I’ll start by saying I wasn’t keen on the last book I read by this author and for that reason it’s sat on my kindle for an age but I am so pleased I eventually got round to reading it. It was an absolute corker. The way it’s set up you honestly don’t know who or what to believe and although there were times this made me feel frustrated it also made me want to read on to find out more. There were times my anxiety was spiking because it was so well written it just had me on tenterhooks when the tension was being ramped up! It just genuinely had me second guessing everyone and not knowing who to trust. This has restored my faith in Alice Feeney and I will gladly read another of her novels. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and HQ for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Get this on your to read list as soon as possible! Alice is the master at suspense and keeping you guessing and she’s gone and done it again with this one, oh my god I just loved it, loved DCI Jack and Anna too, thought it was a wicked offering very fast paced with a killer twist...! Take my advice and get the book!!!

This book; while good didn’t come anywhere near to being mind blowing.
It does take you on a wild ride and the more you read the more questions and theories you develop.

As everything was unravelling there was just no spark or fireworks for me.

This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was a really good plot, which had me gripped.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Alice Feeney has done it again!! If you have not read this one yet, it is a MUST for your TBR pile! Just make sure that this one is somewhere near the top!

If you haven’t read anything by Alice Feeney before, you should know she doesn’t shy away from taboo topics and gets down and dirty with all the gruesome details a thriller lover could ever want. Alice Feeney is the master when it comes to delivering psychological thrillers with big twists.

Reading “His & Hers” blind without preconceptions, is my best recommendation. So, for that reason, I am not divulging anything more on this title, other than this is a straight up 5 start read.

The inside of Feeney’s mind must be a dark and terrifying place to be, but I find myself desperately wanting to peek inside. I cannot wait for more of her work in the future!

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I've always said that there are three sides to every story - your's, their's and the truth! In this case, it was "his" and "her's"...but where WAS the truth in all of this? Because it seems that it was nowhere to be found. As a reader, we don't know what to believe as the narrators appear to be so unreliable...and yet only one of them is. But who is it? And what part do they play in it all?

And then...it comes. And I am speechless. WOW!

Never before have I been played by an unreliable narrator quite like that of HIS & HERS. I am impressed beyond all measures though I feel I need to stop and take a breath and just absorb what I have just read. It all makes perfect sense in the end but...HOW is it even possible? Prepare to be shocked...or impressed...or both!

The rundown...

>b>His: DCI Jack Harper, Major Crime Team, is tasked with investigating the murder of a Jane Doe found in Blackdown Wood.

Her: Anna Andrews, former BBC news presenter now news correspondent assigned to report on the murder. Also ex-wife of Jack Harper.

Blackdown: A picturesque chocolate box village in Surrey, two hours south of London, filled with bad memories for "His & Her".

BBC news correspondent, Anna Andrews, had worked the newsdesk for two years in the previous anchor's absence. Cat Jones went on maternity leave with her first child and subsequently fell pregnant with the second paving the way for Anna to fill her shoes on the lunchtime news. But when Anna arrives one morning ready for make-up and to be prepped for camera, the last person she expected to see walk through the door was Cat Jones in all her redheaded glory. Pasting a smile on her face whilst seething inside, Anna reluctantly stepped aside as her predecessor reclaimed her place on the newdesk whilst she was cast aside.

Then news of a body found in Blackdown Wood surfaces and the powers that be task her with covering the story in a place she never wished to revisit. With her trusty cameraman Richard in tow, Anna returns to Blackdown, where past and her memories will come back to haunt her again. It's still early morning when they arrive at the crime scene and, despite the knowledge that her detective ex-husband had returned to Blackdown, she isn't quite prepared to run into him there.

After suffering a tragedy that broke down their marriage, Jack Harper left London and returned to Blackdown where he no heads the Major Crime Team. He received the call about a Jane Doe found in Blackdown Wood and along with his rather exuberant and eager DC Priya Patel begin investigations. But nothing prepared Jack for what he was to discover upon arriving at the scene. He knew this woman. He was with her last night. And now she was dead.

Then to make matters worse, his ex-wife Anna arrives with a cameraman in tow...seemingly the first of the press to have caught wind of the murder. How was that possible? Who told them? What does Anna know?

Both Jack and Anna share a history together as well as a past in Blackdown itself. Both have a different stake in the case and both have secrets which they are keeping from the other. But is Jack or Anna capable of murder?

Then Jack discovers fingernail clippings in a tic-tac box in his glove compartment and Rachel's phone in his boot. And strangely, a knife from his own knife block in his house has gone missing. Then when there is another murder at the very place Jack had been at the exact time of it occurred, he begins to wonder if someone is trying to frame him. He knows someone is watching him. He can feel their presence even if he cannot see them.

