I LOVED this book. It starts when Helen attends a prenatal class and, with her husband, pregnant sister-in-law and brother failing to turn up, lets Rachel sit in one of their reserved seats. From here, Rachel wheedles herself more and more into Helen’s life until the night of the bonfire party, where she tells Rachel to leave who then seems to disappear into thin air.
This is one of those books where I reread the ending several times, to make sure I had fully understood everything. It is impossible to put down, with “just one more chapter” ringing in my head throughout. I highly recommend this book. It’s easy to read and yet had my mind churning over what was happening and why it was happening throughout.

Absolutely loved this book!

A slow burning thriller, following Helen when she meets Rachel at her antenatal class.

The story definitely keeps you intrigued and the short chapters make you want to keep on reading. I really enjoyed all the twists and trying to guess what was going.

A brilliant thriller with a great twist as well!

Greenwich Park. Imbued with maritime history and one of London’s eight royal parks it is also the title of one of the most hotly anticipated debut thrillers of 2021. Kate Faulkner has written a slow burner of a thriller that turns dreams of motherhood into an unmitigated nightmare. It’s meticulously executed, sharp and observant and will keep you guessing until the very last pages with characters who play their parts magnificently. Outward appearances can be deceptive so trust no one as you seek to dismantle some cleverly constructed facades in a thriller that lives up to all the hype!

The area is also home to Helen who is entering her third trimester of a pregnancy that has been desperately longed for after so many disappointments. Full of nervous hope and expectation,she attends her first antenatal class alone, despite husband Daniel’s and sister in law Serena’s (also pregnant) assurances they will accompany her. Friendless and out of her depth, Helen is accosted by latecomer Rachel, a single mother who is loud, forthright and full of confidence. A one sided friendship of sorts ensues which Helen, on enforced early maternity leave finds increasingly difficult to avoid. There’s something about Rachel, who has a habit of materialising out of nowhere, that Helen finds unsettling. Is this a case of general anxiety about the impending birth, too much time on her hands to fill with unnecessary worry or is Rachel’s presence just the beginning of a nightmare?

The pace of this thriller is languid, in perfect keeping with the slow steady rhythm of Helen’s internal clock ticking off the weeks until her due date. Her perspective as a lead character is delineated by how far through her pregnancy she has come, astutely observing the way in which time stands still as it plods towards such a momentous and celebratory occasion, boredom and loneliness settling in for the long haul. You cannot escape the significance of each passing week in Helen’s final trimester giving cause for such hope and joy where previously there’s been none. Yet there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of happiness in Helen’s life as she battles anxiety over her pregnancy with isolation, trapped in a house undergoing extensive renovation work. That her husband, architect Daniel, is largely absent, spending long hours at the family firm with business partner and Helen’s brother Rory, Helen is resigned to living her life in limbo with no real friends to speak of with whom she can pass the long drawn out days, just waiting. Although sister in law Serena is also pregnant and they have shared memories from their time together at Cambridge, these two women have little in common, with Helen visibly meek and mild up against the more robust, glamorous,confident Serena whom she admires from afar. Helen is assigned the role of the fragile woman, one who needs protecting in a layer of cotton wool since previous pregnancies have ended in tragedy so automatically there’s an air of desperation surrounding her. It’s no wonder then that at the first antenatal class in which neither Daniel, nor Serena and Rory make an appearance, Rachel makes a beeline for the only other single woman in the room, forming a friendship that in normal circumstances would never be reciprocated. The pace of this thriller may prove too unhurried for some but I loved the way the vice like tentacles of the narrative insidiously wrap themselves around you, dragging you into these characters privileged lives, tucked away from most peoples reality in their Greenwich Park multi million pound houses. There’s an incestuous air hovering over this small group of family/friends that also includes younger brother Charlie and his girlfriend Katie, a newspaper reporter who has also been Helen’s friend since childhood. For Daniel, Helen, Rory and Serena life as a foursome which began at university, ending up with husbands working side by side whilst also living on each other’s doorsteps makes his little group exclusive and almost impenetrable with the atmosphere around these individuals tense, cloying and suffocating. So in many ways, Rachel, hailing from the opposite side of the tracks breezes into Helen’s life at a most vulnerable time, effortlessly weaving herself into the fabric of Helen’s existence and by extension that of the rest of the group. A heightened sense of anticipation lingers tantalisingly over every word as Helen’s pregnancy progresses and Rachel’s involvement in all their lives reaches new levels. She is the interloper who the author has deliberately cast as the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons, although the reasons why are cloaked in layers of secrecy that refuse to be shaken off easily.

