Really enjoyed the way in which the story took a ‘sliding doors’ approach to a terrible event. A situation any woman could find themselves in and two totally different ways of dealing with it. A little frustrated with Reuben and his do gooder ways, not sure I could stomach such sanctimony! Well written and an interesting end...reveal...conceal.

Fast paced sliding doors - what would you have done - very clever

This is much bigger than a novel abt a costly error of judgement in a young woman's life. It's abt how those judgements and character traits are amplified across swathes of a community, and, here, across cultures. She mistakes a young man running behind her in the night with a sexual predator she'd thgt she'd left behind in a bar. It leads to his death and her incarceration for an action it's not fair to reveal here. A trial ensues and we. contemplate knotty issues of women's vulnerability to harassment and the toll it takes on all the people, including her husband and best friend. Much later it emerges what triggered the court's decision and it's v close to home. Told from inside head of the. victim/perpetrator, an ordinary timid young woman with familiar work and family issues of young adults leading bohemian lifestyle, it really got under my skin. I. could not put it down. There 's perhaps one coincidence too many at one point, but I tolerated it so absorbed was I...

After reading Everything but the Truth (by accident I might add), and having loved everything about it, I was very much looking forward to the follow up novel.

If I am truthful (and I am choosing that path) there was a moment early on in the book where I was feeling a little..... remorseful, perhaps, that the basic premise of the book maybe lacked a little originality, but I regret thinking that. Once again Gillian delivers what she intends to deliver, through a well written novel, filled with thought provoking narratives, and deep and intriguing characters.

Oh, and a great ending to boot.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin for a review copy.

Another compelling read.

Based on a sliding doors type scenario where our main character must make a snap second decision and deal with the consequences of both sides of the coin. The two timelines blended together really well and were always clear. I was a little disappointed by one particular character (Reuben) as I didn't find any of his reactions realistic.

I would however recommend this read.

This is an exceptional book ,it is like the film Sliding Doors when there are two different outcomes to the same situation .The story is like two books in one gliding seamlessly between Conceal and Reveal .Both stories are brilliant and completely believable ,I do wonder what I would do in the same circumstances !!! The ending was perfect ,the book kept me gripped the whole way through fabulous 10 stars !!!

A clever psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first page! I loved the 'sliding doors' concept, a different style of writing that I'm used to but no less enjoyable. The pace is fast, keeping me on my toes and interested throughout. A gripping page turner full of suspense, lies and guilt. A very well deserved 5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

The concept of a kind of "sliding doors" structure seemed at first contrived but as I read, the writing strengthened and became more convincing. Characterisation, particularly the male characters:Reuben, Ed and Wilf, was realistic. The narrator was less credible but her motivations felt authentic.
The novel lends itself to a "what would you do?" discussion at several points, hence my thought that it might work as a senior school text.

With some books it is hard to work out what rating to give. With this it is a very well deserved 5 stars. I absolutely loved the premise of the book. It is a sliding doors moment. What happens if...
I found myself thinking about this book whilst I was at work, when I woke up, and long after I finished it.
I've started wondering what 'they' would do, when I'm meeting new people. Would they stay or would they go. What would I do? What would those around me do? This book would be brilliant to discuss at a book club or a dinner party. (I think you get the gist, I thought the concept was brilliant)
But a good idea doesn't get 5 stars. It also needs to be brilliantly executed and this is. The opening chapters are so well written that I realized I had been holding my breath. I felt like an observer watching everything unfold. This author picked me up, dropped me into her tale and didn't let me escape until I'd devoured every last word.
I loved her first book and adored her second. This author is definitely one to watch (and read everything she writes!)

An interesting method of telling a story. One that took me a while to get used too. We can probably all imagine such a situation for ourselves. Complicated ,many layered characters.

I started to wonder what would I have done?
Would I have stayed to help or disappear after pushing someone down the steps. These scenarios are explored in this book and I really got into the characters and could see why they reacted as they did under both.
I would really recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

This novel hooked me from the beginning and I loved the twist early on. The writing flows well and the book is edgy, especially in terms of the characters. I found them to be full of interest and a bit quirky. Reuben and Joanna come across as real, flawed individuals and this added to the book's interest. I haven't met a couple like them! The best feature of the book for me is the original structure. The action divides, after a memorable first scene, into 'reveal' and 'conceal ' and offers us two separate pathways leading to different conclusions. I really liked this and it made the book stand out for me. It's skilfully handled by the author but I imagine it was tricky to write. Definitely worth reading and I will recommend it to my friends as its clever structure makes this a very satisfying page turner.

