My Darling
by Amanda Robson
Avon Books UK
Avon
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 24 Aug 2020 | Archive Date Not set

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for this ARC. I have not read Amanda Robson before and I think I have been missing out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Great read. Kept me guessing.
5 star

My Darling centers around two couples: married Jade and Tomas and Tinder dates Emma and Alastair. Jade forms an unnatural obsession with Emma and murder and mayhem follows.

I liked the twists and turns this one took. You knew early on whom was murdered and “whodunit,” but you’re left wondering who is going to take the fall as more crimes are committed like a domino effect. I also liked the forensics aspect.

Unfortunately, there were a couple things that didn’t work. As a personal preference, I like writing that flows a little more, and the choppy, short sentences felt a bit unfinished to me. This was apparent in the dialogue. No one sounded fully human. Also, we’re subjected to multiple POVs (Emma, Alastair, Jade, and “memories”). And while I tend to like that, all the voices sounded the same. It was hard to distinguish between them at times given the chapters were so short. And there were several instances where it didn’t shift to a new heading and I’d have to read things over to note who was the new speaker.

Overall, this was a quick, entertaining read, but I wouldn’t necessarily pick up another as it’s not my style of writing (totally subjective!).

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing this ARC to review.

“Do I love you? Do I hate you? There is a fine line between love and hate. I have felt both towards you, my darling, my love. It is a tribute to how much you have meant to me. And now I need to decide whether to love you or kill you”

WELCOME TO CUCKOO LAND! Oh my, Ms. Robson! You have got yourself a new fan! This was completely insane! It has been a while since I read something so bonkers. I started it without previously reading the synopsis, so at the beginning I was a bit confused with all the different POV and the second person narrators, but I soon got hooked on the madness and forgot about it, as all three voices are clearly differentiated.

With short and quick chapters it’s impossible not to fly through the pages. Last night I was at 30% with my mouth hanging open thinking nothing crazier could happen but I was proved wrong again and again.

As a medical examiner myself I just love stories were forensics play an important role, so you can imagine I was happy like a pig in mud with this, with forensic scientist trying to outsmart each other and, even though I found some inconsistencies I couldn’t care less about them cause I was having so much fun.

If I had to summarize “My darling” in just one word it would be unputdownable and engrossing (ok, two words 🙂) so if you’re in the mood for a crazy ride don’t doubt it, this one’s for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping book right from the start. The story is well written, giving points of view for various different characters, each character keeping their own dark secrets.
Well paced, with many twists and turns throughout, some of which I certainly didnt expect. An all round brilliant psychological thriller.

Thank You Netgalley, the publisher and Amanda Robson for this advanced copy.

This novel is a story about 2 couples, one married and one not who live nect to one another. It's told from four POVs with memory portions mixed in. Everyone has secrets and everyone is thouraghly unlikable.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I just don't like the writing style I don't think. It seems rather disjointed and I think that's because, for me, there are too many voices. It's not an unenjoyable book, it's a quick and easy read. The ending was a bit disappointing unfortunately.

This is a story of two couples. Emma and her Tinder boyfriend Allister, and Jade and her husband Thomas. The book is narrarated by Jade, Emma and Allister, with Memories of the past added in. Each person has secrets and, unfortunately, I couldn't find anyof the characters likable. The ending was lackluster and I had hoped for more. While I wasn't invested in any of the characters, I did like this book. I didn't love it, but it was a quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me access to an early copy of #MyDarling.

I have to be honest I started off and I didnt like this book, Too many unlikeable characters and short chapters caused confusion of who was who.
However I persevered and boy am I glad I did.
Gripping, and overflowing with twists, ones you never see coming. . You'll understand as you hit about 25% of the book. I'm not going to say to much about the characters I just found some naivety along the way and kept shaking my head.
It was dark and brutal and a page turner. Centred on four characters it's a story of revenge, manipulation, control and mistrust and has a twisted dark side.
Amanda Robson has done it again with another killer thriller and if you like worse case scenarios this one is for you.

Thank you in advance for the ARC.