Meanwhile, Anna wakes from yet another drunken sleep to a tidied room and a photograph that was taken on her 16th birthday...a day that she would rather forget. Of the five faces smiling at the camera in that photo, two are now dead. Is someone killing off each of these girls who are now women in revenge for something that happened in their past? But who? Rachel may have seemed the most likely, but she was the first victim. Helen was clever enough to get away with it, but she was the second. Who's next? Her? Anna also feels as if someone is watching her every move...but who...and why?

Tragedy may have torn them apart but another may bring them back together, as Jack begins to wonder if Anna may be in danger...and Anna feels that Jack is the only one she can trust.

However, in summary....no one can be trusted in this thoroughly addictive psychological thriller that will have you turning the pages and keep you on your toes right up to the shocking end. HIS & HERS is filled with red herrings that will confuse you and possibly drive you mad trying to figure it all out. Everyone, it seems, has a motive...but who can you believe?

My first read by Alice Feeney, HIS & HERS starts off slow and grows with a palpable tension that becomes a complex and twisted tale that was so deliciously dark it was thoroughly addictive. Cue the chocolate box village surrounded by dark creepy woods, the brutal murders that were seemingly too close to home and the constant second guessing, this cleverly plotted story truly makes for compelling reading. And then, just when you think all has been revealed, there is that shock ending...

HIS & HERS is told through three alternating perspectives - his (Jack), her (Anna) and an unknown person that could be him, her or someone else entirely. Both are equally convincing despite being unreliable narrators. It will have you guessing, second guessing and even third guessing the complex turn of events resulting in these brutal murders. But nothing is as it seems...and no one is who they seem either. Even revisiting Anna's teenage past leaves nothing to chance. I can also understand Anna's need to be liked and accepted...something every teenager is sure to experience at some point in their lives. But those girls were truly horrible.

Despite being a slow burn, HIS & HERS does pick up with a promise to deliver the goods...and it does! I especially love the use of the friendship bracelet Anna made as a teenager used on the cover and incorporated into the ampersand (&).

I will however include a trigger warning:- rape, animal abuse and grooming.

Deliciously dark and addictive, HIS & HERS is a fast, fun and entertaining read that had me snookered right up to the end!!

I would like to thank #AliceFeeney, #NetGalley and #HQStories for an ARC of #HisAndHers in exchange for an honest review.

I got to about halfway and stopped reading. .
I struggled to get into this, it just wasn't for me.

This story is told from the point of view of 'him' and 'her'.
Mostly, this seems to be Jack and Anna who used to be married to each other. Anna works for BBC News and Jack is in the police.

As more characters are introduced, some parts are from their point of view. It isn't always immediately obvious whose point of view you're reading so you're left guessing and trying to work it out.

The characters aren't all likeable but the character development is good and I felt the author had really focused on this for the main characters.

Jack and Anna are brought back together when a body is discovered in the sleepy village of Blackdown, where they grew up. It turns out that they both knew the victim, and then another body turns up...

I read this book in a couple of sittings and found it fast paced and really easy to read. It had a lot of twists and turns and red herrings. I suspected most of the characters at one point!
The idea for the plot is really good and it's obvious a lot of thought and planning went into it.

Sadly, the ending really let this book down for me. It just felt like one twist too far and seemed so implausible. I was left with unanswered questions and was a bit disappointed.
It's a real shame, as other than that, I liked the book.

3.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thanks to HQ Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review.

His and Hers is an unusual and unsettling novel that will keep you guessing right to the final reveal. Anna has gone from reading the lunchtime news bulletin on television back to being a reporter, and is sent out to cover a murder in the village of Blackdown where she grew up. She is not happy about this demotion, and the situation goes from bad to worse when she discovers that her ex-husband, Jack, is the detective in charge of the investigation.
The story is told in alternating chapters by Anna and Jack, with occasional extracts from a third voice – the killer. This probably works well in the printed book, but in the kindle version I received from NetGalley it was a bit confusing until I realized who the voice belonged to. Anna and Jack are both unreliable narrators, and Alice Feeney plants just enough doubt in your mind to make you think that either one of them might be the killer.
The main characters are well written and believable though deeply flawed as individuals; we are gradually let into the secret of their backstory and everything starts to make a lot more sense. The chapters are short which moves the story along fairly quickly, and increases the tension as the body count rises and we try to guess the identity of the killer. Several times I thought I’d worked out who it was, but ambiguity and misdirection in the plot meant I was wrong every time.
I can imagine this story working well as a film or television drama. There are occasions when the reader has to suspend disbelief, but to avoid spoilers I won’t say any more. Certain themes in the book (such as bullying, grooming, animal cruelty and sudden infant death syndrome) have the potential to upset some readers, but are all relevant to the plot. I really enjoyed His and Hers, but it certainly kept me guessing right to the very end.
Thanks to HarperCollins HQ and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

His and Hers was a story that had me hooked, one that had me curious to see how the pieces came together, but I was never as invested in it as I had hoped to be. I wanted to see what happened, but it was curiosity instead of investment that had me turning the pages.

