David and his wife Tara have it all. Wonderful careers, a baby on the way and they have just completed work on their multi-million euro house. But the day before they are meant to move in, David discovers his wife has been sleeping with their builder. During the confrontation that ensues, David hits out at the builder, who stumbles and falls three storeys. David's life has changed forever but what he doesn't know, is that things are about to become much worse.

Well now, this one starts out with a bang and it's such an excellent way to reel a reader in. What's frightening is this accident is completely believable and could happen to anyone. Just a wee push and someone hits their head, with devastating consequences. That's exactly what happens here. And it makes you wonder what you would do, as David does. Go to the police? Or sit back and hope you get away with it?

Like I said, things are about to get much worse but I won't get into that as it would give away far too much information. Suffice to say there's quite the tense ride and with a few chapters ending on a cliffhanger, this is one of those books where you tell yourself you'll just read a few more pages until you realise it's gone past midnight and you might as well stay up late and finish the thing in one go.

I did feel that some of the chapters were a tad too slow and broke the flow of the story, specifically those dealing with David and Tara's past. And try as I might, I just can't understand the reason for Tara's fling at all. However, The Accident has a complex and brilliantly executed plot and I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style. While I guessed something out quite early on, I couldn't at all predict the ending and there were twists galore to keep me hooked until the rather satisfying conclusion. S.D. Monaghan is an exciting new voice in the psychological thriller genre and I look forward to his next book.

Wow! What can I say, I absolutely loved this book, such a cleverly written psychological thriller. The storyline kept me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough! I would definitely recommend this book in a heartbeat, more like this one please.

A small story with a small cast of characters, while not perfect I found myself enjoying this yarn immensely.

Tara and David have just about finished building their dream house in Dublin. Tara, a girl from a small country town in Ireland is an artist who has made it big and given the couple their wealth. 8 weeks pregnant, with the perfect life ahead of her she has a one night stand in the house with the builder, an old boyfriend, as a sort of last hurrah before settling down for her life with David, their baby and the house.

David is 10 years her senior. A history lecturer and responsible for all the business side of Tara's art work, he decides to stop by their soon to be home on the last night before they move in to take it all in. David comes from one of the roughest parts of Dublin. An area known for drugs and violence. An area where few if any, make it to leafy heights of where his house to be now stands.
As he parks up and prepares to go into the house, he sees Tara appear outside the door with the builder Ryan and kiss him before leaving. David can't help homself and goes inside the house to contfront Ryan who is standing in a bedroom upstairs semi naked. A row ensues and as David punches Ryan, Ryan staggers backwards and falls out a yet unfinished and unprotected window to the patio below, seemingly lifeless and dead.

And so ensues our story from here as all of the above takes place in the first couple of chapters. What starts of as a story of an illicit affair and an accidental death and attempted cover up, slowly developes into a lot more as things don't go to plan, secrets are revealed and both David and Tara's circumstances become more and more desperate.

I really enjoyed this one. It's a small insular story with a small cast of characters but is very well told for the most part. David and Tara are both flawed but very likeable characters and their love for each other and relationship is very believeable. The few parts of flashback in the book to their original meeting and early times together really help round out their characters and relationship and I felt invested in both as I read the book.

There's a couple of villains in the piece as well who serve their purpose, if a little two dimensional. The story does zip along and you get that claustrophobic feel of panic and desperation as the main characters try to find a way out of their desperate situation.

I did find myself having to suspend disbelief the odd time as the story revealed itself but I didn't mind it much at all as I was having so much fun reading the book. I really liked that the author having such a small story with very few characters, kept me intrigued and interested throughout.

