This was a well written but somewhat disappointing domestic suspense thriller, with an intensely annoying protagonist. It’s set in Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland, but apart from some of the Irish phrases that reminded me of some good friends from that part of the world, “The wee dote”, etc, it could actually have been set anywhere.

Emily, a lonely single call-centre worker with low self-esteem and few friends, is shocked when a pretty young woman pushing a stroller, the Rose of the title, is killed right in front of her. Suspecting that she was the intended target, and that her abusive ex-boyfriend is the culprit, she is wracked with guilt, and becomes obsessed with the victim’s apparently perfect life. Making one ridiculously stupid and selfish decision after the other, she takes Rose’s job, then befriends the widower and rapidly falls in love with him. Rose, however, had secrets - which may have led to her death...

I was confused how a female author could make her heroine so unsympathetic. Maybe we were supposed to feel sorry for Emily, who sort of wants to do the right thing, but always puts her own impulsive desires first. She is supposed to have recovered from her previous trauma, but lies to both herself, her employers, her one friend, and even the police, suppressing her guilt with pills and booze. She’s petty and jealous, even of a dead woman, desperate to bolster her fragile ego. It’s really hard to care about a character you despise.

I thought the gradual reveal of what was really going on, thanks to flashbacks of Rose’s point of view, was well done, but there were few real surprises in the plot and the ending was well sign-posted. This has had 4 star reviews from several of my GR friends, so maybe I’ve just overdone this kind of plot, and others may well enjoy this more than I did. 2.5 rounded up for the decent writing and handling of some sensitive issues.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a terrific book. A real page turner. I was hooked the minute I started reading it. As the blurb says, Rose was standing in front of Emily with a baby in a carriage and let her go first to cross the street and in that split second someone runs Rose down, killing her but the baby is left unharmed. Now, Emily, is a woman who has had a major setback in her romantic life and is still struggling with it. To her, Rose looks like someone who has it all. A baby and a very successful husband who is an author and good looking. Emily manages to get a job where Rose used to wok and then meets her husband at the dental office where Rose used to work. This is a true psychological thriller with some major twists at the end that I never saw coming. I highly recommend this book if you like psychological thrillers that have surprise endings. I received this book from netgalley.com for an honest review

What would you do if you witnessed a woman get hit by a car? What would you do if, moments before, you noticed this woman with her hands full – one full of shopping bags and the other pushing her baby in a stroller? And because her hands were full, you allowed her to go ahead in front of you. What would you do if you had to deal with the fact that if you wouldn’t have let her go in front of you, you’d of been the one hit.. the one dead? What would you do if you had a past that made you think that this hit and run was meant to be directed to you, but instead this innocent woman took the fall. What would you do?

Ever think you’ve got something perfectly figured out but then a curve ball is thrown and completely changes the course of what you thought would happen? That is this book summed up. I had no idea what was going to happen and was completely and utterly surprised by every twist and turn that happened. Even the last line of this book had my jaw on the floor. I had to re-read it 5 times just to be sure I read it right. Guys… this is what books are for!!! 452 pages is a pretty long book and I went through this book quicker than I go through a meal. And I like to eat. A lot. Such an entertaining read. Seriously entertaining.

Read this book!!

A real page turner. It looked an ordinary accident but is it? Emily has her own problems and doesnt realise she's in the beginning of the same situation. She's desperate to be in love and loved. She wants friends. Good descriptions of those emotions Emily feels. Well written and very much an enjoyable read.

This had less tension and less twists than I had originally expected it to have but it was still great. I found that although Emily, the main character, was terrible in that love-to-hate way, she was also quite a passive character. It seemed like most of the events happened around her. Luckily though, the story itself is pretty gripping. I was reading this in large chunks whenever I could. Would I read this again? Sure but only when i'm in the mood for something more slow-paced.

What a great book, have you ever done a good deed? Let someone go out of the lift before you? Seen them die and then regretted it forever more? This is how the story starts, it’s fast paced with lots of twists and turns and one I enjoyed immensely, a book I’ll be recommending to my friends for sure. A great psychological thrilller.

Her Name Was Rose was one hell of a completely engrossing read that I flew through in one sitting, I just had to know how it would all turn out. We follow Emily who becomes slightly obsessed with a woman’s life after she witnesses her death. Thinking that the dead woman had a perfect life Emily goes out of her way to try and claim some of that life for herself which ultimately gets her in quite a bit of trouble.

I mostly liked Emily - not all the time, she’s quite naive so sometimes she drove me crazy. I loved the little chapters that we got of Rose, loved getting to see how her life really was with Cian and for the most part I could guess what was coming, guess who was to be trusted and who not to trust, but not that ending - that was fantastic!

