This book is totally and unexpectedly brilliant!! I had never heard of Robin Morgan-Bentley before, so I was not expecting too much but I was hooked once I started reading this!

The story is jointly narrated (with a twist) by the Ben who was just involved in a serious road traffic accident and Alice who is the wife of the victim seriously injured in the accident. As the story unravels, it soon becomes clear that this was a suicide attempt due to the deep depression of the victim. Ben however still feels some blame and tries to amends by befriending Alice and their her son Max. I was immediately interested in each character and wondered where the story was going; I was not ready for the twists and turns that followed.

Believable characters, original story, good pace and a few great twists.

4.5 stars.
Talk about sting in the tail...! Actually, I can't talk about it. Spoilers! But, no way, I thought we'd probably go there but I didn't expect THAT! Oh MY!
So Ben is driving to the school he teaches at when a man jumps in front of his car. Wracked with guilt and blaming himself, he finds out the name of the man (Adam) and also that he is not dead. Instead, in hospital, in a coma. So he does what we all would do in this position (not) - he goes to visit him. And there he meets Adam's wife Alice and young son Max. Still blaming himself and wanting to make amends, he develops a friendship with Alice and forms a bond with Max. But is this really healthy? Or is it a recipe for disaster?
This is car crash writing at it's very best. Literally as well as figuratively. I needed to keep reading even though a lot of what I read made me cringe; I couldn't look away. It's so compulsive however uncomfortable it made me at times. I felt for Ben and Alice (and Max of course) throughout. Not all positive either. Both had their flaws and faults. Both did stupid things, both driven by some skewed logic and/or emotion. Ben was a bit immature and naive and did quite annoy me at times. Not really in keeping with his job so I found that a little tricky on occasion. But I guess at work we never really show our true face so I guess he could be faking it... Alice was a bit of a cow sometimes although she did have some wonderful inner dialogue that made me chuckle along the way.
Throughout the book I was wondering where we would all end up. And then we have THAT discovery and THAT chapter which caught me on the hop and pulled the rug out from under me, flooring me... Oh yeah, well done...! And that final little piece, which I would usually not be so keen on, well this time, yeah, OK, you can get away with that...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book so much. It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend this book.

A very intriguing debut novel by Morgan-Bentley; one that tells a story we may have heard many times before but with a clever trick. It deals with a love triangle where one person is deceased; a man commits suicide yet the man he has picked to replace him in his life following his untimely demise.

The story is told from two viewpoints until we suddenly get the third viewpoint which sheds light on the whole story in a real twist, this reader for one did not see coming.

This was read in less than 3 days and was a thrill to read

A really dark and creepy thriller. I loved it well written and suspenseful and just all round menacing. Well done. I loved it x

An easy and quick read, The Wreakage tells the story of Ben driving to work one morning when a man steps out in front of his car on the motorway. Still alive but fatally injured, Adam is on life support. Ben's guilt leads him to make contact with Adam's wife and try to befriend her and her young son to a point where he becomes obsessed with them.

This book was only ok for me. I didn't love the characters and found Ben immature and Alice to be hard and withdrawn. I didn't connect with either unfortunately. The story itself was well written and I did find myself thinking how I'd feel if I found myself in either situation. 3/5*

Robin Morgan-Bentley hits the ground running in his debut thriller, The Wreckage. We are thrown headfirst into a devastating scene as a man launches himself in front of a car on a motorway. A police investigation quickly proves that the man committed suicide, leaving his devastated family and the traumatised man who hit him behind. Robin Morgan-Bentley examines just how much trauma such an event can inflict on a person. And he does this very well with his character, Ben.

The Wreckage is an emotional, hard-hitting page-turner. You can see how much of an effect the man’s suicide has had on his family and particularly on the man who hit him, Ben. This comes through very strongly in Robin’s writing. You can really sense just how painful this is for Ben as he struggles to come to terms with the pain that he has inflicted on Alice and her son.

Ben forms an attachment to the man’s widow, Alice, and for a while, it appears that they may have developed a relationship united by grief. But all is not quite as it seems as Ben is very keen to become a permanent fixture in Alice’s and Max’s lives. Soon Ben’s concern for Alice and her son, Max turns to a dangerous point of obsession. And this frightens Alice. She quickly realises that she has to let Ben go, but Ben isn’t quite ready to forget about her.

Robin Morgan-Bentley’s writing is taut, and it keeps you turning the pages. As Ben grows closer to Alice and her son Robin keeps the tension simmering in the background. As I was reading, I felt that there wasn’t something quite right here. I could sense that the tension was going to fire right up, and this is what kept me reading.

