I received this arc through net galley and the publishers and what can I say what a book, it kept me up till late into the night as I had to finish it.
It centres on a sister Helen and her husband Daniel, her brother Rory and his beautiful wife Serena, Helen arranges an NCT class after she find herself pregnant again after many lost pregnancies and meets Rachel.

Helen seems to bump into Rachel everywhere after that, so what is her story and what does she want from Helen?

A brilliant book for a first novel. Well plotted - a true slow burner which was crafted on every page. Will definitely be seeking more by this author.

What an amazing debut from Katherine Faulkner. This novel focuses on 3 siblings and their partners. Helen who is married to Daniel, Helen’s brother Rory who is married to Serena and Helen’s youngest brother, Charlie. Helen is pregnant and is due to meet Serena at the ante-natal class but instead she meets the mysterious Rachel, who soon becomes imbedded in all of their lives. The plot then takes you on a rollercoaster of twists and turns and delves into their pasts and how it all intertwines together.
The attention to detail in describing Greenwich and Greenwich Park, where one of the couples live, is really good and it is great to be transported there through words as we are still ‘staying local’.
The whole story builds slowly but you quickly become involved and it’s a case of ‘just one more page/chapter’ in this page turner of a book. Just when you think you know what is coming next, or you think you have solved the mystery, yet another curve ball is thrown in. The final outcome found me punching the air, I was so pleased.
A really well written, slow burner of a thriller that I would highly recommend. I think this could be one of the top books of 2021. It does deal with a few emotive issues; miscarriage, death, murder, blackmail and adultery, but please do not let that put you off this book as it is all written and dealt with with such care and attention to detail.
I would like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for an advance review copy of Greenwich Park in return for an honest review.

A truly twisty and engrossing thriller. The book opens at an antenatal class, where we meet Helen, who has been let down by her sister-in-law’s non-appearance, instead striking up an odd friendship with Rachel.. Narrated by most of the female characters in the book, this is a story where the reader is trying to get to the truth throughout, which stays just out of reach. Very difficult to put down - highly recommended.

One of the best thrillers I have read in a long while. The characterisation, pacing and dialogue drew me in and I reced through the book in a couple of days. The story of a woman who is struggling to trust her own judgement amid a host of strange coincidences and significant life events. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner is about pregnant Helen, who meets the quirky Rachel at her antenatal class. Despite being heavily pregnant, Rachel drinks and smokes and although Helen doesn’t quite agree with this laidback lifestyle, she ends up befriending Rachel, as her husband and pregnant sister in law never seem to have much time for her. Slowly, Rachel seems to fully ingratiate herself into Helen’s life, and Helen can’t quite see how to escape her. Alongside the main story is the minor narrative of Katie, a journalist covering a rape trial. Katie happens to be dating Charlie, Helen’s younger brother.

From the first few chapters, Faulkner draws you in to this suburban family, and you just know there is hidden depths and dark secrets bubbling beneath the surface. Helen has a glorious house, currently under renovation and you can’t help but see the parallels between the house and those inside, where cracks are beginning to show themselves...

The chapters are quite short, and that helps increase the pace of the story. I found myself eagerly reading just one more chapter, to the point where I’d read over 300 pages before I even realised. Of course, by then I was at the point of no return, and just HAD to see how this narrative played out.

The characters are well developed, with just enough back story to add weight to the current timeline without weighing it down. The feeling of unease and suspense is trickling throughout the story, before being released in a flood near the end as the narrative comes to an explosive conclusion.

This was a fantastic debut and one that highlights themes of wealth, privilege, family, honesty, truth, justice, betrayal and motherhood. 5⭐️

I enjoyed this twisty book very much. It had all the elements I enjoy in a book of this type. I devoured it in a very short time and couldn’t get enough of it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

There are few things that delight me more than a well-written, twisty psychological thriller and something about this one filled me with promise. I raced through it at the pace that it demands and gave my mind a great workout!

Helen Thorpe has the perfect life with her handsome, successful architect husband Daniel, a beautiful Victorian townhouse in a sought-after area of London and a baby on the way. Her brother’s wife Serena is also pregnant and Helen can’t wait to settle into motherhood. At her antenatal group, Helen grows close to the wayward, mysterious, single mum-to-be Rachel who continues to smoke and drink throughout her pregnancy. Although she knows that something isn’t quite right with Rachel, Helen feels that she can’t give up her friendship. As time goes by, those close to Helen can’t help but feel that Rachel may be linked to a shared past that no one wants to return to.