Wealth, privilege and a sense of entitlement place all these characters into the category of untouchable, or so they think! Money and social status often acts as a barrier against trouble and strife, even providing an escape from the strong arm of the law, so as you drink in the pleasant and luxurious surroundings afforded to these characters you wonder how much their middle class, comfortable lives will be affected by the turn of events. Will their protective bubble be burst by the invasion of an outsider? As with so many thrillers the past is a vital link to current events, although it isn’t only Rachel’s sudden presence that is the catalyst for lives to implode in the most dramatic manner possible. A court case Katie is following bears an uncanny resemblance to one in the past, the outcomes of which are very different but in her line of reporting she is led into the path of someone who has connections with both investigations,ultimately proving fortuitous and enlightening. This is perhaps the most obvious and enticing breadcrumb the author lays in an intricate and meandering trail towards the pursuit of truth. Half formed assumptions niggled away in my mind constantly yet my grasp of the finer details remained elusive. I think for the majority it will be impossible to anticipate every twist and turn Kate Faulkner has contrived to keep readers on the edge of their seats but that is the beauty of this storyline. You are never quite sure whom you can trust, each character arousing a sense of wariness and a certain amount of suspicion with tiny seeds of doubt planted at various points along the way to deliberately mislead. When cracks begin to form in this close knit circle what will the contents reveal? I could only marvel at how accomplished this debut is in terms of a tightly constructed plot and the mounting unease the author allows to percolate, simmering and bubbling away under the surface until events reach a climax and truth boils over spewing forth dark,ugly secrets and lies. The slow build up of tension may be frustrating but if you are patient you will be rewarded with an ending that is everything you could wish for, dramatic, explosive and oh so satisfying. Greenwich Park is NOT your average thriller, so all that remains for me to say is read it! NOW!! I absolutely loved it! My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Helen is pregnant and after a series of miscarriages, she hopes she can keep this baby. Attending her first anti natal class, she is disappointed her husband Daniel cannot leave work early to he with her. She is also upset that her pregnant sister in law, Serena and brother Rory don’t attend, having found classes nearer to home.
You get the sense that Helen is dissatisfied with life and with other people in it who do not follow her rules and expectations.

In the class she meets Rachel who is a force of nature - drinks, smokes - everything Helen is against while pregnant.

Why does Rachel want to be her best friend? What links Rachel to all of them and who is she trying to get close to?

An interesting thriller with a really good ending!

Woza!! This book is definitely 1 of my top reads so far this year! It's a brilliant story and so well written! I could form a very good idea in my head of the different characters.
It had me guessing from beginning to end and I changed my mind more than some people change their underwear!! I rushed through it in 1 day.
What should be 1 of the happiest times in Helen's life soon turns into a nightmare when she meets Rachel. A brass young girl who drinks and smokes even though she is also pregnant. Soon Rachel latches on to Helen like a leech.
Then we have Serena. Helen's friend and sister in law, but is the friendship maybe one-sided and is Serena maybe too perfect?
Lastly, we have the straight-shooting reporter Kate. She is dating Helen's youngest brother and has been a childhood friend of the family. What will she do with the information she discovers?

It's a story of family, friendship and revenge. What will you do to protect the people closest to you?