The story is told both through Alice and Ben’s point of views. I had mixed feelings about Alice and Ben. In the first few chapters, I could see that Ben was quite vulnerable and that any decision taken too lightly on Alice’s part might be enough to tip him over the edge. I didn’t quite take to Alice until much later on; I think this was because she seemed to be quite eager to move on from her husband’s suicide. By the end, though, I was rooting for her. Once you get to the end you can certainly see why she decided to take some of the decisions that she did.

I don’t think I quite thought Ben as particularly dangerous as I was reading this book. But it was the simmering tension that was around him that made me feel concerned for Alice. It made me wonder who Ben really was and what his business was in getting involved in them.

Devastating truths that come later on in the book turn everything you thought you knew on its head.

Robin Morgan-Bentley kept me gripped by his writing. This idea really does make you think about the after effects of an incident and how chance happenings can have a big impact on the rest of your life. The Wreckage is a totally immersive read.

Ben is a teacher, he is a man who sticks to a regular routine, leaving home at the same time every morning to go to work, 9th January he leaves at his usual time, travels along the M1 in the slow lane, not speeding, torrential rain, when something white appears from nowhere, he slams his breaks on, gets out of his car, to see a man lying in the road in front of his car, Ben is a wreck. Within a few minutes the police arrive, he sits in the car, sobbing, hears the officer answer a call and hears the name of the victim Adam Selby and that he has been taken to Watford Hospital, it gives Ben hope that the man is still alive. He is taken to the station, where all normal checks are done, breathalyser, interview etc. He is allowed to leave at 4.47 with his dad who is waiting.

Alice is at home when the police knock on her door, she is told her husband has been in an accident her first thought is he couldn’t have been as he doesn’t drive. Then she says he said he would never do it again. But do what? She leaves their son Max with the neighbour, whilst she goes to the hospital, where she spends the next few weeks. Adam is seriously injured. If he survives he may never walk, or talk.

Lives are changed that day, just a normal day, nothing is normal ever again. Ben struggles to cope, shuts himself off for weeks, but then decides to go visit at the hospital, when he sees Alice for the first time, she throws him out, not able to understand why he is there, how did he know where Am was or even his name. He visits again, she is more friendly this time.

How do you cope with hitting someone with your car? Where had Adam appeared from? Ben becomes obsessed with Alice and Max, he wants to help, Alice blows hot and cold, clearly mixed up herself, one minute inviting Ben for dinner with friends, next pushing him away. The characters seem to have flaws is it all from the accident? It seems to be the case for Ben. But what about Alice? Was her marriage a happy one?

This was a really good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the pace was fast, alternating points of view from Ben and Alice, what each was thinking. An engrossing debut novel. I will be watching out for more books by this author.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Trapeze for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was well written but I didn’t really connect with the characters as I didn’t find them particularly likeable. I did like the way the book had a few unexpected twists and I certainly didn’t know how it would end.

This is a decent story about 3 people whose lives become entwined following a car accident / collision and the death / suicide of a man (Adam) who is married with a young son.

What follows is a tale of obsession, as Ben gets closer to Alice (Adam's widow) and their son, Max and the story is told from the perspective of both Ben and Alice, in alternating chapters.
It's a well written debut and I wish the author every success. For me, it was just OK. I found the characters frustrating and the pace slow.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for an early copy of 'The Wreckage'.

This is a very easy book to read, from the first few pages I was drawn in to the story and couldn't put it down.

The story of Alice, Max and Ben is an interesting one. It starts off gentle and then the twists and turns begin and I think Morgan-Bentley has done a brilliant job with this book.

I will say though, whilst I know it is meant to be part of her semi-unlikeable character, I found it a little jarring the way that Alice would think/speak about other women. I am sure it is not meant to be tropey (and she does speak the same way about a couple of men) but I find it really breaks the story for me because it is a trope I find frustrating an unnecessary.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, it can be enjoyed by lovers of all genres but especially thriller. I look forward to what Morgan-Bentley does next!