In starting the review by making it clear that the book was a disappointment I may be guilty of inflicting an injustice on Ms McAllister. That, perhaps, requires some explanation, so let me start by noting that the book starts well and sets up a scene fraught with tension and danger for Joanna, the lead character. Readers will empathise with Joanna and understand the sense of imminent danger that is well created. But this good, well-crafted beginning unfortunately sets high expectations for what follows - and, for this reader at least, these expectations are not met.
The premise of the book surrounds the dilemma facing Joanna when she realises that her response to the threat she believed she was facing has had tragic consequences for an entirely innocent person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Further details would be too much of a spoiler - but, so far, so good. Two possible scenarios over what happened after the tragic events unfolded are explored. Whilst not a unique plot device it was an interesting way of exploring the interactions of the different characters and the various agencies involved. But where the book, for me, lost its edgy, sharp beginning was in the over-long unfolding of the two parallel scenarios. Pace suffered, and rather too much extraneous character development was deployed that served to obscure rather than enlighten the developing story; the ending, when it came, was relatively lame and seemed at odds with the character development described in earlier chapters.
Redeeming features that help to justify four stars rather than three include particularly fine writing; a gift for creating atmosphere; sound research over police, court and medical background; and effective dialogue writing - Ms McAllister’s English tutor from university was not wrong when praising this aspect of her work. I’m sure there is a better novel waiting to be exposed to a wider readership and look forward to reading it in due course.

What a fab way to write a story. I was concerned at first I wouldn’t be able to follow the 2 different plots but wow. So well read and so addictive I just couldn’t put it down. Found myself telling my work colleagues and family the plot so far as if it was actually happening. You can’t help but love Joanna and yes I did have my preconceptions as to what she should do “conceal or reveal” but I changed my mind so many times. A story that really makes you think about yourself and what would you do? Brilliant.

A compelling story which divides nto alternate chapters of what happens when the truth is told versus when the truth is withheld. An accident that takes on its own life as the consequences are worked out chapter by chapter. A girls night out turns into a nightmare that escalates alarmingly- scarily possible in this day and age withvdisturbing consequences that may or may not advocate that it is always better to do the right thing and tell the truth.

Absolutely gripping! Will be RAVING about this one on my YouTube channel.

Actions have consequences. This book tells Joanna's story from two different perspectives following a life changing event. One half of the book reveals what happens if she conceals the truth, the other explores what happens if she reveals.

A really interesting and gripping psychological thriller. It's different, keeps you hooked and makes you question what you would do if you were in Joanna's shoes.

One of the best books I've read this year and I'm keen to read more from McAllister.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and Gillian McAllister for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is split into two: reveal and conceal. I think this is a good idea but I found it difficult to keep up with the threads of the story. I thought the husband, Reuben was wet and pathetic and didn't really sympathise with the
main character. I could see what the author was trying to do by using a Muslim man as the victim and show a mirror up to society and how we view crimes because of race, gender etc, but this didn't add anything to the story for me. It also made a mockery of the justice system and asks the question: what makes someone guilty? There is obviously a lot of questions the author poses, but for me, I found the characters really soulless so I couldn't engage with the book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House UK for a pre-publishing copy in exchange for an honest review. Sometimes when giving feedback online one can feel indifferent and do so only out of a sense of duty. This is definitely NOT the case here. Gillian McAllister has come up with another block buster in a crated tale where the reader can worry and sympathise with the characters and at the same time find oneself thinking - "don't do that! No!" then sheepishly realise its a book albit a very good book. You can read to blurb so I will not reiterate it here but the style you have to read the book to get the gripping feeling and the tension. Some have said it emulates the film "Sliding Doors" - I don't know because i've never seen it but if the film is anywhere as good as this book I'm off to the cinema. A well earned 5 stars

When a typical Friday night out with your best friend ends in disaster - how would you react..... stay and face the consequences or run and hope the truth doesn't come out. When Joanne is harassed in a bar and then believes she is being followed home - she reacts without thinking resulting in a man being seriously injured. She hesitates to think how to deal with the situation... does she help or does she leave? The story takes the course of both actions simultaneously: conceal the truth and the guilt and paranoia starts to wreck her life and also reveal where she admitted her actions and had to deal with the consequences which also wreck her life. A gripping story that makes you think on how would you react if it was you?