Wow! Just Wow....
How four lives can be quickly envolved in a love/hate cat and mouse game!
Emma a beautiful dentist moves next door to couple Jade and Tomas and boy what trouble that brings. Throwing into the mix is Emma's partner Allister a mad and scary forensic pathologist.
I've never mean so gripped by a book, congratulations you now have a new number 1 fan.

First read for me by this author, but definitely not the last! Thoroughly enjoyed this thriller and would recommend it to all. This book is about new neighbours moving in next door to Emma who hopes to make new friends. How wrong can she be?? Once started, this book is very hard to put down. Excellent.

Two couples, neighbours, murder. What is going on behind closed doors? What are they thinking behind their everyday masks, who to trust?

Great thriller, joy to read.

Thanks to #netgalley and #avonbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest and fair review. This wasn't my first time reading an Amanda Robson book and I was excited to receive this copy from Netgalley. To say I was hooked from the first chapter is an understatement, I was compelled to keep reading this book with minimal interruptions tolerated! It's a domestic thriller based on 2 women living next door to each other, 1 is convinced the other is sleeping with her husband and starts plotting revenge on them both. Just when you think you have solved it, further demises are plotted on each other and it will keep you hooked to the very end. Makes me wonder just what goes on in Amanda's mind to come up with such spellbinding thrillers. Another great book for her to add to your tbr. #amandarobson #mydarling #netgalley #goodreads #tea_sipping_bookworm #bookstagram #bookqueen #amazon#kindle #avonbooks #litsy

Absolutely amazing!! Such a great thriller. It caught my attention from the very beginning! The characters were fantastic.

Dark, distorted, gripping page-turner. Contorted. Brutal. Cold and fabulous. It is the only way to describe this twisted story of four central lives acting out upon and destroying each other. Seldom is there a book that fascinates the reader in such a manner, but this book is the rare exception. Centred on four main characters, it is a story of mistrust, control, revenge and a kind of victory, sinister in nature. The story perverts the sense of neighbourliness that one so often takes for granted.

Emma and Alistair, Jade and Tomas. The first a new couple having met a few months ago on Tinder, with all the excitement and ardour a new relationship contains. The other a married couple mired by mental illness and suspicion. Emma is a rich dentist, Alistair a forensic scientist, as was Jade before she retired from her work as a university professor and Tomas, a hedge fund manager. All successful and new neighbours in a well to do neighbourhood. Oddly, by way of introduction, Jade takes Emma aside and warns her that her husband Tomas has a roving eye and that she best keep her distance. And Alistair has the niggling issue of his ex-wife who appears hell-bent on causing as much financial and emotional trouble as she can. But Jade discovers through her spying that despite her warnings, Emma and Tomas are ‘obviously’ ensconced in a relationship. And it's not the first time she has caught him in some such indiscretion. But she is determined to exact her revenge and stop this liaison in its tracks, no matter what it takes. But Emma also has the issue of Alistair becoming more and more demanding, both emotionally and physically. At first, they had agreed to spend only weekends together, but he has been steadily wanting more of her time, causing friction and instability between the couple, not to mention that he wants her to become involved with his son from his previous relationship, which Emma did not count on. Then one-night Tomas is brutally murdered, and the game of cat and mouse begins, with one person trying to pin the crime on another and so on and so forth. Emma doesn’t remember a night that she shared drinks with Jade but does remember the extreme abuse she had lived through in the past, and Alistair is being hassled for more money from his ex which makes him difficult to be around, whilst Jade is being pushed by her psychiatrist to take more and more medication that she doesn’t want to, but her desire for vengeance is growing. And in the end, the police are confident they know who is the guilty party because the evidence doesn’t lie… or does it?

This ingenious tale is warped almost from the opening. One is left shocked at the turn of events and it just keeps happening as one character turns on another, almost like rabid dogs. It is never clear cut who is guilty of what and who is being unfairly set up except when it is. The brutality is extreme, the descriptions lurid and honest. One is in no way sure what the final outcome will be and it requires a great deal of concentration on behalf of the reader to keep all the threads within the tale straight, but the payoff is worth the work and the twist in the tail is extreme, harsh and yet brilliant.

Highly recommended.

Thank You to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC!!

