This book is a compulsive read with a cleverly devised,intricate story. A rich,over indulged widow who pretends to be fragile employs young women as companions. This annoys her adopted daughter who is married but keeps an eye on her mother. The companions must look like the biological daughter who fell out with her mother a long time ago and who never returned. The problem is that three of the companions die,one in a road accident outside the posh house and the other two in suspicious circumstances,maybe suicides. Who is responsible for this unlikely succession of deaths?. The widow who wants their company? The adopted daughter jealous of their closeness to her mother and maybe to her inheritance? The gossipy cook? The dismissed gardener? The fourth companion Willow is understadably concerned when she discovers all this and with the help of her prdecessor's friend tries to solve the problem. Just as the reader will have decided who the culprit is,other revelations result in an unexpected and challenging finish. The characters are all believable,the plot intricate and well written. I recommend it.

Really enjoyed this book and was very pleasantly surprised towards the end to an outcome I hadn't even started to guess at!

While grieving her mother, Una comes across a job that sounds perfect. A live-in companion for an elderly lady, living in a grand house in Clifton, a great wage, and nicer than the care home job she currently has. Although it seems boring at times and the lady's daughter seems suspicious of her and antagonistic towards her, the job is going well and is just the thing to raise some money to travel the world.

Of course, this idyllic life would not make much of a tale and Una discovers that her two predecessors both died.quite suddenly and there is some suspicion over their deaths. This story looks like it is heading to a conclusion right in the middle of the book before suddenly a shock is thrown in ready for part two. An excellent choice that had me reeling before part two starts to unravel the secrets and mysteries of the tale.

Highly recommended.

As with all of Claire Douglas’ books, I was pretty much hooked from the opening chapters (hence why I finished it so quick!). There were lots of moments when my heart was beating erratically through fear of what was going to happen.

Una has just started working as a live in assistant for an elderly but formidable woman (Elspeth McKenzie) who lives in a beautiful house ion Clifton, Bristol. Elspeth’s daughter, Kathryn, is a sour puss who is continually suspicious of Una but she is generally only at the house when it is Una’s day off.

Una inadvertently comes to hear of the deaths of Ms McKenzie’s last few employees. She gets the bit between her teeth as she thinks that their deaths were no accident especially given that all three girls were very very similar to her.

This book had me guessing what I thought was going to happen and who I thought was guilty but I was wrong on both counts!!! The suspense was with reader from beginning to end.

All in all a fantastic read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an honest and unbiased review of this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, for the ARC.

What a cracking psychological thriller! The writing is excellent, good dialogue, good characterisation, and all surrounded in a chilling atmosphere. This is so cleverly plotted, a real page-turner with twists and surprises to keep you guessing..

Una Richardson, 23, still grieving her mother's death 3 months previously, wants a fresh start, and takes a job as a companion to Mrs Elspeth McKenzie in a beautiful town house in Bristol with views of the suspension bridge and Avon Gorge. Elspeth is in her late 70s, a widow and a philanthropist, who appears to become selectively less independent when it suits her. Her dowdy daughter Kathryn is full of resentment - at her mother's insistence on securing a companion; at her husband Ed's lack of engagement in their own household and not least, her mother's indifference to her two grandsons.
Una gradually uncovers the existence of previous companions and what became of them - why did they all look alike? She confides to her best friend Courtney that something doesn't seem right.

Told from the points of view of Una and Katherine in the main, secrets are uncovered which put Una in danger.
Will she end up just like the other girls?

(Any more and I risk spoilers).

This really is excellent reading.

To begin, I’d like to thank Penguin UK- Michael Joseph for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And a huge thank you to Claire Douglas for yet another amazing page turner!

No spoilers as usual in this review.

I really enjoyed this book. This was a mystery in the true sense of the word. A real whodunnit! Everyone on my suspect list didn’t quite fit for one reason or another, and the twist at the end really did come out of nowhere although when I look back - the clues were there!

It was tense, complicated, dramatic, funny, nerve wracking, confusing, full of twists... everything you would want in a thriller was there - and the end of part one was a real “woah!!” moment! I did not see that coming!

The characters were so well written that I managed to connect with each of them. All of them felt real to me, even if I couldn’t understand their actions, I could empathise with their motivations.