A debut novel from S.D. Monaghan and a very impressive one at that. A very talented story teller, a name I will look out for in the future and one that I will certainly read more of.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Oh be careful what you wish for.! Having pulled himself up by his boot straps from a rough council estate to one of THE roads in Dublin David should be as happy as any man can be but on the night before he and his wife move in the unimaginable happens . This starts a chain of events that catapult his family into a rollercoaster of events that will keep you guessing. Read over two evenings I was not going to bed until I got to the end! A cracking good read

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Accident’ by S D Monaghan in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Historian David catches his artist wife Tina having intercourse with Ryan who’s been constructing their new and very expensive house at Lawrence Court. During an argument David accidentally pushes Ryan through the opening where a Juliet balcony is being erected, and that’s when his and Tara’s nightmares begin.
I thought the novel was well-written and engaging with an interesting plot, lots of action and surprises, but what for me detracted from the story were the number of unnecessary profanities. A good story shouldn’t need to be peppered with the ‘F’ word as many times as it was here in order to make it exciting. Apart from that, the story was enjoyable, easy to read, and with a twist towards the end that I hadn’t expected.

3* Crooked Stars

I was very excited to read The Accident as the description of the book was intriguing and had the promise of a great thriller. Unfortunately it fell short of being a nail biting thriller for me, (perhaps I have read some excellent ones of late back to back). It started off with a bang and then I felt it started to drag and it had lots of inner dialogue from David and Tara and not much suspense at this stage. I also struggled to connect with Tara as I did not like the decisions she made. I did feel for David, because of her bad choices, he had to suffer the consequences of her actions. Towards the end of the book it certainly picked up with lots more action and suspense thrown in.

I will be interested to see what the author brings us next.

ARC kindly provided by Bookouture via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intelligently written novel enriched with some fascinating analogies and metaphors. Tara has one misjudged moment of lust and everything goes pear-shaped with horrendous repercussions for many others. It's an ingenious plot. I wasn't sure how it would pan out and it kept me waiting and wondering until the end. It was a brilliant, gripping read. Naturally it immediately puts your imagination into overdrive and sets you wondering what you would do in the predicament Tara and her husband find themselves. David is a council estate kid who has made it good through his own academic achievements. However he has a mammoth chip on his shoulder because of his lowly beginnings and fails to feel confident and comfortable in his upper class setting. Tara puzzled me. I thought at first that she was perhaps a high-class slut but then I figured she was rather pretentious and superficial and I struggled to like her. But having said that she showed remarkable spirit and pluck to salvage what she could of her life and lifestyle. It goes to prove how easily you can screw up your life in a second by one stupid error of judgement. I shall post this on Amazon, Facebook and my blog after publication. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read it.

The challenge in this book is how loathsome the characters are.

You see, everything that happens in his book – every little thing – happens because of people who do something unethical. It’s not an ‘Accident’. Instead, it’s the end result of bad behavior.

I was definitely intrigued by everything that happened in this book. It’s one of those books where something bad happens…and then something worse…and something worse… and so on and so on.

As such, it’s very intense and I really wanted to know how our characters would get out of the situations they got into. The problem was that a big part of me also felt that they should all simply burn. There was no one to root for.

An interesting book and I did enjoy the overall read, but I would have enjoyed it more if there was one hero or heroine in the book.

The Accident is a solid 4 star read from S D Monaghan , a great psychological thriller that had me gripped to the very end.Tara and David are moving into their dream home but Tara can't resist one last fling with her ex Ryan,a big mistake which she soon comes to regret as David is dragged into the whole mess.Throw into the mix Gordon a nasty architect who designed the house and Fenton the local gangster and you have a superb book ! My only slight criticism is that the ending for me was slightly rushed but it doesn't detract from a great 4 star read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This book was thrilling! I couldn't predict the ending at all. So many twists and turns my head was spinning!! Read this!

I was drawn to the book by the cover and description. I couldnt wait to read it. Tara and David, in a perfect marriage, they have it all. And the icing on the cake a baby on the way. Tara makes a life choice and will that decision make or break them. Lots of cliffhangers along the way to keep your interest. It was rather repetitive at times which i didnt like. This was why it was marked down. Could have been a fantastic book if not for this. But still well worth a read

I have finally completed reading this book. I can guess most of the part and it was awfully boring to read. It is not page turning thriller book. The plot is very simple and you can guess most part of the mystery. Sometimes I just skipped two or three pages but still the story was not moving anywhere.
I would have loved if the plot was more interesting and difficult to demystify it.
I believe it just an average thriller book.