This was an interesting book!! It was a sinister and creepy read throughout which was filled with jealously and revenge.

I just felt that there was an overload of murders that took place, even though the murders are clever and forensically undisputed.

Overall a good psychological thriller with plenty of twists, revelations, and secrets.

With a fast-paced plot and crazy-minded lead character (which I do enjoy!), this book had twists, suspense and slow-building tension that kept me turning the pages! Thanks to Net Galley, Avon Books UK and Amanda Robson for this enjoyable, easy to read eARC for an honest review. 3.5 stars!

Thank you netgalley and @harpercollinsca for this difital arc.
Amanda Dobson you are messed up in the best way possible ! How is your brain even wired !
Two couples, delusions, secrets, paranoia, lies AND to keep it interesting - a violent murder.
I don't even know where to start with reviewing this one because it was an insane ride and I loved every twist and evil turn !
The wife who actually commits the murder - frames the woman whom she thought ( delusional) was having an affair with her husband ( the victim). The boyfriend of the accused, happens to be the one performing the autopsy on the victim realizes that his girlfriend has been set up. Without mentioning his connection to the accused, he manages to point the finger back to the wife, and in doing so, gets his girlfriend released from prison. Bravo !
Now he feels like she is indebted to him forever! I mean seriously, he just saved your ass ! So he asks her to marry him and her answer is not what he expected.
What follows is a series of twists so incredibly genius that I was giddy ! I couldn't believe my luck with being approved for this digital arc. My favourite part was the narration at the second person. So creepy that you end up thinkin you're actually part of this crazy story -- yes !!! put me in coach !!!
Absolutely amazing read for all you thriller seekers ( like me) who think you've got it alllll figured out ahead of the author. Surprise ! You don't -- not with this one anyway. So buckle up and enjoy the ride !

Wow! What an interesting book!

Amanda Robson writes this story from the perspective of 4 characters, 2 couples, Jade and Tomas, who move in next door to afluent and glamourous Emma, who is in a relationship with forensic scientist Alasdair. It doesn’t give too much away to say not all the characters make it to the end, as it becomes clear from the start that this is not so much a ‘whodunnit’ as a ‘will they get away with it?’

Amanda’s style of writing is unique - sentences are shorty, snappy and staccato-like, she really doesn’t mince her words. This works very well and makes the novel really stand out! It kept me riveted until the end, so a worthy 5 stars from me!

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

Not my favorite from this author- definitely not her best. Hope the next one is up to snuff

I do enjoy a book where there are few, if any, likeable characters. This will make you look more closely at your neighbours… A couple move in next door and events take such a turn that everyone’s lives are changed forever. It’s fast paced, faster than you realise as you whizz through the plot of revenge and regret then revenge and retribution. They say that no good deed goes unpunished and this is certainly true in this case. Partners are jealous, and willing to go to any length to ensure their other halves remain loyal and true. A sinister, creepy read throughout which makes it all the more enjoyable.

*Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK, and Amanda Robson for an ARC of this book!*

Wow, what a trip! I went into this one prepared to be baffled, intrigued, and disturbed in the best possible way and it completely blew my mind!

Amanda Robson gives us two sets of interesting neighbors and couples in Jade and Tomas and Emma and Alistair, laying the groundwork for a tornado of lies, paranoia, jealousy, and murder. Jade fears her husband's wandering eyes towards his beautiful blond neighbor Emma. A dangerous obsession to be sure...but who is obsessed with who? And who is the most dangerous neighbor of all?

Robson brilliantly incorporates several voices into the narrative, and keeps it driving with short, punchy sentences and quick chapters. She keeps you completely engrossed to the extent that the improbabilities of some situations no longer matter because it is such a FUN thriller to read, you won't care! The only voice that is missing from narration is Tomas, which was a little bit disappointing since all of the other characters' voices were so unique (and sometimes disturbing!) to read. I also wish some of the flashbacks to the past would have had their own solid conclusion, but they definitely added some depth and clarity to the some of the character's motivations.

I can't think of a better escape right now if you're looking for a little bit (or a whole lot) of crazy in your psychological thrillers than this one!