4/5

An extremely clever debut novel which had me gripped from page one. When Ben knocks a man down on his way to work it changes the life of three people forever. Covering obsessive behaviour and mental illness it is a fascinating insight into the protagonists lives. I was hooked and the ending was totally unexpected. I look forward to reading more of Robin's books

This is a very well written book with believable characters and a plausible plot - just - but very interesting. It leads the reader at a quite interesting pace to the rather unexpected ending. I felt sure I knew where this plot was going, but I was wrong. It was a good ending and a good read. The fact that I devoured it in a few hours and looked forward to returning to the plot each day says it all. Well done

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was told by the two main characters Ben and Alice who get to know each other through the worst possible situation when Ben is driving to work one morning and knocks down Alice’s husband Adam who dies a month later. The book tells how this accident and Adam’s death affects them both and as time goes by they remain in touch and a friendship and attraction develops. Alice tries to let Ben down gently after they spend a night together and he doesn’t take this well. I didn’t really like or take to both the main characters - thought Ben was naive, immature, needy and obsessive and Alice was self centred, and happy for her neighbour to look after her young son more often than not, although she was grieving. There were a few twists in the story and a reveal towards the end that surprised me. This was an ok read, just not a great one for me. At times the story waffled on and I felt it was overly long. 3 stars.

Ben is driving to work on the motorway one morning when a man steps out in front of his car. This incident turns Ben's life upside down.
The man he knocked down is called Adam and after visiting him hospital to see how he is, Ben befriends Adam's wife Alice.
I could not engage with the main characters in this story. Ben was immature and annoying. Alice was mean and foul mouthed and this affected my enjoyment of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a very cleverly written debut
Drawn in straight away and couldn't turn the pages quick enough
Felt that I was on a rollercoaster of emotions with both characters
I knew something was coming, but did not expect that ending
Good storyline, good characteristics, good read.

Thank you netgalley, Robin Morgan-Bentley and Orion Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Wow! This book really was a page turner. I was immediately gripped.

Alice and Ben find their world's colliding when Alice's husband, Adam, throws himself in front of Ben's car in an attempt to kill himself. Ben, a school teacher, finds it impossible to live with himself and feels that he is ultimately to blame despite Adam's intentions and Alice on the otherhand finds it difficult to carry on as normal with her son Max. As Ben starts to integrate himself into Alice and Max's life things start to take a darker twist and Ben finds himself obsessing over a life that he wished he had. Alice, on the otherhand, is finding her new life extremely difficult to comprehend. On one hand she wants to move on but she cannot help feeling guilty and despairing of Ben's increasingly obsessive behaviour.

What I enjoyed about this book was that one minute you couldn't help but sympathise with the characters and then the situation would flip and there would be a feeling of disgust and repulsion. This is a true sign of a very talented writer.

The twists and turns at the end also made me gasp with disbelief! I cannot wait to read more from Robin Morgan-Bentley. Amazing!

This is an excellent debut novel and very different to what I was expecting it has a brilliantly written plot line with a twist at the end that I didn’t suspect at all. The read was one that started off as a slow burn and is told from two alternating points of view, Alice whose husband has been hit in an apparent accident on the motorway and then we have Ben who is the motorist who hit him and from there we are drawn into a story that is fascinating and difficult to put down as little by little we are drawn into the lives of these two people and just how they cope from the aftermath of this accident and it really isn't at all how i imagined.
It was a really well crafted story and the characters were extremely believable and a book I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading more from Robin Morgan-Bentley.
Very well recommended and a very good 4 star read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

* spoiler alert ** I spent a lot of this book thinking Ben was just a bit sad and pathetic... But as it went on,and alarm bells start ringing,you see he's completely deluded and totally obsessed.

Alice on the other hand goes from grieving widow to complete train wreck as it becomes more apparent she probably wasn't ever holding her life together that well.
The turning point for me on this book was the opening of the suicide note and the revelation of the complete toxic relationship Alice and Adam had,and how orchestrated everything had been.
Then the last page gave a nice twists,when frankly I'm of the opinion we need a few less twists.
This one was excellent.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wreckage By Robin Morgan-Bentley is début psychological thriller, the story revolves round three characters Ben, Alice and Max, Alice and the deceased Adams 7-year-old son.
One morning all three of their lives change when Adam Alice's husband jumps in front of Ben's car killing himself and destroying three lives.
The two adults struggle to come to terms with what has happened and make a unlikely connection with each other and here lies the bulk of the story.
The Story is told from the perspectives of Ben and Alice as each get a chapter to tell their side of the story as it unfolds for them and us the reader.
The story deals with mental health issues, It is well written and moves at a good pace.
However I just didn't connect with the two main characters, Alice came across as a mean and ungrateful, who was spiteful with a vile tongue quick to judge people and Ben was just a wet weekend who acted like an impulsive child and made decisions that no rational person would make even if you were still struggling by the events around the accident and the ending I found difficult to believe So unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book.

Not worth your time or hard-earned cash.