Member Reviews

Enjoyed this one. I felt like there was something missing though, something I needed to love it. Well thought out plot and easy to read.

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Well, this book had more twists than a tight perm!

I really enjoyed reading differing perspectives throughout the chapters that depicted how far along we were with the main character's pregnancy. I also loved all the clues and red herrings that were woven into the story, although admittedly, at the time I thought I had the story all sown up and so everything seemed to be heading in a very predictable way. I was really glad to have stuck with the book and been proven wrong.

As I insinuate, it took a moment to get into the book, but once I did, I found the way Faulkner tells her story to be quite captivating.

I would have liked the ending to have taken a bit more time unfolding and maybe lost a little text in the middle as we are already bordering on the long side.

This book would be enjoyed by lovers of family thrillers. An enjoyable read which sets your mind racing with theory after disproven theory. 4/5

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Wow!! A rollercoaster read from start to finish, the book starts with someone writing from prison but we don't know who.
Helen and her sister in law are pregnant, Helen tunes up to ante natal alone to find herself befriended by Rachel. But Rachel is not all she seeks, she weaves her way into Helen and her husband Daniels life, but why!! Lots of references to the past allude to it all being connected but we are left guessing who is to blame right until the very last page

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Greenwich Park is a thriller told from the perspective of three female narrators: Helen who is pregnant after several losses, Serena – married to Helen’s brother Rory and also pregnant, and Katie – the girlfriend of Helen’s brother Charlie and an investigative journalist.

The three voices are quite distinct and I particularly liked Katie and her desire to dig further into the details to seek justice and truth. Helen, although the main character in a way, was less likeable and I did get frustrated at times with how much of a pushover and people-pleaser she could be.

I initially struggled with the story and after making it c.40% of the way through was about ready to give up, as it didn’t feel like much had happened yet.

I’m glad I stuck with it though, as from the halfway mark the author really picks up the pace and it becomes a real page-turner as you race to solve the various puzzles and see what happens next for our cast of characters.

I was so engrossed, I even stayed up late to finish it – I just couldn’t sleep for trying to solve the clues.

The earlier part of the book could have done with being shorter or included some more build up alongside the scene-setting, to develop the story more and keep interest. The ending, however, was quite satisfying and tied up all of the loose ends for the reader (if not the characters themselves).

Note: The story does deal with some dark themes – rape, mental health and miscarriage – which may be difficult for some readers, especially the opinions of one particular character who is abhorrent.

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This story is told by three of the characters, Helen, Serena and Katie.
When Helen meets Rachel at an antenatal class, she has no idea what is going to happen. Suddenly everywhere she goes Rachel is there.
Then Rachel turns up at the house beaten and bruised and asks if she can say. How can she turn her away even though her husband doesn’t seem sympathetic but he is preoccupied with the company he runs with Helens brother Rory, Serena’s husband.
Things go missing and Rachel is the main suspect, then she disappears. Who was she, where is she.
#Greenwich Park #Katherine Faulkner #Netgalley

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Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Really enjoyed this one. Pieced some of it together but was surprised by the ending (in a good way). Would love to read Katherine’s next book.

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This started out as a fairly predictable anxious pregnant woman being befriended by a free spirited slightly wild younger pregnant woman, where you can see where the story is going and despair for the older woman- and it became clear what the younger woman’s motive was - whilst I quite enjoyed the first part of the book, I thought the second half was more original and fast paced - and I loved the final sentence!! It was a worthwhile read and I would recommend it.

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Oh what a tangled web we weave.... a good description of the plot of this book. All the characters are interwoven in some way or another. The story moves at a very fast pace and you do not always see what is going to happen next. Very enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance copy of this book.

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This book had echoes of another book I read which I adored. Thinking of the thin veneers of life and how you present yourself is not who you are. Do you ever know anyone Adored it.

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A deeply dark and disturbing thriller. This book had me hooked from the start and I could not put it down! The twists just kept coming and what an ending. A must read!

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Twisty and turny, this is a thriller that will keep you hooked. Suspend belief as usual with this sort of book but it does roll along at a pace. Hard to comment on the plot with giving away spoilers but this will certainly keep you guessing.

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Katherine Faulkner uses a particularly effective technique to ramp up the suspense in this unputdownable thriller. We know that the main character, Helen, has lost four babies, and that she needs peace and quiet to avoid pre-eclampsia and carry her fifth baby to term. The author counts down the weeks to the birth whilst Helen’s life starts to unravel, and the reader is desperate to find out whether Helen can keep this baby.

Helen has a seemingly perfect life. Her parents have left her a beautiful house in Greenwich Park, which is being remodelled by her award-winning architect husband. But why isn’t the building work on her house progressing, despite the mounting rubble and filth and screeching drill? Why is her husband refusing to attend her antenatal classes? And why can’t she get rid of Rachel, a seemingly unstable young woman she has met at the antenatal class?

Don’t start this book if you’ve got things to do, as you won’t want to put it down. The twists and turns are skilfully plotted and plausible. The class differences between loud, brash Rachel and Helen’s privileged family and friends are superbly observed. It’s hard to believe that it’s Katherine Faulkner’s first novel.

Four stars rather than 5, as I found the main character, Helen, too passive and gullible. She seems remarkably dim for someone who has been to Cambridge University. I didn’t like the idea that her parents were desperate to find a husband for her as if she were soiled goods. Why? That’s not explained. Faulkner is such a good writer and I would love to see her create a stronger female protagonist.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

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I was very keen to read this title and was delighted to get an ARC copy.