I was really pleased with how well everything came together in the end and everything made sense. The whole book had a very easy flow about it and was written in a way that is so easy to read and keep turning the pages. Fantastic book! I can’t wait to see what Claire Douglas writes next! An easy 5 stars from me!

Another fabulous book by Claire Douglas. As always the plot is flawless and rge characters well developed. This story really kept me guessing and I only guessed the end a page or two before it was actually revealed - lots of red herrings along the way!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception. It had me hooked from the beginning, great storyline, great characters and a great ending.

What could possibly go wrong working in a beautiful house as a carer companion for an elderly lady - add in a daughter who never appears to have a good word to say and then to find that your predecessors has died an untimely death

Claire Douglas never fails to deliver and this book was no different. Great storyline with some real characters and as always the bit you never saw coming. Engaging and kept me hooked till the turn of the final page

Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have read many Claire Douglas books and I had high hope for this one and I was not disappointed. Living local to Bristol I loved the scene setting and could really imagine the places. The story follows Una when she takes on a new job as a live in companion to Elspeth an elderly lady in Clifton. We see her struggle with the new role and become suspicious when she learns about the fate of the 2 previous girls who had the job. After Una ends up dead we then follow the story from the next girl as she takes on the role. Very well written and gripping I really enjoyed it!

How often do coincidences happen? Terry Pratchett used to write that million-to-one chances crop-up nine times out of ten, and that's where this book starts. Una takes a job caring for a wealthy old lady and discovers her two immediate predecessors left in somewhat mysterious ways. Coincidences do happen, but what if there's more... Okay, yes. It's a mystery book, of course you're going to learn more! Which is helpful actually, because in truth the mystery doesn't really come alive until halfway through the book. Until then it's... average. Yes, I read on because I did want to find out what was going on, but I wasn't invested. There were a few "Oh, I wonder if..." plot points but nothing nibbling aware at my brain. The characters were interesting enough to satisfy the story, but their backstories felt too much like jigsaw pieces slotting into place and didn't give me anything to really care about. Then, everything changed and I wanted to read this book rather than it just being a book to read.

Just before Part Two starts, the plot thickens. I became properly engaged, and Una led the characters in becoming more interesting. I thought the rest of the book showed promise, it was about to get interesting. Then Part Two arrived and the whole thing took on a new life. That plot? Now it had real questions, genuinely curious aspects that would gnaw away between twists. Previously fairly underwhelming characters developed personalities to go with their usefulness, and now I was constantly eager for the next chapter as they bounced between the characters.

In the end, Claire Douglas manages to deliver a genuinely compelling and clever story. Made all the more rewarding by the fairly innocuous start that proves to essentially be an incredibly long prologue. And it benefited from it - honestly, I know it's hard to call something average and then suggest it's the cornerstone to the later excitement but that's exactly the case here. In the first half of the book, Douglas manages to set out every long play plot point you won't spot until the final few pages. It's clever! This a masterful example of hiding in plain sight, and finishing the book makes the first half feel considerably more rewarding.

It's a book that grows on you and ultimately delivers a satisfying conclusion. And I say that despite feeling that I should be a little annoyed at the sleight of hand played by the author!

Another great book by Claire Douglas. Great storyline that kept me gripped and turning the pages, I couldn’t put it down. If you have not read any of Claire’s books I recommend you try them as they are all great! Roll on the next book!!

This book is split into several parts, and I was about 60% confident I knew who was the villian about halfway through part one.  We start with Una. A young girl who has a crappy ex boyfriend, recently lost her mum and lives in a small flat with her best friend. When she applies for a live in carer job she isnt expecting to get the post. The house is big, and posh but the womans daughter doesnt exhbibt any positivity dueing her interview. To her suprise within days shes moved into the house and has every wednesday and saturday off. Its quickly apparent that the dream job isnt that great. Una feels isolated, and something just doesnt feel right. When she finds out there were two girls before her who are both dead she starts to question things. 
Willow is the new Una. Shes settling into her new role when she has a haircut that changes her life. 

The story completely twists and turns in themost logical ways that you just cant forsee. 

