I'm usually not one to read a whole lot of fiction thrillers because I feel truth is stranger than fiction, but when I saw this on Netgalley, the concept seemed fairly interesting: what if a person gets their life destroyed because the media portrayed you as someone you're not? This was true of the main character of the book, Karl, when his niece Constance goes missing and a reporter named Amanda associates him with her killer. this is a very unique take on many of the books I read when it is from the victim's point of view as opposed to the supposed perpetrator, and I found the book really easy to get into and want to read. However, this book had some major flaws too. I personally had a really hard time believing Karl would go from innocent bystander to a person who is capable of the revenge he gave after just eight months, and I believe the timing of the four parts was relatively vague, and would really have liked to see some more concrete evidence of the time passed to make more sense of things. I also found myself forgetting who was who in a lot of the book, but that very well could have been because I have had a busy week when I was reading it, with starting a new job. My biggest complaint however was how horrible they made Amanda herself. I know the reader is not supposed to like her much, but the random references to her father being abusive seemed to be a really lame excuse for how much of what she did was just pure stupidity and myopia on her part, and just felt unnecessary and too much of a "but she's not all bad, she has an excuse!" explanation to me. In fact, I disliked her so much that when the climax hit, I was actually rooting for the bad guy because it was cathartic to see her get her just desserts-- and given how horrible the revenge was, I'm not sure that was intentional. Overall, is this book remarkable and will change how you view literature? Not really, at the heart of it, it's pretty generic, but if you're on the beach or a long flight and want something that's interesting and keeps your attention for a few hours, I recommend it.

I admit I was sold as soon as I saw the cover and read the blurb. What was the terrible mistake mentioned and how could this destroy a family? Guilty had all the signs of being an eventful and intriguing psychological thriller and I was really looking forward to finally pick it up. Unfortunately I ended up having mixed thoughts about it. There is no doubt Guilty has a plot that is both complex and filled with twists that will make things spin out of control. The story is separated in different parts, dividing the plot as the story evolves and the time passes. It shows a lot of time has gone into developing the plot and different events and consequences of those actions, and it was without doubt interesting to see how those mistakes and actions in general can have a huge impact on the future. That said, I did feel there was almost too much squeezed into the plot and the different events sometimes felt a bit rushed and lost part of their importance. Especially in the beginning it's a little difficult to understand what is really important in the story and Constance's case feels a bit rushed in general. I understand that the focus is rather on the past-present-consequence relation and what effect the past has on the rest of the story, but it did make it hard to get a proper feel for the story straight away. Furthermore, the pace is quite slow and it took me a lot longer than expected to finish Guilty. It was interesting to see the characters evolve over time, but I do have to say that I didn't like the main characters at all. It definitely made it a lot harder to care for what happened when I just couldn't feel a connection to the characters... And there were also various parts of the story that felt either forced, unnatural or rushed to me. It might just have been that I expected something a little more fast-paced though and in a way I did appreciate the complexity of the plot in Guilty. Like I said, I had mixed feelings so I guess this story can go either way for you... If you like slower paced psychological thrillers that follow characters over a bigger span of time and show how some actions can have huge consequences for the future, Guilty will probably be a right fit for you.

I am a big fan of psychological thrillers, and can get on with most, whatever the plot. However, 'Guilty' fell short for me for a number of reasons.

The book is told in four parts, concerning the mystery of a missing school girl. The first part of the book set the scene for missing Constance, planting lots of questions in the reader's mind. The book us fairly fast-paced at this point, leaving you eager to read on to uncover the answers to Constance's disappearance. I am more used to major plot twists coming towards the end of a book, with gradual build-up and suspense throughout, until the twist is finally uncovered in a nice, meaty ending. In 'Guilty' however, the answer missing Constance (and the climax of the main storyline) was revealed in part one, less than halfway through the book. This left me baffled as I couldn't imagine what the rest of the book would address, and my reservations were justified. The remainder of the story concerned other characters in the book and their interconnected stories, but seemed to go off on a tangent, away from the topic of Constance. It felt almost as though I was reading two completely different books that had been joined together, and I didn't feel it worked. If Constance's disappearance had been the sole focus of the book, with more questions and momentum gathered for most of the book, I would have scored this much more highly.