I also loved all the themes explored in this - social media, abusive behaviour, mental health, loneliness and I loved all the characters too, I eventually really got behind Emily, she turned out quite a fantastic character. All in all a fantastic psychological thriller that kept me thoroughly entertained and gripped to the final page.

My first Claire Allan book and it is highly recommended, will definitely be picking up more from this author!

Thank you so much to the publishers who sent me a copy for being part of the blog tour

This is a modern thriller which I enjoyed. Emily witnesses Rose being run over and killed in front of her. As Emily is a lonely young woman she uses the internet and becomes fixated on the seemingly perfect life led by Rose. She applies for the position left by Rose at the local dentist surgery and is given the job. However she finds that everything was not as perfect as she was led to believe. Read on!.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Until about 60% this was going to be a 3 star. I found it to be a slow read to that point and I thought it would have a predictable ending but luckily things picked up and there were some surprises I didn’t see coming at the end. Overall it turned out to be a pretty good book.

Buckle your seatbelts for this one, because it is one amazing roller coaster of a ride! Claire Allan has created quite a twisty-turny plot. The backstory for Emily, the main character, is fleshed out well enough, without making her a caricature of the type of woman she represents (don’t want to be specific, because I don’t want to spoil the plot). The author builds the suspense slowly and methodically, allowing the reader to share Emily’s journey while at the same time questioning Emily’s motives. Roughly half way through, everything really picks up and that’s when you just have to hang on! Many psychological thrillers have a “big reveal” climax, and then the rest of the story is just cleaning up plot points. Not this one; there were more than a few “omg, no way!” moments which kept up the fast pace right up through the epilogue. A welcome entry into the genre, I look forward to reading more from this author! Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the synopsis of the book I knew that I had to read it. The idea of watching someone die and feeling guilty because it could of been you makes complete sense. What happens when the life that you saw extinguished becomes the life that you wished you lived? Would you try and put yourself in her life to find the happiness or what you see as happiness? The characters in this book were written in such a way that the story had to be read in just one sitting. Full of so many twists and surprises that were fantastic. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and write about this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this early release copy.

This book was ridiculously well crafted.
I love a mystery/thriller that has you guessing for a good portion of the book.
This one had me guessing for it's entirety.
I did have some concerns about Emily to start.
She was so desperate and annoying and creepy, I just wanted to shake her out of most of her decisions.
As the book progressed I started to warm up to her and by the end I could see she needed to be slightly mental in order for the story to unfold so well.
I am so glad I got to read this book!

Couldn't put this down!

Emily D'Arcy has been damaged and broken by a previous relationship and has withdrawn from life. She witnessed an accident where a young mum is knocked down and killed by a car. Emily had let the lady, Rose, go in front of her. Emily is racked with guilt, thinking that it was a case of Rose being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is sure the car was meant for her.

Emily, traumatised by the accident searches Rose on line, and discovers that she was married to a successful author, had the perfect house, loving son, a busy social life and a great job as a dentist receptionist with colleagues who adored her.

Emily finds herself in a situation wherein she has become Rose's replacement in work, having taken her job and then becomes the person that Rose's husband, Cian confides in. Before she knows it, she's in love with Cian and would do anything for him - even lie to the police when she gives Cian an alibi for the night the driver of the car that killed Rose was pushed from a bridge.

Is Cian everything he seems or does he have a darker side?

This is a really twisty tale, there was one character I was suspicious of during the story and it turns out those suspicions were with good reason. Loved the final sentence of the epilogue too, Emily deserved some happiness, she'd been through a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

Emily saw Rose die. After seeing a car hit-and-run and kill Rose, Emily is unable to move on. She becomes obsessed with Rose and her family and makes a decision she can never take back. Emily will discover that not everything is as it seems.

This book begins slowly, weaving webs to suck you in. Eventually, I found myself unable to put this book down and really enjoyed it. I generally start a book as soon as I finish one, but after this, I went to sleep, feeling pretty satisfied.

The book starts with Emily witnessing the hit and run of Rose Grahame. Emily and Rose had been chatting in a lift and Emily motioned to Rose, who pushing her 20 month old son Jack, to go ahead of her out of the lift. Later Emily wondered if she was the intended victim. Five years before she’s been in an abusive relationship with Ben Cullen. Ben had vowed to get revenge on Emily in retaliation for things that she did to him after they broke up when she’s rather lost the plot with alcohol and substance abuse.

So far so good but the story got more and more unbelievably as Emily behaved oddly in many ways. She started stalking Rose and her family online and was soon falling in love with Rose’s widow Cian who was writing prolific sweet nothings to Rose on Facebook for all the world to apparently read. She went to Rose’s funeral but lied to her work that she was at the dentist.once back at work she is checking Facebook for photos taken at the funeral. Which apparently were there within minutes –my interest in the story waned a lot further at this point. Funeral photos on Facebook for a private funeral?! She was then fired for lying about going to the dentist.