Although it kept me hooked and the details were gripping, the ending was a bit too much for me. It was too much, too over the top, and I found the farfetched twist pushed me over the edge and prevented me from loving it the way I could have. It was just one twist too many, just a bit too far, and I found myself going back and picking things apart because of it.

All in all, His and Hers made for entertaining reading. As entertaining as it was, it failed to wow me in the way I had hoped.

Suitably Atmospheric....
Suitably atmospheric suspense with suitably unlikeable characters. A slow burn but with much ado towards the end, twists and turns but often implausible.. Several uncomfortable and disturbing themes.

I usually like Alice Feeny books and this one started off well but went a little astray towards the end. The characters were well crafted and on the whole thoroughly unlikable. I do not want to spoil the story for others suffice to say I did not believe the ending.
Thank you Alice Feeny, Harper Collins and Netgalley for allowing me to give my unbiased opinion.

A really gripping read. Spent a full Sunday reading this. I enjoy news programmes so was interested in how this started. And it twists snd turns dragging you with it. I’m just sad it’s over. But with 2 other books I’m happy to start on them!
4/5

As soon as I heard about Alice Feeney releasing another book I knew I had to get my hands on it! I didn’t have the highest expectations but I ended up loving this!

This book was so twisty and really kept me on my toes! I loved the plot too, even though I don’t usually enjoy stories from the perspective of a police officer much, this one flew right by. The last third of this was an absolute roller coaster! It really had me guessing and rethinking everything! Overall, I did predict the ending from pretty early on, but I read A LOT of thrillers so I think that lots of people could really enjoy the final twist! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I don’t really know why, but this one also reminded me of Riley Sager’s ‘The Last Time I Lied’ in parts so if you enjoyed that one you might enjoy this one too - although this is quite a bit darker!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
His & Hers was the perfect mix of a fast-paced thriller with domestic themes, lots of plot-twists and some really twisted characters! I loved it and can’t wait to read Alice Feeney’s next book! ⁣⁣

This was a fast paced book, and although it was a page turner I had to skim quite a lot of paragraphs that dulled the pace with too much incidental information without dialogue. It certainly has a surprise ending but there were several anomalies that I felt made the whole story line unbelievable. If you haven't read the book yet than please read no further as it will be a spoiler for you. The his and hers has an interloper in the guise of the murderer but the way the book is set out you automatically assume it is the ex husband.

Firstly there is Anna, a tv news reader who stepped into Cat Jones' shoes when she went on extended maternity leave, Anna was in the job for two years then Cat returned and took back her job. . Anna is sent to Blackdown where she grew up, to cover a murder. We discover that Cat is really someone that Anna was at school with and who was mercilessly bullied. One incident is where she unknowingly drinks the urine of her main tyrant, Rachel, the first victim. The younger Cat, or Catherine, is invited to Anna's sixteenth birthday party and ends up in the woods, being stripped naked and raped by a gang of older men. When she didn't return to the class room the girls all assumed that she had commited suicide, nice isn't it? Anna, herself, was a sexual play thing for Rachel, the main bully who seems to act appalling by taking lewd photographs of her school friends and taking the firls to the woods to meet these men for sex or to watch Rachel in action with Anna, quite horrific, it gave me quite a bad taste in my mouth reading this. Anna's ex hubsand is the policeman in charge of the murder case, even though he was in a relationship with the murder victim. He is left in charge with a dotty sidekick, Priya, even though the numbers continue to rise. His sister, Zoe, is the third victirm which in essence means that the perpetrator is a serial killer. Yet somehow he is left alone in charge of the case with Priya despite this. In reality there would be a more senior SIO in charge and a lot of back up detectives and forensic crews in the area with numerous meetings back at headquarters and major press coverage, is there anything resembling that, no? We also have Richard the tv cameraman who had an affair with Anna who we discover is married to Cat. Zoe, it seems liked making fur cushions and selling them online,and we sadly find out, , after her grisly death, that she stole all the neighbourhood cats, starved them and turned bits of them into cushions, quite repuslive isn't it? Now turning to Anna's mother who we are toldl has alzheimers, she has become forgetful and sometimes walks into the town in only her nightgown. If she was displaying these symptoms she would have gone through a series of professional assessments to determine if she actually had alzheimers and which kind.. In the final chapters we discover that Anna completely cleared her mother's large garden, the vegetable plot, the orchard, the lawn and laid a new, large, round patio, all by herself with no help, When did she have the time or ability to do this, I don't think she took a night school course in cement mixing, laying paving slabs or finding the best drainage system.. I'm sorry that there are so many criticisms, but I suppose if things had gone the way of reality the story would have been altered.