Unfortunately for me, 'Guilty' didn't grab me. After the first part, it took a lot of effort to read through the rest of the book. It dragged, the chapters seemed disjointed, and there wasn't a huge climax to work towards.

Wow WHAT a read. I never expected when I downloaded this book to be so enthralled by it. An amazing storyline that grips you from the first page. Nemesis at its best. This is the first of Laura Elliot's books I have read but I'm off to buy the rest

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this original & thrilling book. The characters were very believable as was the plot which makes it quite unsettling.
I can't say such more or I would be spoiling the suspense for future readers and it really is a book you constantly want to know what is going to happen next.

Thank you net galley and bookouture for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
When 13 year old Constance goes missing, a reporter, Amanda, points all fingers to Constance's uncle, Karl. While Karl protests his innocence everything stacks against him until the inevitable happens and he loses everything.

Years later the tables are turned for Amanda when her own child goes missing and she comes under scrutiny.

I enjoyed this book immensely, it transitioned smoothly through the years and evolved the main characters without throwing in lots of nwr people which would have confused me. Brilliant

Guilty is a tense psychological thriller by Laura Elliott focusing on how media can build or destroy a person’s reputation by a few words.

Constance Lawson , a 13 year old disappears one night and the suspicion falls on her uncle Karl .
Innocent gestures are cast in a disturbing light and Karl's life, career, family and finally freedom was destroyed in the process . Leading the media frenzy is local journalist Amanda trying to further her career with this story.

The book is divided in four parts. The first deals with Constance’s disappearance, the next two with how this story effects Amanda and her life . The final part deals with Karl’s fight for justice and revenge

The first part was a quick read, the 2nd and 3rd dragged for me and the 4th felt a little rushed. Overall an interesting concept which proves the age old saying “Pen is mightier than a sword.”

Many thanks to the publisher Bookouture & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

My Review

I wanted to like Guilty by Laura Elliot, I really did. I still gave it 3 stars because it was well paced, the story line was good, and there were parts I loved. That said, there were also parts I didn’t love.

Many of the reviews (and even the book description) talk about Constance’s disappearance. Yes, Constance’s disappearance is what started the chain of events. But to me, this book was about Amanda Bowe. So I will start there.

Amanda Bowe is a journalist on the rise. She is having a tawdry affair with a cop who is leaking information to her. Particularly about the disappearance of 13-year old Constance. Amanda is certain without a doubt that her uncle, Karl, is “the guy”. So in a series of news articles, she has, in short, ruined his life.

I enjoyed this part of the book. It’s AMAZING what a few misconstrued, slightly twisted words on paper can do to a person’s life. Her articles never lied, but they sure did twist the truth around.

Revenge

This story, from this point on becomes about revenge. But that’s where it lost me. There was so much potential there and I enjoyed the premise. However, a little bit of the story was too “out there” for me. I did not enjoy the ‘plinks’ part of the story line at all. I found myself skimming over parts. That is always a tell tale sign that the enjoyment was lost somewhere.

The ending didn’t wow me much either. There is definitely some deeper meaning to the end of the story line, but it went over my head. I had trouble seeing understanding the underlying symbolism.

This story of revenge and bad karma had more potential. That is not to say that you won’t enjoy the book. 5 star reviews – and lots of them. I am definitely in the minority here. The author’s writing was enjoyable and the cover is AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL. The author’s other books appeal to me, and am looking forward to giving them a try.

THANK YOU

Thank you to Laura Elliot, Net Galley, and Bookouture for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A fantastic and original read focussing on the current topic of "fake news" and revenge. Karl's much-loved teenage niece goes missing from home and before long much is being made of his "close" relationship with her mainly by journalist Amanda Howe.
Before long Karl is swept up in a media frenzy and suspicion falls on him in relation to his niece's disappearance.
What follows is the unravelling of Karl's life and the repercussions for all involved. A twisting, turning, edge of your seat thriller which I thoroughly recommend! 5 star review posted on Good reads blog.

I really enjoyed this book, I was gripped from the first few pages and found myself hooked on a rollercoaster ride up to the last few pages.  I do love a good psychological thriller and this was definitely up there for me.  The book made me go through so many emotions I read it n pretty much one sitting, I just needed to know how the book was going to end and what was going to happen to Karl and Amanda, I hoped that I had guessed towards the end what was going to happen but it was touch and go for a bit - a book I'd definitely recommend grabbing a copy of (it is out today) - 5 stars from me!