A brilliant debut! I can't wait for the next book by Katharine Faulkner.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow what a debut!
Greenwich Park grabbed my attention immediately and it kept it. I found it a dark read but with plenty of twists and surprises throughout and the ending surprised me which is what I want in a thriller.
I look forward to reading more by Katherine Faulkner in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This book is well written with good descriptive elements and impressive as a debut novel.
I did find it was a slow burner and initially, despite a hint of unease running through it, I nearly gave up as I had not engaged with the characters. Indeed I thought Helen needed some backbone.
But the story redeemed itself with a veritable feast of twist and turns that continued right to the very end.
So plod through the slow start and enjoy the ride that comes later.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I usually don’t read a lot of thrillers however after the Bloomsbury Night In event a couple of months ago I was really intrigued by the concept and I’m thrilled I gave this book a go as I was totally invested in Helen’s life and discovering the truth about her new friend, Rachel. Obviously, with the nature of this novel I have to be quite careful with this review to avoid any kind of spoiler therefore there are quite a lot of things that I will be leaving out despite having a lot of opinions on them!

I found all the characters incredibly complex with a lot to uncover from each of them as the novel progresses. I enjoyed seeing how Rachel slowly began to insert herself into the group of friends who have been close ever since their days at Oxford University; especially as she was so different from them and their other friends. Honestly, I didn’t like Rachel, particularly when she was first introduced. She seemed to be very forceful with her friendship; I found her, and the way she would seem to know where Helen is on any given day, incredibly unnerving and that’s what made her such a compelling character. Yes, I didn’t like her much but I always found myself looking forward to what she would do next or where she would next turn up in Helen’s life.

In contrast, I liked Helen straight away and found her relatable. Even though I have never been pregnant nor to an antenatal class (which seem terrifying in themselves); I do completely relate to going to some kind of event, for the first time, on your own after the people you planned to go with cancel on you. So, for this to happen to Helen and then to meet the unnerving Rachel made me strangely protective of her. I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the pregnancies of Helen, her sister-in-law Serena and Rachel and how this added an extra layer of tension to the novel. Particularly for Helen, whose previous complications and health issues mean that she has to go on maternity leave early, leaving her alone with her husband Daniel busy at work. This isolation that she finds herself in only exacerbates her developing paranoia.

Faulkner crafts this novel brilliantly, from the characters to the narrative. I really enjoyed how the novel would shift perspectives between Helen, Serena and their friend Katie especially when it isn’t always clear why the narrative has shifted that way. We also have mysterious interludes which allow your theories into what is really happening run wild, especially when the odd chapter set ten years ago is sprinkled in.

Overall, the cast of interesting characters set in a very familiar setting made this a really enjoyable read, one that kept me awake into the early hours, determined to unravel the mystery.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
Greenwich Park By Katherine Faulkner - Publication Date: 15th April 2021

This story is told by Helen, Serena, Katie & Rachel. Helen is married to Daniel, Serena is Married to Rory, Katie’s partner is Charlie and as for Rachel ..... the big question is, who is the father of her child and what does she want with these family members/friends.

When Helen goes to an Antenatal class, she is befriended by a girl called Rachel. She seems to just turn up wherever Helen is! Before they know it, Rachel has moved on for what they think is a short while.
What is Rachel’s story though, what is she up to?!

I enjoyed this book. A lot of character but I was able to follow the story no problem. It kept me guessing until the end. When you get to the end of a book and think “wait....what?!” That’s always a good sign for me!

#netgalley #Greenwichpark #katherinefaulkner #thriller #bookreview #bookstagramshaz

https://www.instagram.com/Bookstagramshaz

Helen, Rory (her older brother), Daniel (her husband) and Serena (Rory’s wife) were together at Cambridge. Now Helen and Daniel live in the family home they inherited from Helen’s parents with Rory and Serena just across Greenwich Park. Daniel is a partner in the successful architecture firm Rory has inherited from his father.
Younger brother Charlie, a bit of a black sheep, lives on the other side of London and his girlfriend Kate, a journalist, was a childhood neighbour and is a lifelong friend of Helen’s.
Helen is anxious, a bit boring and rather naïve but I soon began to feel extremely irritated with the way her family dismissed her concerns and treat her in such a patronizing fashion.
I was forcefully reminded of why I enjoy being an only child.

Having lost several babies Helen is pregnant again and it seems that this time it is going well. Coincidentally Serena her sister-in-law is also pregnant.
The story opens with Helen waiting to take part in a pre-natal class. Rory and Serena who have promised to join her bail and Daniel is held up in a business meeting. Alone and little nervous she is a prime target for Rachel pushy, self-confident and over-whelming. From the moment you met her you know she is Trouble.

