
Member Reviews

"Cathy is overcome with nerves about what is to come. Thinking about the power that each holds over the other, the actions they could take, the lies that they could tell. Something tells her thay this is far from over. That the cracks are going to get deeper, form chasms, enough to move continents."
The Plant family are close. In the Midlands, England, siblings Frannie, Cathy and Joe work together (at the family vet clinic), live next door to one another (in a trio of cottages) and holiday together (in a villa bought cheap to 'do up' outside Verona, Italy). Whilst on holiday, one night one sister calls her siblings to say she has killed a man, on the quiet track leading to their villa. What do they decide to do? When they return to England they become caught up in the lies they've been telling to the police, to their friends and even to one another. How will that decision and those that follow change their lives?
Wow, the pace never lets up! Divided into Now and Then, and between the three siblings, the cracks soon begin to show in their seemingly close relationships. Carefully crafted so you feel part of the Plant family's lives, including their work as vets, they feel like good people making bad decisions, rather than archetypal criminals. Full of suspense and cliffhangers, there are a number of shocking twists as the situation deteriorates and truths emerge. It's hard to see a way forward for them, and amazingly I did want that for them, particularly Cathy. This is a fantastic read, head and shoulders above most psychological thrillers because of the very relatable characters, despite their decisions, and their complex relationships and the clever plotting. Highly recommended!

I absolutely loved this book! Yet another fantastic gripping thriller from Gillian McAllister! Intriguing, dark and mysterious, kept me guessing until the very end! Fantastically written! Would definitely recommend!

Brilliantly written taut thriller, this pulls you in and doesn't let you go. All is slowly and tantalisingly revealed with a deftness worthy of a magician. Fabulously, utterly unputdownable.

How far would you go to protect your siblings - not that far!. I read all the plaudits about this book and was really looking forward to reading it. The pace was far too slow and the amount of detail did nothing to help that. I was neither gripped nor felt any empathy with any of the characters, apart from the Alsatian being speyed. Sorry not a winner in my opinion.

Unusual but gripping family thriller that flips between timelines and different character points of view. I zipped through this is in no time at all.

Siblings Frannie, Joe and Cathy Plant work together, live next door to one another and holiday together at their co-owned villa in Verona. No surprise then that when Frannie accidentally kills someone her first calls are to her brother and sister. As is usual with a Gillian McAllister novel I did find myself wondering what I would do if I was in the characters’ shoes. While I’m not sure what I would do I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t (or couldn’t) do what they did. Taking ‘that night’ as a starting point and seeing the effect on the siblings’ relationships with themselves and others made for a really engaging read. Something about this one got under my skin as a month after finishing it I still find myself thinking about it.

It pains me to say it, but I didn't enjoy this one. I've loved all of Gillian's previous books, but this one just didn't have the same impact. I found the premise unbelievable (I don't know what that says about me) which meant I found the whole book hard going. I didn't sympathise with any of the characters because of the decisions they made. The blackmail plot was over the top, and the big reveal was a flop. Having said all that, I think it might be a good one for book groups as there is a lot to discuss.

Sadly the first book I haven’t liked for quite a while. It is a personal dislike for a book to be written in the present tense, I just cannot ever get into the story and it ( and I ) suffered from this. I read the first few chapters, then dipped into the middle and decided not to read the rest, reading for me is a pastime, a pleasure, and if doesn’t give me pleasure in the first few chapters then these days ( I am old and it’s not my job ) I just do not want to waste my time persevering. Sorry author, I am sure you worked very hard to write this and I do know that it is something I cannot do, but this is an honest review in exchange for the opportunity to read this from Netgalley.

Gillian McAllister has written another corker in That Night. The almost too close siblings - Joe, Cathy and Frannie - work together in the family vet practice, live in adjoining houses and holiday together in Verona. And one fateful night on their Verona holiday kicks off a chain reaction with devastating consequences for them all when Frannie hits and kills a man seemingly while driving on the wrong side of the road. And she calls Joe and Cathy to sort it out. Narrated from several perspectives and the alternating viewpoints of Cathy, Joe and his wife Lydia. In addition there are the weekly sessions between Jason and a client which are intriguingly mysterious. This story is full of moral dilemmas and tension with twists I never saw coming as I devoured each page. Superb characterisation, attention to detail and terrific pace makes this another surefooted thriller from Gillian McAllister. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

📚 R E V I E W 📚
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That Night • Gillian McAllister
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After reading 'How to Disappear' by @gillianmauthor last year, when I saw her new one, That Night, on @netgalley, I had to request it. I actually squealed in delight when I got approved for a copy and my excitement was bang on! If you love a thriller, you need to read this book!
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That Night, is the story of three siblings. They're relationship is so close it's borderline claustrophobic, all working at the family business (a vet) and living next door to one another. Whilst on holiday together in Verona, Cathy and Joe each get a call from younger sister, Frannie, begging for help. She's had an accident and killed a man after driving into him.
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Told across two timelines, then and now, and told from different points of view, we are pulled into a dark tale of deceit, lies and cover-ups. The story is full of drama and twists but just on the right side of plausible (we all know how much this is a make or break for me!) I took a couple of guesses about what was going on as I read. They were all way off the money and probably far wilder and less realistic than the story offers (which is 100% a good thing!)
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We know early on, that they get found out - the 'now' timeline is the run up to the trial, so the book is very much the journey from the events prior to the accident, running through to what happens after they're found out.
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Of the siblings, I only found Cathy likeable. Joe has a very angry streak and Frannie is just superficial and seemingly quite selfish, but this didn't necessarily impact my enjoyment of the book. It's pacey and keeps you on your toes.
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This is a huge yes from me - a massive thanks to @gillianmauthor for writing yet another banger along with @netgalley and @michaeljbooks for the ARC in exchange for this honest review. I'll definitely be seeking out more of Gillian McAllister's books; she's very much become a must read author for me!
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If you fancy reading this, it's out 10th June and I can't recommend it enough.
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#gifted #gillianmcallister #arc #thrillerrecommendation #thrillerbooks #thatnight #netgalley