Wow! What a book! A spectacular, thrilling page-turner of a tale! Loved it from start to finish! It was so addictive that I had to discipline myself to stay away and do some work instead. So tense and fast paced and heartbreaking and heart pounding. The characters took over my head and even now I keep thinking about them and getting distracted wondering what I would have done in their situation. This story was so unpredictable - I thought it would go a certain way and it didn't at all. I LOVE that - it's wonderful when a book surprises you. I have read all of this author's books and I think this is her best, combining her beautiful writing with brilliant pace, tension and emotion. An amazing, original, unique story that will stay with me for a long time. I experienced all the emotions of the characters in this book - heartbreak and anger, grief, helplessness and the yearning for revenge. Especially loved how it ended - I thought it was the perfect ending for this complicated story.This book is many stories in one - it is about multifaceted personalities and the depths humans can sink to and the best part is that it is told through the author's trademark, evocative writing. I read a lot of psychological thrillers and this is one of the very best, right up there with Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins and Tana French.

When Karl's niece goes missing he's found guilty in the eyes of the press leading his life to spiral out of control. Guilty takes you on a twisting revenge road trip right up to the last page.

ARC provided by Netgalley

This book brings home the adage – Loose lips sink ships

It takes a second and few written words to destroy a man’s reputation and years to rebuild it, but the scars of the pain undergone are felt forever. Words are that powerful, this simple fact is brought home by Laura Elliot in this book.

Amanda bowe, the journalist and Karl Lawson, the alleged suspect are the two main protagonists. When Karl’s niece, Constance Lawson, disappears one night, few words of implied guilt written by Amanda and a picture taken in a different context, implicates Karl. The media uproar following it and the police investigation destroy his life, his marriage, his career. Everyone, including his wife and brother, do not believe in his innocence. He is left all alone in this torturous journey, with his pain and sadness over Constance’s death, who was like his surrogate daughter and the loss of his own child Sasha, who is oceans away. The entire story is about the repercussion which follow one media article.

This book is told in 4 parts ;

Part 1 : Constance’s disappearance and the aftermath in which Karl is totally destroyed by Amanda.

Part 2: Amanda Bowe and her career, her flight up the corporate ladder including hooking up with the big boss.

Part 3 : Amanda’s journey as a mother and a wife.

Part 4 : Amanda’s child Marcus’s disappearance and Karl’s well planned revenge.

I enjoyed the first three parts. They were fast and well written. Emotions were felt in each word ; parents’ pain over the disappearance of their daughter, Karl’s disbelief, Amanda’s arrogance and selfishness, the media’s intrusiveness and influence over the public outlook. I felt so much anger against Amanda for the furore she caused by her writings, in her need to prove Karl guilty. She was ruthless. She does help him get free later but it’s too little, too late.

Its the 4th part of the book that i have a problem with. It’s a bit scattered, slow and too short. It does connect the various points but Amanda’s pain of being on the other side of media and its vicious attacks were not felt. I needed more from the fourth part, the downfall of Amanda and the consequences of her actions. But that’s my personal opinion. (I am a little blood thirsty…)

I have loved all of Laura Elliot’s books, she writes beautifully, her words bring out all the emotions especially Karl’s pain and his disbelief at the way his world turned upside down, his reaching the end of the barrel and his slow and gradual rise. It was an entertaining, well thought of page-turner with a compelling story. It deals with passion, ambition, deception, revenge, everything which makes it a potboiler of a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for this entertaining read. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

This book was really hard to put down, it had you guessing till the end, I'm glad there are other books by this author, I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Very well written psychological thrill. Great plot with many twists and turns to keep the reading guessing. I loved it.