Most of the story is told through Helen’s eyes interspersed with interludes from Kate or Serena. There is also an unnamed point of view narrating scenes where the reader is unsure as to what is happening but is left with a vague feeling of threat.

The storytelling left me uneasy, curious to figure out the truth, impatient to understand what exactly was going on.
It is a true page-turner. I couldn’t put it down.

A fantastic debut. I don’t often read mysteries but I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

There was nothing wrong with this book per se, I just struggled to connect with it. I found all of the characters to be quite unlikable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - I just would've preferred there to have been at least one or two characters I did like or did connect with in some way, particularly when - for a thriller - this is quite character-driven.
There were a few twists and turns throughout, but I feel the author did give quite a lot of clues making many of them relatively easy to guess. There were still many elements of this book I did enjoy, however. I'm always a fan of multiple perspectives and this is something that Faulkner executed well.
I know I can be quite a harsh critic when it comes to thrillers because I've read so many, and so many GOOD ones - but, unfortunately, this one was no more than an average read for me.

This book honestly surprised me so much. I was gripped from the very beginning and honestly didn't expect all the twists and turns it took. I enjoyed this book way more then I first expected and will definitely recommend it to my bookish friends.

When I started this book I didn't think I would like it, but as you got further into it, I was hooked.
What seems like the ideal lives of the characters unravels as the past catches up.
Has you guessing right through the book as to what happens next.

TW: rape

#greenwichpark by @katherinefaulknerwrites. Review can also be found at instagram.com/lupislibrary

I am a little bit gutted with this book, I had such high hopes for it! Unfortunately, I think there were just too may clues throughout it, as I managed to guess some of the *twists* which come to light at the end of the book.

The description of the book, combined with the tension built in the first half, really sets this up to be a brilliant thriller. However, I think the pace of the book slowed down just a tad too much as had it been faster paced, I probably wouldn't have been able to guess some of the plot twists. A shame as I was really enjoying it and was ready to have all my conclusions be proven wrong, rather than realise I was right!

A good read, but not one of my favourites. Thank you to @bloomsburypublishing and @netgalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This will be released on the 15th April if you fancy giving it a go, it is an addictive read!

I was initially undecided on this book, I loved the title (I live in Greenwich) and the copy also drew me in, but the cover made me pause as I felt it was potentially going to be too literary for my tastes.

As I got into the book though, I was pleasantly surprised and found myself drawn to the characters and what was going to happen to them all.

I wouldn't say this is a pulse-racing thriller, it's quietly dark and builds throughout as the tension gets stronger and stronger. It reminded me of 'My Dark Vanessa' in this sense.

It was a strong book, and one I will certainly recommend.

I couldnt put this book down. At first I thought it was going down the stalking route that has been done so many times. However, it was contemporary, engrossing and pacy, with many twists and turns. The characters and plot were original. Quite female focussed, but this did not detract from the intrigue. Highly recommended and cannot wait to read the next book from this author.

A fantastically gripping read! Thoroughly enjoyed the suspense in this book and I read it within 24 hours. Lots of guessing along the way - some right, some really wrong! A must read.