When I first met Rachel, I was completely struck by her apparent vampiric appearance. I knew she wasn’t actually some kind of undead creature but once I had this image of her, I found it hard to get away from it. In fact, her role in the story does resemble that of a sinister being from the past that has come back to haunt those who have moved on. Giving her a vampire-like appearance may have actually been a very clever, deliberate move on Faulkner’s part.

When Rachel’s behaviour grows increasingly erratic and she starts to impose more and more on Helen and Daniel’s life, Helen understandably starts questioning how much she really knows about her and discovers that it really isn’t much. Things start to go missing from her house and Helen finds notes in her brother Rory and Serena’s house from a mystery sender. She begins to wonder why Rachel seems to have taken such an interest in her. Trying her hardest to play detective, Helen starts to add things up but simply can’t come to a logical conclusion.

I read a lot of thrillers of this nature and normally, I have a pretty good idea of what is really going on by at least the halfway point. Not the case with Greenwich Park at all. I had theories but then I’d remember something else that didn’t quite fit and I’d be back to the beginning again. There is another strand to the story involving Helen’s other brother Charlie and his on-off girlfriend Katie, who is a journalist reporting on a sexual abuse court case. Although I knew that Katie’s work would have something to do with the truth, it took me a long time to figure out how that whole strand fitted in. Incredibly smart writing on Faulkner’s part because she really had my brain going all around the houses!

Daniel’s behaviour is suspicious from the start and things kept adding up against him. He works late all the time, he is extremely uncomfortable around Rachel and Helen discovers that he has made some huge decisions without her knowledge. Despite all this, he did seem to be genuinely in love with Helen and a potentially good hands-on dad, so I spent a lot of the novel torn over my feelings towards him.

I also had my doubts about both of Helen’s brothers. In fact, all of the men in the book had moments of deep suspicion and I began to wonder whether they might have been in on it together. But in on what, I had no idea!

Greenwich Park is a pulse-racing, enigmatic, psychological thriller and domestic drama that keeps the twists coming. In fact, they were still coming in the very last chapter. I didn’t know that it was a debut until it came to writing this review but my God, am I looking forward to seeing what else Katherine Faulkner writes!

Well this was a twisty tale full of completely unlikeable characters.

Daniel and Helen are expecting their first baby, the timing couldn't be more perfect, her brother and his wife are having their first baby, it'll all be perfect, or so Helen thinks.

But things start to fall apart and it seems to coincidence with Helen becoming friends with another expectant mum, Rachel at antenatal group.

That's when secrets start to be exposed.

I thought I'd worked most of it out, but there were still a few surprises.

Now I've thought about it, Katie was the only likeable character and my initial thoughts about Rachel definitely changed...

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

Wow! The first half of this book will have you tied up in so many questions and the second half has so many twists it is unreal!

None of the characters are particularly likeable, Helen is neurotic and obviously a people pleaser. Sabrina appears nice but also has a dark side. Rachel is just a bit strange...at times she seems to parallel with Helen and at others she seems intent on hurting everyone.

Greenwich park is a a brilliant thriller that will definitely keep you guessing from start to finish! I loved it.

Wow, I haven't inhaled a book this quickly in so long! We've got a pretty good idea from the beginning of where this book will lead but we don't know who or why.

With such a tight-knit group of characters, the options are somewhat limited for culprits but this doesn't stop the author weaving an exciting story with twists and turns aplenty. I really enjoyed the exploration of this interesting friendship group and their shared history and even though many of them were unlikeable, I liked Katie as a character and although I found myself frustrated with Helen at many points of the book, I still rooted for her, especially after her difficult path to motherhood. Although we got glimpses from Serena's point of view, I actually think it would have been nice to have had some more but that's simply because she intrigued me as a character and I do understand why her chapters were limited.

Overall this was a really impressive debut that like many reviewers, I couldn't put down and I can't wait to see what Katherine writes next.

This book was not as good as I thought it would be from the premise. It was slow paced not grip me until over half way through when the pace picked up. Predictable in parts.. Not terrible but not great.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I found this book to be absolutely riveting, it is the kind of page turner that has the reader putting everything else on hold.
Centering on a small group of friends/ family through their young adult years, the story mostly focuses on one main character, Helen, and the last few weeks of her pregnancy. The unsettling friendship she makes at antenatal classes proves to be the catalyst for the story, and it is clear from the outset that she has been sought out by Rachel but the story drip feeds clues as to why.
The book feels quite claustrophobic at times, as the characters are all to intertwined with one another, and the countdown to the birth after a much longed for pregnancy adds to the tension. There were enough flags and red herrings to keep the most seasoned thriller fan intrigued. The denouement suited the plot very well, keeping the reader guessing right until the end. I like a thriller where I don’t manage to solve the mystery completely and this book ticks that box for me.
I felt it was very well written, particularly as this is a debut novel, with a lot of smoke and mirrors for the reader to try and see beyond to unravel the story.

