Actually 4.5 stars.
One decision and its repercussions. That's what happens to Joe when he sees his wife's car and decides to follow her to surprise her with his son in tow. But things don't run smoothly as he sees her arguing with their friend Ben. As she leaves, he approaches Ben and has somewhat of an altercation with him. Ben is knocked down and when Joe goes to check on him, his son has an asthma attack and so his priorities change and he has to leave the scene to attend to him. Later he goes back but Ben has gone and no one in the hotel where the incident happened is any the wiser about anything.
But then strange things start to happen. Ben lost his phone in the altercation and soon someone is posting on his social media, as things start to escalate for Joe, suspension from work being just the start, it becomes obvious that he is part of a bigger game, one he has yet to understand. Can he save himself before the worst happens?
I read an awful lot of this type of book. I agree with some people that the market is nigh on saturated with them. This one, however, is a very good example. It is gripping, exciting, tense and has great, if sometimes unlikable, characters and and ending that even me as a seasoned reader of this genre didn't see coming.
One of the things that really sets a book aside as a good book for me is how emotionally invested I get in the characters. In this book, I really liked Joe and, as such, cared about what happened to him. I really felt for him as his life started to crumble around him. I was even shouting at the other characters to leave him alone, trust him, look at previous behaviour, don't get swayed by what you see, but all to no avail. On the flip side however he was a bit gullible, I mean how many second chances can you really give someone?! Hey, that's life... not all black and white. But, his path was set and he was guided very skillfully down it both by the author and the other characters' manipulations.
Oh and the manipulations in this book are good. Served up with a side of secrets and lies, the author weaves a veritable tale of intrigue that I as a reader was powerless to do anything but follow avidly.
Yes there were a few belief suspended times in this book but unlike some books I have read, all were integral to the plot and, on the whole, forgivable rather than just added sloppily for effect. I was quite content to accept a few niggles I had whilst reading for the good of the whole overall experience that the book gave me. When I finished, I was completely satisfied and that's what's important to me.
All in all another cracking opening offering which definitely marks 2016 as year of the debut for me. Looking forward to whatever the author serves up next time.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.