Member Reviews

Laura has met the guy of her dreams, but is he really who she thinks he is? Meeting Conor while she was working in Dublin, things quickly progressed from there. Laura finds out she's pregnant, she and Conor get married. Laura quits her job to move to Ballycall with Conor. The day she arrives home from having her son Shay, she finds a card amongst the other Congratulations cards, the only writing " Your husband is a murderer". After the card goes missing Laura goes on a trail to find out what happened to Vickie. Can she trust the man she has married, does she really know anything about him at all?

This was a tough book to get through. In the end, I stuck it out because I wanted to see what happened. The story was slightly hard to keep up with. The story was a bit drawn out and prolonged with a lot of things left hanging. Overall the concept was good. The characters just didn't relate to me, but the ending was completely unexpected. I definitely did NOT see that coming.

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Five little words for this book:

SUSPENSEFUL

ENTERTAINING

MYSTERIOUS

GOOD

FAST PACED, SHORT READ

This book is more of a small town suspense where Laura, a young new mother receives an alarming card which says 5 little words which changes her life forever and pushes her down a rabbit hole. She receives this anonymous card along with the gifts proffered as CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE BABY BOY.

Read the book to know what happens next.

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A twisty, turny, thrill of a ride.

A non-stop caper of epic proportions with a healthy helping of dramatic edge.

As you can probably tell I loved this. A story that just kept on giving.

A tale of love with a splash of drama, a pinch of intrigue and a whole helping of thrills.

Kept me on the edge of my seat and up till the early hours to finish.

Highly recommended 5 stars.

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Overall, this was a good read. However, I found it difficult to relate to most of the characters and thought they lacked depth. The story also brought up a few questions for me.. If you are newly married and you receive a note like that why don't you discuss it with your husband? Who has a newborn that is that good? How do you travel with that baby and not be a complete mess when you reach your destination? Where did I go wrong??
I fluctuated between 3 and 4 stars for this book but eventually decided on 4 stars as the storyline had promise and I would read another book by this author.
Thank you Jackie Walsh, Hera Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book and give my unbiased opinion

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Laura got pregnant only a few months after meeting Conor. They got married and moved to Conor’s mansion in the village he is from.
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She has just arrived home from the hospital with her new baby. There are several congratulatory cards waiting for her. She is reading through them when one card stops her cold- it says “Your husband is a murderer”
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A local barmaid has recently been found murdered. The village is shaken.
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Conor is so caring and loving to her and has given her the life she has wanted for so long. He is a wonderful father to their new baby. She doesn’t think he is capable of murder.
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But, she has only known Conor for a little over a year. Suspicions arise. Could she be wrong?
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I liked this story. It was a quick read and I really wanted to find out who the murderer was. The author did a good job at casting suspicions everywhere.
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Thank you @netgalley and @hera_books for allowing me to review this book
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✨Due out October 21, 2020✨

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Five Little Words was an enjoyable and easy to read murder mystery book (I wouldn’t call it a thriller as such). It was made up of lots of short chapters which I always love! I read this book in two sittings and Jackie Walsh did a great job at keeping me guessing throughout the story. I love when a book causes me to continuously change my mind and second guess myself, which this book definitely did. I’m happy to say I didn’t pick the twist at the end (although after the reveal I’m surprised I didn’t) and I absolutely love when that happens! I also really enjoyed the fact that it had a realistic ending.

The downside for me was Laura. To be honest, she drove me nuts. Her inner monologue took up a lot of the story which was basically her asking herself the same questions over and over again which drove me insane after a while. This caused the book to drag a little and feel kind of repetitive. The character development was also lacking for me, they all felt a little flat, which meant I never really got invested. That said, the plot and mystery of the story definitely made me want to keep reading!

I will be sure to pick up more of Jackie Walsh’s books in the future.

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Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. The description of this book sounded amazing. Given the circumstances around Laura and Conor's quick relationship and her lack of sleep and hormones, i could see why Laura jumped to conclusions wanting to find out what was going on with Conor. BUT I did find aspects of this far fetched. Beginning was quick to grab your attention. some parts in the middle were slower, but overall pretty good book.

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5 words and just boom! Is a husband really a killer? Secrets, twists and so much more.

What a thrilling novel, I was hooked at the beginning. I can't wait for another book from Jackie Walsh.

Highly recommend it.

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"Your husband is a murderer". That's what the note on the card said when Laura brings home her new baby from the hospital. Shortly after, the card disappears. And that's just the beginning of the strange occurrences that plague Laura throughout this book.

This was a fun, easy read and I enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me an ARC of this book.

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A great quick read! A well constructed story line driven by well developed, rich, flawed characters.. I guessed “who done it” fairly early on, but could figure out the why! Twist and turns galore! Perfect for fans of Little Big Lies and The Girl on the Train.