10 years ago Rory, Helen, Serena and Daniel met at Cambridge University and they’ve been a quartet ever since. Serna is married to Rory who is one of Helen’s two brothers and Daniel is married to Helen. They live near each other in Greenwich and Serena and Helen are expecting babies within 2 weeks of each other. Helen sees their relationships with each other as being like a family but she sees only the positive side.
But, under the surface of comfortable, middle class life, something isn’t right. Helen is nervous as it’s the first pregnancy that she’s carried to full term after 4 miscarriages. However, Daniel has insisted on having builders in to remodel the lovely house that Helen’s parents left her and the mess and upset to their routine is making her feel very stressed. Now that she’s on maternity leave, Helen feels lonely, as she waits for the baby to be born. Daniel blames his lack of support for her on a demanding client at work. When she needs him most he’s become unavailable to her.
But when Serena doesn’t show up for an antenatal class that Helen had booked for them, she meets Rachel. She is the very opposite of Helen and the other mums. Rachel is very sparky, loud and doesn’t have a doting father to be in evidence. Then, suddenly she’s everywhere in Helen’s life; calling out to her from coffee shops and finding out more and more about her until finally she moves in temporarily, Now there is to be no escape from her.
And as the long, hot summer wears on, Helen keep receiving phone calls claiming that she’s remortgaged the house but she hasn’t. She dismisses them as scam calls. But she’s begun to wonder why Rachel always has such huge bundles of cash and why she arrived on Helen’s doorstep with such terrible marks on her neck. After a bonfire party at Helen’s house she finally tells Rachel to leave. However, Rachel goes missing and a police hunt is launched. A text from her to Helen says that she’s going to stay with her mum but she’s been dead for 15 years. Who sent it and why? It’s then that Helen starts to find out who Rachel really was and how the past has come back to haunt them in the harshest way possible.
As a major rape trail takes place in Cambridge with Katie, a friend of Helen’s, reporting on it, there are uncomfortable echoes of another case in the town which everyone has forgotten about. But there is one person who is still determined to have justice. Will it destroy the inner circle that Helen relies on?
This was a very assured novel and I couldn’t put it down. What seemed initially to be a plot about middle class people who’d met at university and had stayed together due to marital ties was slowly revealed to have sinister undertones. Underneath the placid surface there was malice and envy with Helen being the odd one out all the time.
It’s narrated in the first person from Helen, Serena and Katie’s viewpoint which worked very well. These were interspersed with glimpses of a mysterious man and woman which added to the unease and sinister atmosphere.
The book’s pace was good too as Helen begins to feel unsupported by Daniel, worried about her pregnancy and that it might go wrong again and also how quickly Rachel has insinuated herself into her life.
Some of the plot elements I did work out but the final chapter was a revelation. I admired the author’s skill in having led me up the garden path several times with some great plot twists. They led to a very satisfying final paragraph. I was attracted to the book as I know Greenwich very well and will look out for the tiny doors on my next visit!
I think that this could be one of the best thrillers of 2021.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC.

Firstly I'd just like to say thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

Helen is pregnant after losing her first child, and the book begins at her first antenatal meeting, which both her husband and pregnant sister-in-law, Serena and brother Rory have been unable to attend. She sits awkwardly alone with the other couples until Rachel bounces into the room. Loud, over the top and super friendly, Rachel sits with Helen and quickly becomes intertwined in her life. Neither are working, Helen's house is undergoing huge renovations and Helen seems to bump into Rachel wherever she goes, so the pair spend more and more time together. The book tells the story from Helen's point of view, as well as Serena's. In the background, something is going on with Serena, Rory and Helen's husband Daniel but I had so many guesses (which were mainly wrong!). Journalist Katie features too, she is girlfriend to Helen and Rory's brother Charlie. She's covering a rape case, which I didn't really see the point of to start with.

It's really hard to say all the things I want to say about this book without letting the cat out of the bag! I really really enjoyed it. I don't often read thrillers but I couldn't put this down. I think this is Katherine Faulkner's first book and has been very well planned. I found myself trying to remember all the 'facts' after every couple of chapters so I could try and figure out who had done what and why they'd done it. Parts were shocking and surprising and I think that although I was on the right track, that my guesses were wrong. I actually think that the majority of the characters weren't all that likeable, and I did wish Helen would give herself a shake on occasion. She was quite mopey and felt sorry for herself a lot, but I recognised that she felt lonely and worried whilst on maternity leave. I would recommend for sure though, and would love to see future books by the author. I haven't said much about the story as I would hate to spoil it for anyone but it's GOOD!

I wasn’t expecting that twist at the end at all. I mean, while everything evolves and we discover so many pieces of this intricate puzzle , I always had a feeling that something was amiss at all times. I found it very odd that the heroine was so laid back regarding a total stranger in her house and accepting her just because of her solidarity with another pregnant woman.
The author has managed to keep me intrigued throughout this page turner book because, as a mother, I’m always interested to see how a fictional character would act in certain situations.
Once again, I’m reminded that not everything is what it seems like and there’s always a two or even three side of a story.
A must read thriller for sure.