Loved, loved, loved this book and all it's twistedness through the story!

Absolutely gripping throughout and the story keeps you wondering if everyone is what they seem. Even when you guess who is at fault there is still some nice surprises.

This would have been a five if only I hadn't felt that the end was a bit rushed. Well not quite the end but the bit before it. The end was a complete surprise.
Featuring Daniel, Helen, Serena and Rory, two siblings and their spouses who had all been together at Cambridge. Their lives aren't just entwined , they are tangled together. And then there is Racheal. Who is she? What is she to them? Is she really just some random stranger that hooks up with Helen at an ante natal class?
Only time will tell.
A solid 4 and look forward to reading more from this author.

A tense thriller that kept me guessing throughout.

From the moment Helen meets Rachel there is an atmosphere of unease. You feel there is something not quite right about the friendship but you can't figure out what. That unease increases as the story unfolds and you feel uncomfortable for Helen. But I also felt very worried for Rachel. What is she after? And is Helen safe? Such a creepy claustrophobic feeling.

Then wham you are hit with some big twists and turns and your head spins. What is the truth here?
And what are the links to the past? Everyone becomes a suspect and the plot becomes tense and exciting. I raced to the end unravel the reveal. And it all came together beautifully.

The writing was so well crafted I felt that I was watching a film rather than reading a book. The settings were described so beautifully and the characters so realistic. A fabulous debut which most surely will be dramatised soon for television.

A complex thrilling ride that makes perfect sense on the last page.

Greenwich Park is a hugely enjoyable read, full of twists and turns . The privileged people of Greenwich are well depicted, as are the descriptions of the local area and community. And into this world of good taste and affluence comes Rachel, the nightmare lodger, to disturb the calm and expose the dark secrets of the past. I really raced through this over a couple of sittings, and could highly recommend it. The various points of view kept my interest all the way through and the feeling that the lead character was going to turn out to be the most unreliable of witnesses. Well constructed and written, it's a gripping read.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

TW: Miscarriage. In an affluent London neighbourhood, pregnant Helen thinks she has everything: a perfect husband, a long awaited baby, a beautiful house, and her best friends are her wonderful brother and sister-in-law living just down the road. However, when she attends an ante-natal class and meets Rachel, a feisty and forthright younger woman, her life will never be the same. As Rachel starts to insinuate herself into Helen's life, the reader starts to question: is she a con-artist, a thief, or a victim? I loved Faulkner's thriller, which I devoured in a single sitting because I needed to know what happened next. The characters were complicated, nothing was quite what it seemed. Thoroughly recommend it as the perfect engrossing read for your holiday or staycation this Spring/Summer!

I could not put this down! Absolutely thrilling and kept me guessing almost til the end. I enjoyed the fact that you were suspicious of everyone and everyone looked like they could in some way be linked to Rachel. Helen was also somewhat of an unreliable narrator and so when it was her POV I was never quite sure what to believe. I did find her a bit drab and annoying but I think that was intended. Will love to read more from this author. Fantastic debut. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book is about two married couples, Helen and Daniel, and Rory and Serena. Helen and Rory are brother and sister. Both Helen and Serena are pregnant and due within weeks of each other. Helen meets a new woman, Rachel, at her antenatal course. And Rachel becomes really full on, wants to know everything about Helen’s life, and bumps into her everywhere when Helen is out. Helen starts to become uncomfortable with the friendship, especially when Rachel turns up at her front door with clear bruises around her neck. Rachel ends up staying with Helen, much to Daniel’s disgust. Helen holds a bonfire night party, and things between Helen and Rachel become heated when Helen finds Rachel has been stealing from her. Rachel moves out that night and texts that she’s with her mum. Then the police arrive and tell them Rachel has gone missing. Then we start to see a different side to all involved, as they all seem to be guilty of something.

This book was brilliantly written, and had lots of storylines all rolled into one. It was an easy read, and flowed nicely throughout. The characters were well written, although Helen was annoying in some of her ways, and I sometimes wanted to scream at her. I liked Katie, especially as she was so level headed and balanced. The characters all mixed well together.
I loved this book, and would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who loves a good domestic thriller.