Book Review: Once A Liar by A.F.Brady

Description: In this electrifying psychological thriller, a high-powered sociopath meets his reckoning when he’s accused of the brutal murder of his mistress. Did he kill Charlie Doyle? And if he didn’t…who did? Peter Caine, a cutthroat Manhattan defense attorney, worked ruthlessly to become the best at his job. On the surface, he is charming and handsome, but inside he is cold and heartless. He fights without remorse to acquit murderers, pedophiles and rapists. When Charlie Doyle, the daughter of the Manhattan DA—and Peter’s former lover—is murdered, Peter’s world is quickly sent into a tailspin. He becomes the prime suspect as the DA, a professional enemy of Peter’s, embarks on a witch hunt to avenge his daughter’s death, stopping at nothing to ensure Peter is found guilty of the murder. In the challenge of his career and his life, Peter races against the clock to prove his innocence. As the evidence mounts against him, he’s forced to begin unraveling his own dark web of lies and confront the sins of his past. But the truth of who killed Charlie Doyle is more twisted and sinister than anyone could have imagined…

Review: 3.5 Stars This is a hard book to rate. It does extremely well in some areas and not so much in others. It is the kind of book that is fascinating yet not too hard to put down. It starts at a good pace and is engrossing but then it quickly slows its pace and that does not help, also I did figure it out so that made it slightly predictable. The timeline of Peter’s life is a little messy so it takes effort to keep track of it. Other than that it’s fantastic. Peter is evil, unreliable, and cruel. He is a high functioning sociopath in my opinion. He has so many multiple facets to his personality that it is exhausting to read his story. There is so much fabrication and pretense with this character that it is hard to know what is the truth! I did not quite understand why any of the women in his life put up with him, he has no redeeming qualities in my opinion. He fits the image of a greedy, cunning and mean-spirited DA completely. This is a disturbing novel and I rate it a 4 only because of how much it made me feel!

Thank you NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley, #OnceALiar

Book Review: The Good Friend by Jo Baldwin

Description:

Heavenly Creatures meets The Hand That Rocks the Cradle in this exciting debut novel about friendship, love and jealousy. Once upon a time they were best friends. So when Jenny moved to Australia to focus on her swimming career, she not only lost Kath, but her soul-mate Tom. It was for the best. Or so they said. Now, eight years later, Jenny seeks out her childhood friend and heads to rural France where Kath has settled. At first, the women fall back into a close relationship, but before long strange and malicious behaviour leads Jenny to realise the truth: that Kath has played a clever game all along to manipulate and control those around her. And Jenny is her biggest victim. Set against the glorious backdrop of the Languedoc lavender fields, The Good Friend is a beautifully written psychological drama about love, lies and a dangerous obsession. Because once the truth is revealed, there’s no going back . . .

Review: 3 stars

This book was an average read. The plot had a lot more potential and I had much higher expectations. I think the publishers should not have classified this as a mystery/thriller. If it was classified as Drama or Women’s fiction then I would have probably rated it better. The book starts off pretty slowly and it take a lot to not just put it down and move on. But about 50% in it picks up pace and a lot of emotional baggage starts to come up. This book is more about jealousy, lies and tragedy than about twists. Unfortunately for me, I could not relate to the characters and the overt description of France did not do much for me either.

Thank you NetGalley and RedDoor books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

#NetGalley #TheGoodFriend

Book Review: Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

Description
It all started at the school fair…Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. She only took her eyes off of them for one second. But when her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, and Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found, Charlotte panics. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing. And admit that she has only herself to blame. Harriet, devastated by this unthinkable, unbearable loss, can no longer bring herself to speak to Charlotte again, much less trust her. Now more isolated than ever and struggling to keep her marriage afloat, Harriet believes nothing and no one. But as the police bear down on both women trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to this little girl, dark secrets begin to surface—and Harriet discovers that confiding in Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter....

Review: 5 stars
The book is described very aptly as suspenseful, compulsively readable, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. It is not as simple as it seems based on the description. It is so much more. The book is a lovely description of relationships and the small things that can build or break them. It has the whodunit factor, the psychological thriller bits, the domestic drama angle as well as a whole mysterious angle. You will guess things many times while reading this book and more often than not you will be wrong! This book consumes you, it plays with you and is hard to put down. The author almost taunts you in to guessing things and then goes on to show you how twisted the plot actually is.
The ending was unpredictable and I loved it. The alternating before and current points of view work well for the plot and make it more engrossing. The pressure that the characters feel is relate-able based on all the police questioning. The characters are brilliantly developed and easy incite a strong emotion for. Highly recommend this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Gallery books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 
#NetGalley #HerOneMistake