I enjoyed this book very much. The book starts off with a bang - David, a professor married to a very successful painter goes to his newly built dream house only to find his wife having sex with their contractor Ryan, who is an old boyfriend. David confronts him, and the rest of the book tells the story of how the results of that confrontation.

The book was a real thriller and I couldn't stop reading it. The characters were a little shallow. Some of their reasons they did or did not do things were weak, but the story was so good it was easy to forgive. Ultimately they are flawed, and it made them more believable. The twist towards the end of the book was unexpected and really made the book for me!

I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did like the fact that from the very beginning this book started off with a bang, however as far as this beginning a great thriller it falls very short for me you saw everything that was going to happen ahead of time and all the twist and turns I had hoped weren't as fantastic as I had anticipated. Very disappointing

The Accident is one of those books that hooks you from page one. Everything happens so quickly that readers will feel the thrill right from the beginning and they won't be able to put it down until the very last page. Fans of gripping psychological thrillers with shocking truths that unfold right before your eyes need this novel. I enjoyed reading every second of it and didn't want to put it down.

This is a crazy, psychological thriller! A ghastly mistake, followed by another start a series of chilling repercussions that mad my skin crawl. Things keep getting more and more worse that it begins to feel like there will be no end or who will reap the final consequences.
David finally has the life he has only dreamed about: a beautiful wife and a soon to be completed dream house. It all begins to unravel when he witnesses his wife leaving the uncompleted house after a tryst with her former boyfriend, Ryan, now their contractor. David makes a terrible decision to confront Ryan who falls out an unprotected window two stories to the patio. Next thing David knows, he's struck his head and wakes up the next morning-Ryan's body is gone and looks to be buried under their patio.
The story begins a wicked series of twists and turns from murder to blackmail, growing darker and darker with each page. You don't know what is going to happen until it is right in front of you. Crazy good if your mind can handle it!

This was not my normal read as the crime was over bery quickly. What I likes is how great the reading was and the story.

The characters were all unlikable but the book itself had a story that drew me in.

The premise of this book had me interested straight away. In my own life, I’ve seen how easy it is for an accident to have dramatic consequences but this author was taking it to another level. When an accident results in murder, what would you do? I couldn’t wait to find out what the characters in this book would do.

What I liked most about this book is that it got stuck in straight. From the first few pages, the action begins and the tension never dissipates. We learn about these characters through their actions that have led up to and after this horrific accident. They aren’t the most likable characters but it was fascinating seeing this ordinary couple thrust into a world that every day people don’t experience all because of one ill-fated decision.

This book seemed to have a social concern with the rich and poor. There was a lot of commentary about the significance of where you grew up. It was interesting to see how people view the rich and can put their insecurities on them – blame them for everything. I did think this was a slow burner but it had a very vivid and gratifying ending. The premise of this book had me interested straight away. In my own life, I’ve seen how easy it is for an accident to have dramatic consequences but this author was taking it to another level. When an accident results in murder, what would you do? I couldn’t wait to find out what the characters in this book would do.

What I liked most about this book is that it got stuck in straight. From the first few pages, the action begins and the tension never dissipates. We learn about these characters through their actions that have led up to and after this horrific accident. They aren’t the most likable characters but it was fascinating seeing this ordinary couple thrust into a world that every day people don’t experience all because of one ill-fated decision.

This book seemed to have a social concern with the rich and poor. There was a lot of commentary about the significance of where you grew up. It was interesting to see how people view the rich and can put their insecurities on them – blame them for everything. I did think this was a slow burner but it had a very vivid and gratifying ending. It was a very well-crafted novel with an interesting premise about how one action can change your life. It was a very well-crafted novel with an interesting premise about how one action can change your life.

Gripping and twisty throughout, kept me gripped from the word go. An absolute must read!

Loved this! So well written and I really got sucked into the story from start to finish. Literally did not see that coming (no spoilers but....) the end was not what I expected but in a good way.