I really struggled with this book. Such short chapters and it chopped and changed all the time. Didn’t particularly like any of the characters either. Not for me. Sorry

Emma is ecstatic, spotting an opportunity for a friendship when a new couple Jade and Tomas move into their large, plush Victorian detached house, next door to her in Henley-on Thames. Thomas is a hedge fund manager in the City and Jade used to be a Professor of Forensics at the University of West London. Emma is a dentist, earning much more than her boyfriend, Alastair who is a forensic scientist. Alistair lives with his mother and son, Stephen (from his marriage to Heather, now his ex-wife) in an upstairs flat. When Jade and Thomas invite Emma and Alistair to dinner they accept, and so begins this compelling, complex, dark tale of delusion, and betrayal.

Having read a few of Amanda Robson's books, I was fully expecting My Darling to be pretty special, and I was not disappointed! The story is told through the eyes of Emma, Jade and Alistair. In a whirlwind of paranoia, secrets, lies, and murder nothing is kept from the reader other than how the insanity will play out. Amanda Robson cleverly sought to keep my thoughts off-kilter so I was never sure exactly what was happening. This is an unputdownable story, oozing with suspense and craziness that rockets along, and I had a ball reading it. I'm really looking forward to this talented author's next offering.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Avon Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Disturbing but fascinating at the same time!! A truly intriguing story about one women's mental health (Jade) and the effect that it has on her new neighbour (Elle) and her partner (Alastair). Loved the way the story was written from each character's perspective and how things impacted upon them. Also enjoyed the short chapters as this made it easier to keep up with and kept me interested.

The ending was perfect and well suited to the build up of the plot.

A definite recommendation for 2020!!

Jade and Thomas move into a house across the street from Emma & Alistair
Jade gets it in to her head that Thomas is having an affair with Emma
There are plenty of twists in this book and these characters are a bit troubling.
Thanks NetGalley

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I could not finish this book. Just too choppy and did not enjoy the constant switching of characters.

My Darling was a fast paced thriller that I devoured in a day.
Thomas and Jade have just moved into their new home and invite the neighbours Alastair and Emma over for drinks. Whilst there Jade takes Emma to the side and warns her of her husband and that he has a wandering eye and to keep away but in a very short time Jade convinces herself that Emma and Thomas are doing the dirty on her behind her back.
This was a seriously twisted read, I couldn’t put it down and the more I read the more twists came and the better it got. I really enjoyed this book and will look out for more by Amanda Robson in the future.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is compelling domestic suspense. Told from Jade, Emma and Alastair’s points of view this is a twisted story of abuse, betrayal, relationships, and revenge.

Although the adult characters are hard to empathise, they are believable and fascinating., Jade has mental health issues, and it’s her actions that precipitate the events that follow. Emma is also emotionally fragile. Alastair has severe anger issues which make him prone to violence. Thomas is the least well defined of the characters.

Detailed and intricate the plot’s many twists make it difficult to visualise the ending. The conclusion is probably as just as it can be, but the last one standing is not necessarily a good person.

This is an addictive book, even though the characters are few and the settings domestic, the sometimes shocking plot twists and suspenseful ethos make this a story that you have to finish.

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Warning! Spoilers ahead!!!

Jade and Tomas move in next door to Emma. Jade immediately dislikes Emma as she believes that Tomas will be attracted to Emma and probably have an affair with her. Emma and her boyfriend Alastair are invited over to Jade's house for drinks so that Jade can threaten Emma to make sure she stays away from Tomas. Over chit chat, we find out that Alastair is a forensic scientist, a career that Jade also pursued before mental illness meant she couldn't, Tomas works in the city and Emma is a dentist. Tomas happens to be looking for a dentist to deal with his root canal problem, and Emma is happy to oblige. Jade becomes increasingly suspicious of their relationship and what follows is a catalogue of plot twists on top of plot twists on top of plot twists.

