This is a gripping thriller. A story of two young girls aged 10 & 12. The younger if the two is supposedly murdered their parents in a brutal attack. I found y thy e story took a while to get going but had lots of twists and turns in it. I have read anything by Fiona Cummins before but will be looking out for more. Thank you netgalley for your ARC

Caught my attention immediately and from the first to last page I was absorbed in this brilliantly written childhood murder. Guilt, shame, doubt and new beggings covered through the book from start to finish. A chilling ending I did not see coming made a perfect twist amongst the twist. Loved it.

This is a dark and creepy novel, that grabs your attention from the very start. It's a fast paced plot throughout which I found difficult to put down.

When I was Ten is a creepy and suspenseful novel from Fiona Cummins, that grips you from the first page with it's fast paced and thought provoking plot which is delightfully dark and creepy. Well worth a read.

The book starts in 1997 when a girl called Brinley Booth is running away from Hilltop House, where the grown ups are dead. Dr Carter and his wife. They were stabbed to death by a pair of scissors. Everyone remembered Sara and Shannon Carter, the blonde haired sisters. Their Dad was the local GP. Their best friend, Brinley, lived next door. They would do anything for each other but everything shifted on that fateful night. The murder becomes the most talked about as the daughters were aged ten and twelve at the time. Sara, aged 10 is found guilty and spends eight years in a children’s secure unit. Shannon lives in foster care out of the limelight. Fast forward 21 years to 2018, Catherine Allen and her family are living in Essex but life as she knows it is about to change as an exclusive interview in a newspaper will reveal Catherine’s secrets. Brinley is now a journalist and she travels back to her childhood home to cover the story. Brinley also holds secrets that only her and the sisters know ✨

W O W ! This book was CREEPY. What would drive a child to kill her parents?! From the first page, I was drawn in, the writing was gripping to the point where you say to yourself ‘just one more chapter’ - I had to find out what happened to this family. I really liked Brinley’s character. It was unpredictable and I really enjoyed that as I’ve read books before and you know what is coming next, with this book I didn’t. A really enjoyable thriller. Highly recommend. 4.5 🌟 Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC via my kindle in exchange for an honest review. Published August 2020

all i can say is wow! this book is probably one of the best books i've red in a long time, so chilling and amazing! will stay with me for a long time, i even found myself thinking about it when i woke up this morning. will recommend this to anyone.

Truly gripping. Both storylines, past and present compete for your attention equally gripping. I'd really love to see this adapted for tv and genuinely didn't want the story to end. Highly recommended.

When I Was Ten very much lived up to my expectations on reading the synopsis. It’s unexpected, thrilling, twisty and well paced - and my favourite book of 2020 so far.

Fiona Cummins deals with the subject matter of a child killer sensitively, yet the unravelling of the events throughout the book is compelling and terrifying in equal measure. With characters to care about, no matter what they have done, you will be burning the midnight oil to read just one more chapter. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A tense book about a dark subject.
What makes a child kill their parents? What will be the repercussions? What lies behind the facade of a perfect happy family?

These are the main threads of this novel, which deals with the Carters, a seemingly happy family with a husband, a wife, and two daughters.
That's until tragedy strikes and their daughter Sara commits a horrible crime.

From there on the narrative alternates between the past and the present to reveal how past secrets led to a horrific present.

A gripping novel with a tough subject. The second half was was more interesting because I felt that there were too many details and filler characters that didn't add much to the main story and had to skip through those parts.

Thanks Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I have been sent a copy of this book for review purposes. This has not influenced or affected my opinions in this review.

What can I say about this book? It was a perfect thriller from beginning to end. I was hooked from the very first page and I couldn’t get enough. There was just something so addictive about When I Was Ten. There were so many layers to the story and gradually each one was peeled back. From the get-go I was invested in the lives of the characters and the plot. There was almost an incessant need to find out what happens next because of how invested in the story I felt. Throughout, my emotions were sky high with no intention or inkling of plummeting. I flew through this book in just over a day and I can honestly not recommend it highly enough. I’m begging everyone who enjoys a good thriller to go out and buy this immediately.

*5 stars*

When I was Ten

This story is about a shocking crime which happened twenty years ago and the repercussions still felt today. It’s got it all - a sisters bond, a family that’s not as perfect as the face it portrays, childhood flashbacks, front page tragedy, secrets, the next door neighbour best friend there’s even a sleazy politician chucked in for good measure.
Not going to lie, it took me a while to get into this book, nothing much really happens for the first third of the book, the author seemingly laying the way for what is ultimately what we (and the story hunting journalists) want - and that’s the nitty gritty of what happened on that fateful night when little Sarah Carter took a pair of scissors and killed her mother and father. And we get just that in the middle part of the story where we go back in time to what life was like for the Carters. This part of the book was good, interesting and fast paced. And the pace then doesn’t let up till the end.
While this was a good read, it wasn’t a great read. There is a lot of unnecessary kerfuffle - yes sleazy politician I’m talking about you!! There was absolutely no need for this character at all. Also a lot of the Brinley chapters focused too much on the inside workings of journalism and the desire to get the story first, rather than on her as a character. And I found myself skim reading all the boring journalism talk. The other Carter sister, Shannon should have had more character exposure too, I would’ve liked to know more about her and how life had been for her in the last twenty years, I feel we didn’t get to know this troubled soul enough.
Also I think that the story was a bit far fetched and coincidental - especially the ending.
I find this story lacked the creepy, subtle on edge tension that Fiona Cummins earlier books had and while it wasn’t a rip roaring read I’ll still seek out future books by this author.
Thank you Pan Macmillan and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Fiona Cummins has written a powerful novel on a very powerful subject. What drives a child to kill their parents? What happens afterwards? In her book the author tells the story of Dr and Mrs Carter, their 2 girls-Shannon and Sara, and the girls friend Brinley and what a carefully woven plot she weaves. The story flits easily between then and now, with two perspectives, both dark and gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced and at times extremely chilling novel and will look for other books by this author. Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this book.

