The pretty market town of Sterndale is a close-knit community where everyone thinks they know everyone else. But at a lavish summer wedding a local celebrity is discovered slumped in the gardens, the victim of a violent assault that leads to a murder investigation.
As the police search for answers, suspicion and paranoia build - and the lives of the locals are turned upside down. Secrets that lurk beneath the pristine façade of Sterndale come to light as detectives close in on the truth...
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First times you can easily recall. ONE
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(@headlinepg, 20 August 2020, 416 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 19 August via @RandomTTours)
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This is an excellent thriller. This ticks all of the boxes and has everything I love in a good thriller; excellent characterisation, fast paced plot, twists, turns, misdirection and unreliable narration. The story is really split into two halves, the first half deals with the police trying to find out who attacked Tris, who is in a coma after being hit over the head with a bottle of champagne. The second half is lot darker as his condition takes a turn for the worse. The characters were well written and I felt very connected to them. I had so many questions as I worked through the book and the author takes her time in joining all of the dots, threads and loose ends together. I had no idea who attacked Tris and what their motivation was so the revelation completely surprised me.