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This is a really good read overall. The storyline is well thought out and there are a few twists thrown in. The story was a bit slow in places and I did wonder at times why Laura was still with Conor if she didn’t trust him. But the story comes together well and the ending was good.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

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Having never read a book by this author before, I chose this book based on the description. Whilst it was an easy read it wasn’t the page turner or shocking thriller I’d hoped for.

Even though I’m a new mum myself, I found it hard to connect with Laura and found her a bit flakey. It annoyed me that she could quite happily interrogate her local community and share Connors bed but she couldn’t just tell him she’d been sent a card.

None of the twists or revelations (except Vicky’s) were surprising and I found myself slim reading the last third of the book because it was just too much repetition and inner monologue.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Five Little Words - Jackie Walsh

Five words. Your Husband is a murderer.

When new mother Laura opens a card the last thing she expects to see inside is accusing her husband of murder.

Conor, Laura’s adoring husband, is accused of murdering the local barmaid. Could he have done it?

This book did keep me guessing all the way through. Fairly early on I decided who I thought was guilty (which was correct) but I could not work out how or why! Throughout the book I did keep flitting to other people and maybe its them... then on the next chapter I’d think someone else!

Enjoyable psychological thriller that keeps you in suspense throughout.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 stars!

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This was an okay read for me. It is a short book and the plot kept me wanting to know what was going on and what would happen next. Very emotional, frustrating characters and who is responsible? I did find it a little slow going and not in a good, slow burn sort of way. I liked the writing though and the first person point of view.

It was an easy read BUT it was repetitive and the characters were a little flat as there was little to no development. Being a new mother is hard....but I got real tired of Laura and her what is real fast. The ending felt rushed and left me wanting more...and this kind of story has been done to death, not a very unique plot at all and the ending was kind of disappointing.

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Laura seems to have everything and more - a fabulous house in Ballycall a small village in Ireland where she is bringing up new baby Shay with her adoring husband Conor. She moved down to Ballycall from Dublin where Conor and his family own the local brewery and the family are held in high esteem in the village.

A murder has taken place in the village of local barmaid/would-be journalist Vicky. Laura’s world comes crashing down when she receives a congratulatory card on the birth of her son, but when she opens it, she is shocked to find the words “Your Husband is a Murderer”. She can’t quite believe it and hides the card immediately, afraid to deal with the details and the impact it might have on her otherwise perfect life. When she goes to look for the card the next day, it has disappeared. Who took it? Did Conor really have anything to do with the murder?

When Laura gathers enough strength, she goes about trying to find out more information about the murder and whilst doing so, uncovers hidden secrets in Conor’s family which are revealed throughout the book little by little. Laura has her own shocking secret that only her sister and confidante Amanda knows which also comes out in the wash! I have to admit I was not expecting the ending.

All in all, a good read albeit a slow burner. I didn’t really like Laura’s character and couldn’t gel with her at all. Although, the story flowed and I did enjoy it, I didn’t it earth-shattering. Many thanks to NetGalley, Hera Books and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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she sees a message that makes her blood run cold. It couldn’t be true, could it? Not Conor, her adoring husband. He couldn’t be behind the brutal killing of local barmaid, Vicky. Not him.

I like the summary of this book like alot. But the actual story fell flat for me.
I felt like the main character Laura was just naive to me.
but overall the the story was good, the plot was ok.
I just wasn't drawn to this one like I had hoped to.

Thank You NetGalley, Publisher and Author for this copy.

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To be honest, I was a little disappointed in this book.

While I enjoyed the characters and the book was fast moving, I did not understand the character of the sister, and I felt the ending was a huge letdown.

I would like to see something else by this author as I enjoyed the writing style, but the plot just wasn't there.

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I really enjoyed this book Five little words ,Two married people with a new baby each with secrets of their own .A murder to be solved in a small country area it was really engrossing .

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First of all, I’m a huge believer in a time being right or wrong for you to read a book. I’m thinking this was the wrong time to read this one, since it was so similar to The Wife Who Knew Too Much (which I read very recently) - a murder, a wife out of place in a rich world, and a shady husband.

From the beginning, I really didn’t like the characters. Laura is weak and I didn’t like how Conor and his mom talked to Laura. They spoke to her like a child and it was frustrating that she didn’t stand up for herself. Laura is an outsider in a new town. She has no friends, mostly hangs out with her baby, and her husband is so well known she often refers to him as a celebrity.

I felt like she was always on edge and waiting for someone to tell her she was doing something wrong.

A woman in the town is murdered and Laura gets a card saying her husband killed her. She kept going around in circles thinking and overthinking.

I most enjoyed the middle of the book. Thats where most of the action happened. It was a three star book up until the ending. That’s when it lost me. I really disliked the ending. It seemed rushed and forced.

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Five Little Words by Jackie Walsh is an addictive page turner that had me hooked from the very beginning. Laura finally has her fairy tale dreams at hand - a dreamHouse in a small town, a wonderful, loving husband and a new baby boy. But all of that is quickly shatters when she receives a congratulatory baby card that warns her that her husband is a killer. Will all of her dreams end here or is something else going on? Great book and highly recommend.

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