Guilty by Laura Elliot is a great thriller that is full of suspense and tension. This story shows how deeply the media influences our lives and how the media can potentially ruin someone’s life. I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This book a raw, edge of the seat page turner. The story is told in four parts, all of which lead into each other beautifully.
Part one focuses on Constance Lawson, age 13 she has a fight with her parents and sneaks out that night to take part in a "challenge" set by "The Fearless". She is never seem alive again. Her uncle Karl, with whom she is very close becomes the focus of the media attention and through that becomes the centre of the investigation after Constance's body is found.
Part two centers on a journalist from a local tabloid paper Amanda and her single minded focus on Karl. How she gets her information and why she is so determined to prove Karl is behind the death of his niece.
Part three fast forwards in time again to Amanda, now with an extremely successful career, happy marriage with a baby on the way. Karl on the other hand has lost everything. His hate for Amanda and society in general is palpable. He is jobless and homeless and is sinking further into alcoholism. Because of her he has lost everything.
Part four...well I don't want to ruin the book. But part four is where it all really kicks off. And all four parts of the story come together in an ending that will have you in a spin.
The plot of this book is fantastic, the characters are realistic and believable. This is an easy five stars

Thank you to Laura Elliot, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing with me an advanced reader copy of Guilty.

I rated this book a solid 3.5 stars. If I had to rate the first part of the book, I'd give it 5 stars. I'd give the second part of the book 2 stars. This is one of those books that starts off so incredibly well, and then takes a divergent path that leaves you wanting so much more for the characters and from the plot. I couldn't put the book down the first day I started reading it.

Karl is the uncle of Constance, a 13 year old girl who goes missing in the middle of the night. Karl was known as the "cool uncle" to Constance; because of his writing gig with a popular underground music scene magazine, he gets Constance and her friends into concerts and gives Constance unreleased CDs.

Justin, Karl's brother and Constance's father, disapproves of this relationship because of his strict parenting style. One night Justin grounds Constance for her behavior and tells her she cannot attend one of her favorite musician's concerts with Karl as a consequence. Constance runs away, engaging in dangerous behavior that results in her disappearance.

Karl becomes a key suspect in Constance's disappearance, and is subjected to the typical rash of social media speculation and online gossip in an age where news is often reported before it is vetted. Karl loses his family, his job, and his friends over such speculation, his life essentially ruined by the media. Amanda is one of the reporters that pushes questionable stories about Karl, helping to incite violence against him and what remains of his family.

I won't give away the plot or spoilers, but the book becomes an entirely different story about 40% of the way in. The second part is about revenge and the desire for power, which was interesting but not as compelling or heart-pounding as the first part of the book. I think the book would have been more successful if it had focused on the story of Constance and drawn that out much longer.

Laura Elliot, the author, is a good writer, so I kept reading because I did enjoy her writing style and prose. Karl's character was written very well at the beginning, but I felt like his actions and behavior became questionable once I started the second part of the book. The twists and turns seemed out of character for Karl, and also seemed a bit unbelievable in an age where everything we do and say is captured digitally. I wish I could say more, but I don't believe the things he did in the second part of the book would be possible.

After a blazing row with her parents 13 year old Constance Lawson sneaks out of her home in the middle of the night and vanishes without a trace.

A few days later Constance`s uncle Karl Lawson finds that he is the prime suspect in her disappearance thanks to a media frenzy created by journalist Amanda No we.

Six Years Later

Karl's life is in ruins but the woman who took everything away from him now has a successful chat show,a husband and a baby boy.Amanda has the perfect life until the day she receives a phone call and finds herself plunged into every parents living nightmare.

I think Guilty is going to be one of those books that will divide readers opinions.Some will love it,some will hate it and some like me will find their opinion falling somewhere in the middle.I enjoyed certain elements of the story but I also felt that it dragged in places,at one point I was uncertain wether I was going to finish the book or not.

The search for Constance was gripping and intreguing and had a surprising and unexpected conclusion.Amanda's systematic and cold hearted destruction of Karl`s life was scarily realistic,we all know the media don't care what damage they cause to people's lives as long as the story makes headlines,who cares if the facts are true or not.I would have liked there to have been more background information on Karl and Nicole`s marriage,that might have explained why Nicole reacted the way that she did to what was happening to Karl.

The characters where complex,believable and mostly not very likeable.I felt a lot of sympathy for Karl,I mean you would have to have a heart of stone not to feel some sympathy for the poor man.It's not a fast paced story but there is the odd twist or two and it does have a satisfactory ending.Unfortunately I thought parts of the story where a bit too slow but that's just my opinion,I'm sure other readers will love this book.

BTW - I LOVED the Plinks.....lol