London is my favourite city in the world, and reading books that really dive into its mysterious beauty is by turns comforting and exhilarating for me. Nicci French's Freida Klein series did a tremendous job of excavating London for me, and its network of secret underground rivers. The Hope and Anchor by debut author Julia Kite, is another book that grabs London by its heart and refuses to let go.

The Hope and Anchor (also the name of the pub that MC Neely and her girlfriend Angela frequent) is delicately, gorgeously written. Neely is searching for Angela, who is missing - and begins the difficult task of contacting her friends and family, wanting answers as to what's happened, and where Angela might be. As she searches, facts about Angela begin to emerge, and Neely's caught in a web of misogyny, darkness and tragedy.

An accomplished literary mystery, The Hope and Anchor is one to be savoured. I hope it isn't Kite's final novel as she has real, raw and focused talent.

To be honest, I struggled with this a bit. Naturally drawn to the story, Neely's girlfriend Angela goes missing, I thought that this would be a home run for me. I believe that this had more to do with the fact that I didn't have any attachment to the characters as the writing was excellent. It is also much more literary than the mysteries I typically read.

Angela Archer and Neely Sharpe are in love. They've been girlfriends for over a year, and live happily together.

Or do they?

One day Angela goes missing, and as events unfold Neely learns a whole new side to Angela that she never saw herself. Can Neely trace what has happened to Angela?

For a thriller, this wasn't fast-paced enough for me, and neither were the characters particularly exciting or interesting. Therefore just an okay read, nothing to write home about.

3.5 stars. Surprising for a debut author; the book is rather well-written and the characters are interesting and well-rounded. The writing is incredibly atmospheric, but unfortunately it cannot save the sadly stale plot.

I so enjoyed the The Hope and Anchor! It was full of so many twists that I did not presume which is my favorite kind of book to review. I agree with other reviewers about the content of this book. I do not think that the crime or suspense aspect was the most dynamic part of this book. It integrated so many bigger issues within it's pages. I would recommend!

Such a fabulously layered book, in which even seemingly inconsequential characters contain multitudes and London is a character in its own right. Nothing and nobody are as you first think they are, so that you want to zip through the story to reach the denouement, but at the same time you don't want to skim over any of the precise prose. I'm already looking forward to Julia Kite's next book.

I received this book for free from Netgalley and Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I found I really liked this book. It believe it is a debut novel. I found the author did a good job. The characters were very well written. I felt like I was looking through their eyes in this story. I have never been to London so this was fun to see the views through the characters. The plot was set up nicely. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Not for me. I didn't connect with the characters and found all the interconnectedness of the different characters too coincidental. Wasn't feeling the drama and suspense.

Pick it up and have a read if you are a fan of drama and suspense. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I just could NOT get into this one... Normally, a good crime thriller, nothing-is-what-it-seems London story grabs my attention and holds it - but for some reason I could not find myself interested in the story here. Neely just felt flat to me; I couldn't find myself interested enough to care about what might have happened to Angela - let alone what Angela may have been hiding from her... After repeated pick-ups and put-downs, I finally had to concede. This was not a book for me...

Took me a while to get into this book, but completely hooked once I did. Enjoyed reading about London and recognizing places. Gripping story, look,forward to more by this author.

Whenever I want to feel better, I read a book set in London. London is my happy place. This book brought me deep into sections of London both familiar and foreign. Julia Kite has crafted an intricate, complicated story of complicated relationships - all hinging on a missing girlfriend. I loved unfurling the layers of this novel; Neely's pain and want for companionship is relatable for all people. I'm so impressed with this being Kite's debut novel - I look forward to more of her delicate and thrilling writing.
I received this novel through NetGalley, from Unbound, in exchange for an honest review.

Neely and Andrea are linked by one woman that they love, but don’t actually know. It’s only when Angela goes missing at the beginning of Julia Kite’s The Hope and Anchor that they realize how little they know about her. Her absence is a huge hole in their lives, especially for her girlfriend, Neely. As Neely wanders the streets, looking for Angela and questioning their mutual acquaintances about where she might have gone, the novel grows ever more tragic. By the end, I was stunned at the emotion pouring out of the book.

Neely and Angela live on Harrow Road, in West London, but neither of them is there at the opening of The Hope and Anchor. Neely is returning from an ill-advised one night stand with Sam. Angela never turns up after an evening of mysterious errands that Neely only learns about much later. As Neely walks up and down London’s streets, wracking her brains for any clue about where Angela might have gone, we learn about Angela’s tragic, brutal past and the mismatches between the two. Neely is middle-class, intelligent, but moans about how she just hasn’t made a success of herself. Angela is from a poor neighborhood. Her life with Neely is much better than what she had as a child.

Despite the mismatches of expectations, Neely and Angela make each other happy in that ineffable way that soulmates do. Which makes this novel all the more heartbreaking when we and Neely find out what happened the night Angela went missing. Most of the book focuses on Neely, but we also get to see how this disappearance affects Angela’s sister, Andrea. After getting the news, Andrea is beset by memories of how violent and angry she used to be in her efforts to protect her sister. Andrea had managed to put most of her past behind her after marrying and having children. But after learning about Angela, it all comes flooding back. Like Neely, Andrea isn’t sure how to be without Angela.

The ending of The Hope and Anchor is explosive. The beginning of the novel didn’t lead me to expect where it would end up. This isn’t to say that the ending was out-of-character. In retrospect, it fits, because this book is all about what one finds after kicking over metaphorical rocks to see what awful things are crawling around underneath. The last rock that gets kicked over in this book is a doozy. Readers who are interested in taking this book on should start bracing themselves around the halfway point. The Hope and Anchor really packs a wallop.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

I really enjoyed this book, being a newcomer to London and living North West, it was great to see and read about places that I know/have heard about!
I think that the book covers a lot of big issues rather than just being a mystery novel - I feel that the whodunnit side of the novel becomes a bit of an aside and deals with far bigger issues - love, disability, class - I enjoyed the book a lot and would recommend!

Different type of book than I would normally read. Great character building and enough twists to keep the reader guessing