Written in very short chapters that alternate between each characters point of view, the story at times feels very repetitive as chapters overlap to give differing viewpoints. The first murder in the story was very believable, as was the fabricated evidence that Jade and then Alastair create, but all this was over in the first 25% of the book. After that it had so many plot twists that it became ridiculous - the likelihood of Emma finding herself in three abusive relationships felt like a stretch to me, the believability of Jade and Emma teeming up to frame Alastair, Alastair trying to kill Emma, Emma then murdering Alastair while he was in prison, Jade trying to kill Emma and then Emma ultimately getting revenge left the body count really racking up. Just one of the murder plots would have been more than enough for the book but this took murdering to a whole new level - and most disturbingly of all, people seemed to be getting away with it far too easily.

If you like murder fiction that leaves you smiling wryly and thinking 'Oh good God, that would never happen' then this might be the book for you. If you prefer your fiction to be a little bit more believable I'd give it a miss.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The extremities of human behaviour, including a murder is shown in this psychological thriller that will play with you in its enigmatic, twisty way, and keep you guessing right to the end.
I thank Pheobe Morgan and Sabah Khan and everyone at Avon Books for accepting my request to review.

Full Review

Taking centre stage with chapters each to themselves are Emma, Jade and Alistair. Each is just a couple pages or so long. It does however, all marry-up together well.

The word “Clusterfuck” that crops up quite a bit in the book is worth a mention as it has an appealing quality. It does have relevance to the book in terms of a character. The dictionary definition is: a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation : a muddled mess.

Emma is a dentist who is together with Alistair who is a forensic scientist. Jade and Tomas move into a Victorian detached house – Fairlawns near the river in Henley-on-Thames, with what sounds like, the best of everything and seems materialistic and yet fitting for the house, that, from the minute the removal van pulls up and is starting to be emptied, the place will look sublime or a bit like a magazine set-up house. The real beginnings of an atmostphere you wouldn’t expect to find, starts at a dinner party. Looks can be deceptive though as there’s a visit to a psychiatrist’s office and either founded or unfounded insecurities start to emerge.

Heather Brown is Alistair’s ex-wife turns up with an urgency, and things take a more sinister twist. As events occur, the curiosity about just which of the characters are telling the truth about just about everything as it becomes a tale of smoke and mirrors. Lives are twisted. My Darling becomes to have so many connotations within those two words, that aren’t as innocent as they may first appear within memories and the present story, the behaviours presented and a murder.

This is a book that gripped and twisted almost as much as a Rubix Cube and I’m sure will keep many readers guessing to its shock ending.

My goodness! Tangled webs come to mind after reading this book!
Congratulations to the author Amanda Robson for a fantastic read. I have read this in less than 24 hrs!
Page turning.
Once again having to be careful what I say as not to give the story line away!
Jade and Tomas arrive at their new home. Watching them is Emma and her boyfriend Alistair. Their lives become Entwined rather quickly. Deceit, abuse and mental health issues are all there in this story. I would recommend this book as the story is fast moving, it keeps you gripped and the author writes really well. It’s my first book by Amanda Robson, I’m off to download her other books!

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreads #mydarling #amandarobson #bookreview #reviewer #bookstagram whoa. We have #Emma #alistair and #jade. Three perspectives. Captivating. If you are looking for a phenomenal book with a whodunnit #thisisit my mind .... 🤯 seriously #mindblown💥 you have love. New neighbors. A murder like you won’t even expect. The thing is. You won’t even guess who did it. You think you know. But. You don’t. Or do you 😂 #bookaholic #booknerd #netgalleyreviewer #bookaddict #booksbooksbooks📚 #bookrecommendations five out of five ⭐️

Life changes for Emma, when new neighbours Jade & Tomas move in next door. Emma & her boyfriend Alistair are invited for drinks where Jade warns Emma off her husband! So many twists & turns happen.
Took me a while to get into the book but then I was hooked. So many unexpected turns makes this book so good. Well worth a read.

A very complex,complicated novel, told from the perspective of the three main characters. A sad story of choices made,good and bad.

