Greenwich Park

A solid 4.5 thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. While it wasn't the most original domestic thriller in terms of plot arc, the introduction of the suspicious characters was done so skilfully that the last 10% of the book you were racing through to get to the end. Not necessarily for the whodunnit but for the howdunnit/whydunnit. But I like a why and how dunnit as much as a whodunnit so I found the narrative very compelling. Also the satisfying way the ending of the book stretched out, elevated this book into a 4.5. The book didn't succumb to the temptation to make the plot ending farcical. The questions I had accumulated over the story were answered at the end well and I love when a thriller gives me that.

This follow Helen who has been forced to take early maternity leave due to health complications and ends up making friends with another lady at her antenatal class called Rachel. She introduces her to her luxurious lifestyle in Greenwich where she lives with her architect husband. The husband Daniel owns his own architect firm alongside Helen's brother(it was Helens father's self made company before he died). But the more Rachel learns about Helen the more she digs deeper into Helen and her family. Then the more she encroaches on Helen perfect idyllic lifestyle whether Helen wants it or not. Eventually Helen will be confronted with family secrets through Rachel. The question is whether she is ready to face the dangerous consequences once the secrets are revealed?!

Thanks to Bloomsbury publishing, author Katherine Faulkner and Netgalley for a ebook arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty typical domestic thriller. A little slow, with not much happening, but at the same time full of chaos.

I figured out the main twists pretty early on, and there is a lot to try to follow while listening but overall a good debut.

Love the narrator! Definitely made it a lot of fun. Also made it a quick listen despite the slower storyline.

Definitely recommend for those that love this sub-genre or ones that want to try it out.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The cover is beautiful. The story was interesting enough, though I figured out major parts of the plot pretty early on (though that's not unusual for me with a thriller). It was enough to keep me reading. There were a couple of genre cliches that I loathed, though:

-I didn't like a single character, except maybe Katie. I am so tired of thrillers that don't give you anyone to root for. Helen was a total moron, and she never DID anything? Even when there were obvious red flags around her, she chose to ignore them or “deal with it later” because she is always so tired from her pregnancy. The men in this book were spineless shrimp, to be honest, and I despised them.

-I hated how some chapters would end on a cliffhanger, and then the next would switch the POV or skip to a day or a week later and not give the reader any explanation of what happened. It took me out of the book since I wasn't getting the characters' reactions and feelings in the moment.

-I hate when the reveal is an infodump from the guilty party!! In the very last chapter, no less. It's not fun, it's not exciting - why does there always have to be some monologue at the end of the novel that neatly explains everything FOR us? Although I had figured out most of what happened, it would have been nice to have the characters figuring things out before the last minute (props to Katie, who made an effort on that front).

I settled on three stars because, at the end of the day, this is the kind of book that's just engaging enough to keep me reading and I didn't have to think too hard about it. I just wish it hadn't clung to so many genre cliches, though I did like the writing and that gorgeous cover.