Emily goes on to apply for Rose’s job as a dental clinic which she gets. It seems like everyone at the clinic thought Rose was a saint and there’s even a large photo of her on the wall. They talk of her in saint like hushed tones and make Emily feel awkward. I just found this quite hard to believe too as much as people might miss someone I find it hard to believe they’d behave in this way towards a newcomer in their workplace.

There was a slight twist at the end but was okay but it mostly panned out as I’d assumed it would from from about halfway through with no great surprises.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Her Name Was Rose is a very well written book. I enjoyed the plot and the well developed characters. This is a new author to me and I really liked her style of writing and I am sure I will be reading more of her books. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. This is my unbiased review.

Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allen is a well-written and engaging read. The characters are well developed and I liked that the story is set in Ireland. I would have liked it better if it was more of a ‘page turner’ as it is labelled as a psychological thriller. It took me a while to get into the story as I felt it was told at a slower pace than I was expecting but it did develop more as it went on and importantly held my interest until the end

My thanks to Avon and NetGalley

Disturbing, flawed characters and nobody comes out of this particularly well.
Emily is convinced her ex has been trying to hunt her down. On the day she witnesses a young mother run down in front of her, Emily talks herself into a state of paranoia. Determined to deal with some of the demons from her past she researches this young mother, Rose, and starts to take an obsessive interest in her life.
Emily gets Rose’s old job and soon becomes caught up in a relationship with the grieving widow. Nothing is quite as clear-cut as we think. Emily is desperate for attention and her narrative means we’re never certain how ‘glossy’ she’s painting the picture of things.
Nobody is beyond suspicion. Hints of something dark beneath the surface are given with excerpts from Rose’s Facebook page. A number of characters come under suspicion - not least Emily - and the reality did come as something of a shock.
My main issue was with Emily and her reliability as a narrator. I didn’t feel I got enough of her backstory to really find credible her behaviour. Some of the actions of characters within the novel also felt rather implausible.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my thoughts.

3 1/2 ⭐️’s! The author stated this was her first psychological thriller and it had a little too much romance for me (I’m not a big romance fan). But it was well written and the twists and secrets kept me turning pages! Anyone who likes a little romance mixed in with their suspense should enjoy this book. I’d definitely try another thriller by this author.

“When a person dies young, we so often say they had so much more to give.”

It was an awful hit and run and she was killed instantly...her name was Rose.

The story is told through the eyes of Rose and Emily. Rose was killed as she was pushing her young son — Jake — across the street in his buggy. Emily witnessed the tragic event and becomes obsessed with Rose. She attends her funeral and starts stalking her social media account.

Rose had a job she loved and coworkers that adored her. Emily has a dead-end job and a shit-show life — so she drinks too much.

Rose was a young mother — married to an attractive and successful author — with a gorgeous toddler. Emily is sad and spends her nights alone.

Rose lived in a stunningly beautiful house, while Emily rents a small flat she can barely afford.

Emily wants more. She successfully gets a job where Rose worked. Then she meets the grieving widower — Cian. She offers to lend an ear if he ever needs to talk, and is thrilled when he invites her over for tea. The house is spectacular — even though Rose’s cheerful face and her radiant smile are plastered everywhere. And little Jack is so adorable, with his delightful laugh that is infectious. Emily can see herself living here. She yearns for the picture-perfect life Rose had.

#HerNameWasRose #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Emily is in a lift, on her way home from shopping
Rose is in the same lift, with her son Jack in his pram
They leave the lift
Then they get to the exit door of the shopping centre
Emily holds the door open for Rose
Rose thanks her and
Steps into the road
And is instantly killed by a car speeding past.....

And the story starts...Emily has had a previous abusive relationship, she craves love, a good job, a loving partner, a baby, a wonderful house.....in fact everything that Rose had......would it be really bad to take what Rose had now shes gone?.......
Be careful what you wish for Emily!!! All that glitters is NOT gold, silver or even bronze!
Another tense psychological thriller which had me addicted to the story, characters and wanting to know the outcome
At first a touch confusing as Rose ( although dead ) and Emily went back and forth from the past to the present but nothing major and the odd ‘getting it right in my head ‘ soon cleared up any ‘mixing up who was who’
I enjoyed the references to Facebook and how the author put into the book just what Facebook actually does to us all to get those ‘likes’
The book is set in Derry but I liked that unlike some books the descriptive bits of the area were not OTT with an authors love of their home town etc but kept its short, punchy and of interest and relevance to the book
I note that this is the authors first book as a thriller writer as previous she wrote woman’s fiction, I hope she stays in this genre as this ticks every box in the thriller, mystery psychological ‘must read’ box!!
A scarily fascinating idea and book that I found compulsive reading and really really enjoyed
10/10 5 stars