What a journey this book has been. So over-the-top right from the get-go. (In a good way)! A book unlike any I’ve ever read before. The plot is quick-paced and never slows down. the story never dawdles, moving briskly chapter by chapter. The chapters themselves are so extremely short and abrupt, numerous and filled with information. There is no dialogue in this book. Just thoughts, reactions, and actions. Everything is written from first person pov, each chapter a different character’s pov. I haven’t read anything else by this author, but I wonder if her other books also use this same writing style...
There were times when it was exhausting to read this book ngl, it is fast-paced and continuous. There is constant plotting or worrying or violence that make it necessary to take breaks. But it is also a good read; as is always the case when the character you’re rooting for is successful at something. This book is a journey, while the story takes place over a year and a half, I finished this book in two and half days. I had been looking forward to it for a while and I’m glad to have finally finished it.
All in all it was a good book, long and adventurous, unique with it’s writing style, and rife with frustrating characters making bad impulsive decisions. I would love to see this book come alive on screen. As a film or a short series. It would be a hit no doubt. I highly recommend it to those looking to get sucked into a deep murder mystery book where the mystery lies for the cops and the reader is aware of most everything. Oh yeah that reminds me, the cops suck. They are terrible at their job. Just terrible. That’s the only appropriate spoiler since it makes the book more intriguing... the cops in this murder mystery novel suck at their jobs.

But all in all, excellent plot (with questionable characters)!

I was looking forward to reading this book. First, I found the style of writing a bit confusing, but once I got into it I really enjoyed this book. Emma is a successful dentist with her own practice, but unfortunately doesn't have much luck with choosing partners. Her boyfriend Alaister works for police as a forensic scientist. Jade and Tomas have just moved to the area next door to Emma. Alaister lives with his mum and son. Jade has mental health issues and imagines her husband is unfaithful to her with every woman he speaks to. She suspects Emma and Tomas are having an affair, so she takes matters into her own hands. Alaister is a doting father, but has his own anger problems. Overall it is a good book and I would recommend it.

Emma – A beautiful, successful dentist has just got out of perilous relationship. With her parents dead, she only has Casper, her cat for company. She is on the look out for love again and this time she doesn’t want to look at it in all the wrong places. But tomorrow is a brand new day that’s never been touched. So Tinder, here-I-come for her. But when she finds Alastair she hopes he isn’t controlling like other men she has had in her life before.

Alastair – A forensic, divorced, has the custody of his son. His mother helps him take care of his son – Stephen. Finally having found love, Emma and he are in a relationship now. Life seems to be going good, until it doesn’t.

Jade – Happily married to Tomas, moves into their new home. Even though she as a loving husband, a happy home and no deficiency for money, Jade’s mind is never at ease. For she always reckons Tomas to be having an interlude from time to time with attractive women. But her dubiety increases two -fold when Emma is their neighbor now.

All is well in paradise till Tomas is found dead one evening. Three suspects, two forensic experts and one beautiful brain, who would have killed him?

Why has Emma gotten out her previous relationship?
Why is Jade so suspecting?
Are Emma & Tomas having an affair?
Why is Tomas killed?
Who would have killed him?
Is Emma, Alastair’s happily ever after?

Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Recommendation – Moderately High

Conclusion,

This book has multiple perspectives, which alternates between Emma’s, Jade’s and Alastair’s. In between perspectives, there is a parallel portray of Emma’s childhood till her marriage. Each character’s perspective makes this book interesting. What happens when successful and beautiful Emma, rich and suspicious Jade, devoted and controlling Alastair’s paths cross is the crux of this book. The characters are complex and well developed. The plot development is captivating. Overall a good read with a unique writing style. At times, this style can leave the readers baffled.

Trigger Warnings – Deals with multiple murders and mental illness.

I have long since been a massive Amanda Robson fan - having already bought and read guilt, envy and obsession I was really looking forward to reading my darling. As always, totally unputdownable. I like a book where each chapter is told by the voice of a different character and this was really gripping and fast paced.

I would 100% recommend this to thriller fans and look forward to many more novels from Amanda Robson. Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While this was not on the top of my list for favorite thriller this year, it was a decent enough read. I had a hard time getting into the book at first, but persisted. It turned out being worth the effort. The chapters were short, and sometimes the writing and terminology was rather lame. A little insane...but I liked it overall.


Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book

4 stars downgraded to 3.5

My Darling being the first book I’ve read by this author, I had no preconceived ideas as to what I could expect in terms of writing style etc. Owing to this ‘clean slate’, I was taken aback by the opening, one that parachutes the reader right into the middle of four individuals lives, my intuition sensing that one person in particular is really quite odd. Jade, a former forensic science expert and husband Tomas, a hedge fund manager are moving into Fairlawns , a Victorian house in Henley-upon-Thames and the subject of neighbourly speculation. This speculation, coming from Emma and Alistair is immediately derogatory, (I had to google the term clusterfuck) suggesting the characters involved are not going to be in any way likeable. Emma, a dentist with her own practice and current boyfriend Alistair, bizarrely also a forensic scientist working alongside the police,are invited to a dinner party at their new neighbours house, which of course would normally be viewed as a friendly overture and nothing out of the ordinary. That is until Jade pulls Emma (thereafter nicknamed the Stereotype) aside and warns her that she is exactly the type of woman her husband, Tomas is likely to conduct an affair with. With such a strange opening, I felt battle lines between these two strangers were quickly drawn, apprehensive but excited as to what may follow.

Each short punchy chapter is told via four individual perspectives (Jade, Emma and Alistair) with an as yet unknown voice behind the chapters headed ‘memories’. It’s a simple yet effective writing style that engages your attention so that the narrative flows well, making it an easy, quick read. Before long the reader is left questioning the reliability of all the narrators, unsure who to believe and who to trust. Essentially the premise for My Darling is an elaborate game of cat and mouse, with the stakes set impossibly high. Who is being hunted, who is the hunter and as the storyline progresses can these roles be reversed??

Whilst I found the storyline compelling and the simplicity of style effective, this book’s main downfall is its lack of credibility. There are plenty of occasions where I was questioning the probability of scenarios but if you can forgive the author for stretching the bounds of plausibility then My Darling is actually a cracking domestic noir whose strength lies in the characterisation. A certain amount of suspense is lost with the early realisation of whose voice is narrating the ‘memories’ which for me was disappointing. I would have liked to have been kept in the dark for as long as possible in terms of their identity, although in all fairness to the author I’m not sure how she would have achieved this. Due to there being no ambiguity as to who is responsible and guilty of underhand, manipulative behaviour, there is a further loss of suspense so that I’m not sure this book falls neatly into the category of thriller. However the fun is in anticipating each person’s next move since these traits are not confined solely to one individual. I could imagine I was watching a grandmaster chess tournament given the amount of times there is a switch in who currently holds the ace card. Devious, paranoid, deluded and dangerous these are individuals you definitely don’t want to mess with!! The question is who will come out on top??

I’m quite partial to a storyline with dark, deranged psychopathic characters at its core as their behaviours are often unpredictable extreme and sinister in nature. I don’t think there’s any point in the narrative where I didn’t intensely dislike everyone involved, my distaste for their actions overriding any other emotion , although I did feel sorry for Alistair’s mum Mary and son Stephen caught up in this twisted drama. The fact they are entirely detestable just adds to the enjoyment. Throughout the whole novel I found myself horrified yet relishing their controlling, conniving actions, wondering at the depths they would sink to in order to have the upper hand. Without giving the game away there is one character who is portrayed in greater depth than the other key players, with a more developed,rounded backstory, providing possible reasons for their extreme behaviour. Perhaps if the author had given equal amount of attention to other individual backstories, that would elicit a diverse range of emotions from the reader, rather than the totally negative ones that I experienced. I may even have found some of their behaviour excusable or understandable instead of viewing them as rotten to the core. All said, I did find the ending chilling and in keeping with the overall tone of the book.

If I was reviewing this thriller on characterisation and enjoyment alone I would probably award it 4 stars. However the plot line does suffer from a lack of suspense, tension, intrigue and credibility which is why I’ve downgraded it to 3.5. If you like your characters to be wholly bad, driven by a wicked, sinister streak then this could be the perfect read for you. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

What an exciting compulsive read, many twists both of behaviour and relationships. A story of two crazy women who just happen to be neighbours and their unfortunate husbands. A fulfilling dark absorbing read.