This follows the story of Helen, who is finally in the latter stages of a viable pregnancy after four losses. We meet her family, her husband, Daniel, her older brother, Rory and his wife, Serena. Helen thinks they are all wonderful, but it is clear from the start that none of these people are very nice at all.

Helen meets the larger than life Rachel at an antenatal class. Rachel is very keen to be Helen’s friend and they bump into each other frequently. Rachel inserts herself into Helen’s life and becomes a regular fixture in her social life. Helen is reluctant to be Rachel’s friend from the start, but she’s too nice to say no when Rachel engineers meetings.

Helen’s younger brother Charlie and his girlfriend Katie make up the family. Katie is a good friend of Helen’s from when they were all friends as children. She is a journalist, who is following a high profile court case where two popular and successful young men are accused of rape.. Through Katie’s coverage of the court case we also meet DCI Carter, who is a genuinely good guy.

I really enjoyed this book and I was intrigued to get to the end. I distrusted almost all the characters from the start. As the story unfolded, hints are given as to what is going on, the reader can begin to unravel how everything, and everyone, fit into the story; the reveals weren’t shocking, they were more satisfying.

The plot got more and more exciting and unputdownable as it progressed. I stayed awake reading the second half of it in one sitting. I was pleased by the ending, it tied things up satisfactorily. I particularly liked that the women in this book were very strong characters. Katie is awesome, I loved her.

I would very much recommend this book and I will be keenly looking out for subsequent novels by Katherine Faulkner.

Greenwich Park will be published on 1 April 2021.

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I was a bit doubtful to start with this book and tried a few times to read it. However once I got going it was brilliant the different strands completely fit together and the ending was brilliant.

I did want to shake Helen at times but that was one of the main points of the book.

Really interesting read and an author to watch out for.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

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A very satisfying twisty thriller by Katherine Faulkner that will keep you reading until the last page. On the surface Helen has an ideal life. She lives in a large house left to her by her successful parents. She is married to Daniel, a handsome architect and is at long last, after several miscarriages, pregnant with her first child. Moreover her sister in law is also pregnant and due at almost the same time. It seems that Helen's life couldn't get any better. Then she meets Rachel at anti natal classes and begins a strange friendship. Rachel pops up wherever Helen is and eventually worms her way into Helen's house and life. When Helen discovers that Rachel has been stealing from her she tries to end the friendship but by then things have gone too far...
The story is told in a series of countdown chapters as Helen nears the completion of her pregnancy. Some of the chapters are from Helen's point of view while others are from that of her sister in law, Serena and from her friend, Katie's. Helen comes across as a little naive and a rather trusting person, Serena as strong and aloof, thinking herself somewhat better than Helen, while Katie is a strong and determined character, and it is her who eventually sorts out secret that Rachel has been hiding.
None of the characters in the book are particularly likeable but the reader has to root for Helen, who is so obviously being wronged and for Rachel, who although has an ulterior motive, obviously has issues. The twists and turns in the narrative kept me reading and enjoying this book and the when the ending came it was immensely satisfying. An excellent first novel - I would hope to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this novel.

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Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on net galley. This is a debut that was high on my radar not only because its called after one of my favourite places.

This is a incredible thriller that I can see will be a huge success. It is fresh and slick and In the style of many other fantastic women thriller writers. Such as Lisa Jewell and Louise Candlish.

You become connected to the characters and invested in the storyline pretty quickly.Written in alternate narratives and timeliness.

Unpredictable and cleverly written and plotted. I love Greenwich and in particular Greenwich Park so I could evoke being there just by her words. I definitely picked up TV vibes from this .

A highly intoxicating portrayl of friendship ,family and relationships.

I absolutely loved reading this and can’t wait for more from this author.

Published April 15gh in hardback and slightly earlier in e book…hit that preorder button for one of 2021 best thrillers

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An excellent book that kept me turning the pages desperate to see what was going on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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This book made me want to shout out loud at the characters for not seeing that Rachel was beyond creepy!
A dark and twisted thriller, Greenwich park starts off fairly sedately with good characters and hints of their backstories. Later the characters and their stories take off at a tremendous rate though rather frustrating that the characters can’t see what’s happening

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Helen has led a fairly sheltered middle class life; she lives with husband Daniel in a beautiful house, inherited from her parents, on the edge of Greenwich Park, and is pregnant with their first child. It hasn't all been plain sailing, though - a history of pregnancy loss and family tragedy have left her vulnerable. She hero worships sister-in-law Serena, who in turn seems to regard her with something close to contempt.

Loud, unpredictable Rachel, who Helen meets at an antenatal class, seems like a different sort of person entirely, but Rachel somehow inserts herself into Helen's life with alarming consequences.

Greenwich Park is the definition of an addictive read, told from the viewpoints of Helen primarily but also sister-in-law Serena and Katie, a journalist who is closely connected to the family. (I liked Katie a lot - and given that the author's name is Katherine and she is also a journalist, I can't help wondering if one is a bit of a representation of the other!)

While we never hear Rachel's point of view directly, she is a pretty compelling figure, as you're never sure quite what she's up to and how dangerous she might or might not be. I could see how Helen, a bit of an oddball who doesn't have a gift for making friends, was drawn slightly unwillingly into her orbit. Of course, all is not quite how it seems.

Interspersed throughout the narrative are sections taking place in the park, which were pretty incomprehensible to me at the time but made perfect sense by the end.

Greenwich Park is an excellent psychological thriller and a very impressive debut novel. And the ending, as others have commented, is both perfect and perfectly executed.

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A real page-turner with lots of plot twists throughout, to keep the reader hooked. I generally enjoyed this book, despite disliking some of the characters.
A gripping read in places.

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