Oh wow, I wasn’t expecting that level of amazingness when starting this book. I chose this on NetGalley on a whim as I’d not read anything by this author before, but I really liked the idea of the premise. I’m glad I took the chance on it.
The book was perfectly executed from start to finish. I was hooked, gripped, shocked and thrilled by the entire story. It was superbly written.
You feel as if you know most of what is going on as the ‘Then’ chapters make up the majority of the book. However, there are ‘Now’ chapters that really put a spanner in the works. Whilst reading the ‘Then’ chapters, you almost think there is nothing that can come along to shock you; you can practically guess where it is going and what will happen. Though you couldn’t be more wrong, the book has plenty of surprises up its sleeve and keeps you hooked right to the end.
You are mainly following Cathy and Joe’s points of view but Lydia, Joe’s wife, gets the odd chapter to herself as well. The only perspective missing is that of Frannie’s.
My heart was in my mouth for most of the book, wondering how they were going to get away with everything they had done. As their worlds spiral more and more out of control, no reasonable solution seems to be apparent. The author really did manage to keep a lot close to her chest and really wows you with the intricacies at the end.
This was a fantastic read, and I will certainly now be looking up what else this author has out that I can devour.

This book is so good. It starts off as it means to go on as you are thrown straight into the incident of That Night, but you soon realise that there is definitely more to this incident than just That Night...This book is one of those where you feel like you are on the edge of your seat all of the time, looking over your shoulder, waiting for that something else to happen, because you know there is definitely more to come. I loved the edgy atmosphere of this story, the dark undertones and a real sense of foreboding as more of the story is revealed. This is definitely my favourite book by Gillian McAllister so far.

A brilliant tense page turner with so many twists and turns.
What a situation to be in? Do you help your sister or lie to the police? I am not sure what I would do but I suspect the prior.
The narrative in this book was punchy and taut yet left room for wonderful scenic descriptions that immersed you into the story.
I was never quite sure of what was going on but that drew me in. I read this in 24 hours and loved it.

What would you do for your siblings?
Meet the Plant siblings they made a decision to cover up a crime that is about to push their relationship to the limit, this book follows the subsequent fall out from the events, who will crack first?
A gripping suspenseful emotional family drama that had me invested from the start to the end.

I found the start of this story a little tedious and I was pretty frustrated with most of the characters. I preferred the second half of the story, the "aftermath" as such. I still had bugger all sympathy for any of the main characters except maybe for the baby. Gillian really provides some masterous twists which thankfully make up for wanting to strangle most of the protagonists.

That Night by Gillian McAllister is about three siblings who live side by side, work together and holiday together. Covering up a murder together, however, takes them to another level which exposes and accentuates the unhealthy co-dependencies of the siblings. To be honest, I found it difficult to like any of the characters- for very different reasons. The book was certainly well paced and the plot was well developed as far as it went. There were a couple of unexpected twists, which was great, but loads was left untouched which would have given more insight into the cohesion of the siblings, their personalities and their insecurities. I felt the childhood loss and the cryptic references to their father’s character/behaviour were left mostly to the readers’ imaginations but might have greatly enriched the narrative. Tom’s appearance and role seemed to come from nowhere but certainly, unlike Lydia, he had influence and seemed to be the catalyst that led Cathy to unpick the unhealthy sibling dependencies and insecurities. Overall a decent crime mystery that kept me reading later than I should have! Four stars

WHAT A BOOK!!!
Just finished it, stayed up way too late but had to get to the end.
In this compelling thriller, all is not what it seems. Three siblings, incredibly close, share a moment on ‘that night’ which tests the bonds between them to the limit.
The story flits between the present day and the events leading up to and beyond the night in question.
It leaves the reader questioning everything they think at every turn, as what starts out to be the ultimate in sibling loyalty slowly starts to tear their family apart.
I was gripped from the start, not always liking the main characters, but caring about what happens to them nonetheless.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ArC in exchange for my honest review.

I seem to be in the minority by not really enjoying this book, despite loving previous works by this author. I did connect with the story from the start, would you really cover up a murder in this way? Even if it was your sister? And then the almost nonchalant way they continued with their lives made me disapprove of them even more! Not one for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the advance copy of this book

Given by #netgalley
Loved this book, but the characters made me angry at every twist and turn, I could support none of them and I really felt involved in their decisions.
A very good read.

This is another super book from Gillian McAllister.
It’s fast paced, incredibly clever and written with such depth.
I loved the way the book was split into sections and the story unfolded between ‘then’ and ‘now’, it added such an element of suspense.
The story really develops over time and gains momentum.
All the dialogue and characters were believable and I really felt all the emotions for all of them. Such guilt, such family trauma, all written so vividly.
I loved it!