A dark family secret forms the centre of this cracking plot from Cummins. Fairly graphic depictions of domestic violence against children could be a trigger for some readers but she hasn't over egged the pudding in regards to the plot. Easy to follow time line which encompasses various family member and friends but this doesn't detract from the pace.

A standalone thriller which would be ideal as a beach read (if you like your holidays bloody!)

Understanding what drives someone to murder can generate much discussion, psychoanalysis and media reportage. When the murderer is a child, particularly an angelic-looking girl of ten years old, the case remains under public scrutiny for years. 25 years after the sensational 'Hill Top Murders' trial there is still sufficient public interest in the case that when one of the sisters decides to give an interview the press are all over it which leads to a dramatic sequence of events.
Told in two timelines the present day and 1997, mostly from the perspectives of Catherine, a happily married mother, and Brinley, a news reporter who also happens to be the childhood best friend of the two sisters at the centre of the murders. Gradually the truth of what happened 25 years earlier is revealed, and it is a sorry and shocking tale. The book looks at family and friendship and the bonds that are created that need to be broken and which bonds need to be protected at all costs. The book also looks at the justice system and how the media can play a massively influential role in how a crime is tried. There are plenty of twists and some truly uncomfortable moments that result in a brilliantly paced thrilling book.
The only downside for me was the endless and incredibly obvious foreshadowing which wasn't really required. The book was dramatic enough without it.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I have loved Fiona Cummins other novels- she has a real talent and flair for writing thrillers and crime novels that keep you hooked and on the edge of you seat with plenty of twists and turns When I was Ten is no different- a fast paced novel following the Carter sisters 20 years on from an awful incident. The dual perspective of the sister and the detective gives a greater level of insight to the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of Cummins work.

This was superb! Told from two points of view, the sister and the journalist, When I Was Ten is a really well-written book that cleverly entwines the two stories and holds your interest well through the whole book.

Growing up in a beautiful house in a beautiful village with your parents being proper upstanding pillars of the community hides a whole load of secrets behind the scenes. There are unexpected plot twists and turns throughout which helps to hold your interest. The story shows that behind a perfect pretence all is not what it seems and even when you think you know, and you feel like you have it all worked out there is another twist and you have no idea where t came from.

A great read, the sinister side of the middle class, even more so because you don’t know if it might be true of others around you, of what’s real and what’s not and even at the very end I’m still not quite sure I know, very cleverly written!

A real page-turning thriller. My heart was in my mouth. Bravo to the author for creating such amazing work. Highly recommended.

This was another superb novel from Fiona Cummins that was utterly compelling. The story is told from two viewpoints, the sister and the journalist and cleverly entwines the two in a way that keeps you wanting to know just a little bit more. As with all Fiona Cummins books you get a great insight into not only how messed up family dynamics can be but also how far people will go when they want to protect their secrets.

The writing is as always engaging and completely sucks you in. I thought the story itself was very clever. There were some very upsetting elements as you find out about the family itself and what happened in the lead up to the murder. It is a very emotional story based around family life. I did find the inclusion of the MP storyline a little unnecessary, as I didn’t really feel that his storyline added to the book much, however the reasons behind him being included became clearer as we hit the end. I liked the way the story was structured, it was very much an act in three parts as the story switches between the before and the after for the Carter sisters with little let up inbetween.

One of the things I really like about all of Fiona Cummins’ novels is the unexpected twists and turns that run throughout, whenever you think you have a handle on where it is going something else will happen that completely throws the theory out of the water. This was no exception.

When I Was Ten was yet another fantastic story from one of my favourite authors and I can’t wait to read what comes next from Fiona Cummins.

The Carter sisters have a seemingly perfect middle class life, living in a beautiful house in a lovely village. Their childhood appears to be perfect. Then one day, ten-year-old Sara does something unforgivable. Over twenty years later and on the anniversary of the trial the sisters are forced to confront what really did happen that night.

A brilliant read. This book grabs you straight away and then the tension just keeps building. It perfectly depicts the sinister side of middle class village life, made even more sinister because you know it could be true. It’s an edge of your seat addictive fast paced read. Strangely, for a psychological thriller, I actually felt quite sad by the end of the book, as the characters are so real you can’t help feeling empathy for them all.

I was very excited to read this after reading other reviews. However, it let me down. The story is of 2 sisters and their best friend, murdered parents, witness protection and secrets surfacing years later. I would have liked to hear more about Shannon's character and what really drove her to kill, we don't really hear from her at all. The politician character felt completely useless in the narrative, you could completely skip through those chapters and not miss a thing. Brinely's confession in the final pages of the book is a bit ridiculous, it's out of character and makes no sense. From page 1, the narrative was building for an exciting end, but in the end it was underwhelming. Overall this was a good story, but the ending and narrative choices let it down for me.