The characters are amusing.  Elspeth - an aging battleaxe,  Kathryn - her 'cold fish' of a daughter, Una is somber but likeable, Willow comes accross as feisty, The cook whose name isnt memorable but despite there being no apparent danger I wanted her to make it out of the story alive, Lewis the handsome gardener ( I pictured Jesse Metcalfe!), Courtney - I liked her more as she became more relevant and then Peter - the firefighter who feels vital and not important all at once. 

As usual Douglas writes a compelling thriller that its about family, love, loyal and betrayal. Its about forgiveness and finding the important things in life and holding onto them. Working on relationships and also about standing up for yourself and saying enough when you need to.

Wow, what can I say, this book drew me in from the first page. The story centres on the girls who worked for elderly Elspeth McKenzie in her big house in Clifton as her companion/helper. Elspeth, a widow lives alone and has an adopted daughter Kathryn whom she treats very badly and yet Kathryn puts up with it. The girls all have something in common, young, blonde and end up dead!
This is a gripping psychological novel and full of twists and turns. I thought I had sussed who was the killer, only to be proved wrong! I loved this novel from Claire Douglas and it is a must read!

Straight away I was drawn in by this book and enjoyed the twists and turns, definitely an addictive read.

Claire Douglas never disappoints. Just Like the Other Girls was a psychological thriller with an unusual premise and an interesting study of family dynamics. From Kathryn the adopted child to Elspeth the adoptive mother whose natural child runs away, the characters are quirky and frequently unlikeable or full of flaws. The ending is unguessable, which is always a bonus.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for an advanced copy of this book 'Just like the other girls' by Claire Douglas.

From the moment I opened this book I was hooked, I devoured it in a day and loved everything about it.

There are twists, turns, red herrings and intriguing characters to discover. The perfect recipe for a good thriller!

This is a clever book. It has plenty or twists and red herrings, making it almost impossible to put down.

Our main characters are Elspeth, a 79 year old widow and her daughter Kathryn. Elspeth wants a companion and that’s where Una and Willow come in. I enjoyed the relationships between all of these women and felt the characterisation was sound.

The book itself is well written and a great example of its genre. I guessed the twist at the end, but not until the last moment!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I have enjoyed Claire's books from the beginning, after reading all her books, I was looking forward to reading this one too, she has never let me down with gripping, twisted storylines to keep you guessing right up to the end!

The story bounces from various characters and times in their lives, so you can get a different viewpoint from what is going on, what they are thinking and why they do certain things. These are very well written and at some points, a red herring is placed, to make you think otherwise of who is causing so much harm!

This book starts straight away with the 'suicide' on the unnerving and creepy Suspension Bridge not far from the home of Elspeth McKenzie. Elspeth is an old and fragile lady. After a fall down the stairs, she prefers to have living in help, even though she has a daughter that dotes on her- she has specific requirements on who she hires!

The story has various characters, from Elspeth and her daughter - Kathryn, to the beloved and bustling cook - Aggie, who at times can say more than intended.

The story dips into how Kathryn and her husband Ed have their own problems, with their two boys and how she feels resentful of how she was treated as a child.

When Una joins the family after having her own family upset, she feels like this is a new beginning where her and her best friend Courtney, can plan ahead to travel the world. 

Things start to unravel as Una finds out she is not the only girl that has been a lived in career, to Elspeth. The other girls have a similar resemblance to her, they have come to an end that is starting to cause suspicion. But who is involved, could it really be Elspeth and/or her daughter Kathryn!? Some of the things they both do, definitely give you the creeps - it reminded a little bit like psycho!

The story has many other characters that join in to investigate and ask questions, a family member turns up to find out more, which turns into a race against time, but is Una in danger, who keeps following her!?

This is when the story takes a huge change that I was not expecting, (a classic from Claire!) it made me think twice about who I suspected and where the story was going to go. 

As the past comes hurtling into the future, the twists of family hatred, confusion and the family history brings the story to a close, answering so many questions in such a powerful way!

This is another brilliant book from Claire, that I had started one day and finished the next - keeping me gripped right up to the very end! 

I would absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This is without a doubt one of the best books I have read so far. The storyline and the characters where brilliant. It’s so well written it makes you feel like your there watching it all unfold. This book is one of those that you know who done it but then it turns out not to be that person. It’s a powerful edge of your seat read. I’m nearly mad I’m finished it as I wanted for it to never end. Another brilliant book by Claire Douglas. 5 star worthy..