Abrams’ athletic career – for good. Seven years on, she’s still lost and, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, returns to her Massachusetts hometown.

In need of a job, Avery agrees to help new coach, Ryan Nicholson, train Hallie, a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations, despite her worries about the memories it will evoke.

Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan, and her long-buried love for her sport reemerging as she helps Hallie’s talent shine. But when a shocking scandal breaks, it has shattering effects on the world of gymnastics, Avery and everyone around her.

But Avery is not going to let history repeat itself – she’s ready to fight for those she loves – and win.

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Head Over Heels is the new novel by senior dating editor Hannah Orenstein and it’s an entertaining and refreshing novel set in the world of gymnastics.

Avery Abrams, a rising star gymnast, had a dream: going to the 2012 London Olympic Games as part of the American team, but an accident put a stop to years of hard work and sacrifices. Seven years later, she leaves LA with no job and no boyfriend to return home to Massachusetts. She has no prospects or any idea what to do with her future, but then she is offered the chance to coach promising gymnast Hallie in the same gym where she spent most of her childhood and her teenage years training. In Hallie, Avery sees the same energy and ambition that drove her years ago, so she throws herself in helping Hallie getting to the 2020 Olympic Games.

This is a beautiful, thought-provoking, powerful, and at times emotional story about abuse, #metoo movement, and self-discovery. Avery fell into depression following the accident that prevented her from going to the Olympic Games and it took her years to get over it. She feels realistic and relatable and I liked how she develops and grows throughout the novel. Returning home and finding a new job not only gives her a new purpose in life, but also a new romance. I liked Ryan and Avery’s chemistry, even though there were a few times that I wanted to punch Ryan for his behaviour. I also liked Avery and Hallie’s relationship and I found myself invested in Hallie’s outcome almost as much as Avery.

Head Over Heels is my first novel by Hannah Orenstein, but I already have her previous novels ready on my kindle and I am really looking forward to reading them. If you are looking for a feel-good and engaging story full of romance, humour and with fantastic characters, then I highly recommend this novel!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Publication: 23rd June 2020 – HarperFiction

Atlanta, Georgia. Present day. A young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead. The police investigate but the trail goes cold. Until a chance assignment takes GBI investigator Will Trent to the state penitentiary, and to a prisoner who says he recognises the MO. The attack looks identical to the one he was accused of eight years earlier. The prisoner’s always insisted that he was innocent, and now he’s sure he has proof. The killer is still out there.

As Will digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the original case in order to reach the truth. Yet nearly a decade has passed – time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear. And now he needs medical examiner Sara Linton to help him hunt down a ruthless murderer. But when the past and present collide, everything Will values is at stake.

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/3fwaItW

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Today, I am super excited to take part in the blog tour for The Silent Wife, the 20th novel by Karin Slaughter and the 10th novel featuring my all-time favourite federal agent, Will Trent.

I am addicted to the Will Trent series. I love it. I love the characters, the twisty plots, the constant high tension that spills through the pages, and Karin Slaughter’s sharp prose captures you and doesn’t let you go. When my request on NetGalley was accepted (thank you so much HarperCollins) I read it right away and finished it in less than two days.

A prison riot leads Will Trent to an eight-year-old case about the murder of young women. The killer had been caught and he’s jail, but now he has proofs of his innocence so Will and the GBI have no choice but to reopen the case.  The problem? The lead investigator in the old case is none other than Grant County Chief of Police, Jeffery Tolliver, the late husband of Sarah Linton, Will girlfriend and GBI pathologist. So, with a narrative that switches between present day Atlanta and Grant County a decade earlier, we see doctor Sarah Linton’s two loves trying to find the man behind the horrific murders of young women around Georgia.

I had high expectations before going into this novel and they were met and much much more. The gripping and riveting plot made me want to race through the pages and get to the brilliant and perfect ending. I loved how the protagonists’ personal lives merge with the cases (both in the past and in the present). If you’ve read the Grant County series you will recognize some of the characters and there are new ones that will keep you engrossed. Of course, Will and Sarah’s relationship is affected by this blast from the past and they have a few obstacles to go through, but I love how they develop throughout the story.

The Silent Wife is twisty, suspenseful, compelling, graphic, and at times emotional and a fantastic new addiction to this series. Once again, Karin Slaughter proved that she is the master of suspense. So, do yourself a favour and buy a copy of this thrilling read… you won’t regret it!

A huge thank you to Anne Cater and HarperCollins for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

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Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her 20 novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant Sunday Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls, Pieces of Her, and The Good Daughter.

Pieces of Her is soon to be an eight-part Netflix adaptation, starring Toni Collette, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter (Mad Men), and produced by Charlotte Stoudt (Homeland) and Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies). Grant County and Will Trent series are in development for television.

Hugely respected by her peers: 

‘Passion, intensity and humanity’ Lee Child

‘I’d follow her anywhere’ Gillian Flynn

‘A great writer at the peak of her powers’ Peter James

‘Fiction doesn’t get any better than this’ Jeffery Deaver

Karin is the founder of the Save the Libraries project – a non-profit organisation established to support libraries and library programming.  A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta.

Publication: 25th June 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

It all happens so quickly. One day you’re living the dream, commuting to work by riverbus with your charismatic neighbour Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn’t turned up for the boat and his wife Melia has reported him missing.

When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit arguing on the boat home the night before and the police say that you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends – ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your lives?

No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

Aren’t you?

Amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.to/2ZTRd9i

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The Other Passenger is the brand new novel by Louise Candlish and it’s out today. I was really lucky to receive a proof of the book and I was hooked from the moment I started reading it. For two entire days I read and read and when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about it. What happened to Kit? Is Jaimie responsible for his disappearance? Why did they fight?

The Other Passenger revolves around four friends, two couples: Jamie and his partner Clare and Kit and his girlfriend Melia. When one of them disappears, Jamie is interrogated by the police and, through Jamie’s point of views and many flashback, the author reconstructs from the beginning an inter-generational, dysfunctional, and unlikely friendship that will have dire consequences.

One thing that I really like about Louise Candlish’s novels is that she always creates a cast of detestable characters that manage to make you addicted to the story. As in her previous novels, I didn’t like the characters of this book. Sometimes I felt pity for them, often I didn’t trust them, but mostly I didn’t like them. They are vividly crafted, multi-layered, and very-well developed, and, despite my dislike for them, I wanted to know more about them, about their lives and their secrets while trying to figure out who was guilty, who was lying, who was innocent.

Louise Candlish really knows what she is doing. The Other Passenger features a claustrophobic atmosphere and an unpredictable and clever plot that takes you repeatedly by surprise. There are jealousies, lies and deception, and dreams that make you do the unthinkable to achieve them. And, as mentioned, there are detestable characters that draw you so much into the story that, despite everything, you want them to have their happy ending. Will they get it?

A huge thank you to Jess and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.