HER: She is a pretty woman who has worked very hard to reach her present position as a BBC presenter of lunchtime news. She covets her job. When obstacles are presented, she is smart, mean and has many stories to reveal to the reader regarding her teen years. Explicit stories, that may shock you, but keep reading. Anna Andrews, a woman who finds solace in alcohol, seems to be sloshing from scene to scene until I cannot keep up with her torrid thoughts. She is divorced from HIM, DCI Jack Harper, probably the nicest character in the novel. The third narrator is clearly the killer. It is important to note that all three narrators are reliable but they are not purely forthcoming.

HIM: Jack is head of the major crime team in Blackdown (great name for the town) and he often pines away for Anna but it doesn’t stop him from being attracted to other women. His divorce has left him sad, and he is somewhat spoofed when he is brought in to solve the first murder in this cunning plot.

Very strange book that started really well and then went off on a tangent that made things really difficult to follow until a sneaky little twist at the end.
I did enjoy it, but there were too many twists for me to be able to follow properly.

Sadly I did not enjoy this book at all. I really struggled to get through this book. I found the plot to be really slow-moving for the vast majority of the book.

In this book, there is a murder in a small town. We have two POVs one is a news reporter and the other is a police officer. Both are unreliable narrators.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I didn't enjoy the characters or the plot.

*I received a free ARC of this novel, with thanks to the author, HQ – Harper Collins UK and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

His and Hers is told in a split narrative between two main narrators: Anna Andrews, news presenter, and DCI Jack Harper, her ex husband.

There is a third narrative inserted towards the end of some chapters, which the reader quickly realises is that of the murderer. In the Kindle version I read, it wasn’t always clear where the switch came between Anna/Jack’s narrative voice and the unknown murderer, so I got a little confused at some points as to who was talking!

Both of the main characters are connected to the victim, both are damaged, and both are highly likely to be unreliable narrators, so the question of who to trust becomes vital as the story unfolds. This mistrust creates some compelling tension, as it conflicts with the intimacy of the first person address.

In addition to the intrigue, there is plenty of action as the main characters plunge us rapidly into their struggles with grief, alcoholism, casual sex and childhood bullying. There are triggers here too for animal cruelty, which was quite graphic and upsetting, so anyone who struggles to read that might be best setting this one aside. The characters themselves were pretty much all unlikable, which isn’t always a bad thing, but did make it a little difficult to empathise with them, as we are party to their darkest, least endearing thoughts.

For those ready to face the darker side of human nature and wade through a sticky mass of lies and concealed truths, this story is packed with surprises and revelations, very few of which I predicted. In fact, I was still changing my mind about who I thought the killer might be, right up to the grand reveal – I do like a book that keeps me guessing! If you’re looking for a he said, she said murder mystery, where everyone is suspect and no-one is safe, then this might just be the thriller for you.

There are at least two sides to every story:
Yours and mine.
Ours and theirs.
His and hers.
Which means someone is always lying.

– Alice Feeney, His and Hers


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

The author tells this mystery through three narratives; his, hers and the killers. First, Anna Andrews who has her dream job hosting the news at the BBC. She has worked her way up from a cub reporter and has wanted to sit in this chair for so long. However, her dream comes to an end when reporter Cara comes back from a long maternity leave and wants her chair back. This demotes Anna to reporting in the regions again, even where the trail takes her straight back to where she grew up in the Blackwood I area. Second is Jack Harper, a DCI at the MET and Anna’s ex- husband. The final narrative is that of the killer, whose killing spree starts at the beginning of the book. Anna is sent back to her childhood home to report on the murder and Jack is sent to investigate. It soon becomes clear that both of them might be more embroiled in the murders than they realise. Jack even becomes a suspect, but could he be a killer or is someone setting him up.

The setting of the novel was suitably creepy, Blackwood is isolated and surrounded by woodland perfect for hiding bodies. All the women killed are alumni of the same high school and a friendship bracelet is planted near their bodies. I enjoyed that in order to find the killer, we must delve into Anna’s past which has been painful and tragic. If you’re easily triggered then this isn’t the book for you - particularly if, like me, you can’t stand animals being harmed. I also enjoyed that we’re faced with three possibly unreliable narrators and it is engrossing trying to work out who is telling the truth. I think the killer hay have been more truthful than both our main characters. On the downside there’s a lot of coincidence - the killer couldn’t have known that Anna would get sent to cover the story for example. It was also hard to truly like any of the characters. However, this was a diverting thriller that does go to some dark and disturbing places,