Member Reviews

I’ve read and very much enjoyed all of Gillian McAllister’s novels but this is her best one yet! I read the whole thing in two sittings and I loved it! That Night follows the three Plant siblings – Joe, Cathy and Frannie. They all live next door to each other, they work at the same vet practice and they own a holiday home in Verona together. One night whilst on holiday Frannie calls Cathy in the early house begging for her help. When she gets there Frannie is distraught, as is Joe who has also arrived, and a man appears to be dead! The novel follows each of the siblings along with Joe’s wife Lydia as we see their perspectives and how they each feel about the others. We also have a timeline in the present day but it’s not clear for a while who exactly this person is. This is such a gripping thriller that has you racing through the pages wanting to know how and why, wanting to make sense of what has happened and wondering what you would do in their shoes. It’s also a brilliant look at sibling relationships and how each relates to the other, and the jealousies and the feeling of being left out that can linger well into adulthood. This was such a brilliant thriller and I highly recommend it!

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Frannie, Joe & Cathy are siblings. They live next door to each other and also work in the family vet surgery.
When they take a holiday to their family villa in Italy, Joe and Cathy get a phone call from Frannie - there has been an accident and she needs their help .....NOW!! Can she rely on them to help her, no matter what the cost ?!

So at the start of the book, it explains what happened regarding the accident and how they dealt with it. The story is told through each of the siblings and is done in ‘Then & Now’. It’s still easy to follow the storyline. It shows how one mistake can have a domino effect! Life became very strained for them, wondering if someone would come after them.

I loved this book. Just when I thought I had worked out how they story was going to go..... something else would happen!! Exactly how I love my books..... keep me on edge and one of the few times I like to be proved wrong!!

#thatnight #gillianmcallister #netgalley #penguinbooks

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I have read other books by this author, so was excited to read this latest one. However I did find it rather unbelievable that 3 siblings could not only work together all day, but then had cottages next door to one another when they went home. I did not feel that I could imagine any family being that close to be honest.
The disaster that befell them became all-consuming of course, but then I felt that the story went on a bit too long and I was quite glad to finish it. Sorry to say, but that is my opinion.
They all seemed to have large quantities of money to be able to afford a holiday home in Verona, I had to feel for poor Paul, who seemed to be either handed round to all and sundry or just plain forgotten about.

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Although I enjoyed reading this book it didn’t keep me as gripped as I thought it would. Glad I carried on until the end though. Was also my first book by Gillian McAllister will definitely be reading her other books when I can!

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This story of Plant siblings Frannie, Cathy and Joe starts on their annual holiday at their villa on the outskirts of Verona. However, this year the holiday is anything but idyllic. As the book progresses the secrets and lies of the family are gradually exposed and we learn how much "family" means to some people.

The concept of the story is good but the characters get more and more desperate to cover up their crimes, thus making some bad decisions. A tense psychological thriller.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

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Loved this! A really well constructed, exciting and surprising plot with believable central characters. Gripping demonstration of how one lie can lead to another.
Siblings Joe, Cathy and Frannie all partners at their family vet practice are having their annual break in a villa they own just outside Verona. Something devastating happens to Frannie and the siblings close ranks to protect her with appalling consequences.
Back home they try to put behind them what they have done but the situation just escalates until it’s outside their control.

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I've loved every Gillian McAllister book so far. That Night is another gripping read, with a moral dilemma at the heart of it. Unpredictable, with tense scenes in and out of the courtroom. Really cleverly plotted, switching between the past and present, and between different characters. Still deciding who I'd ask to help bury a dead body...

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This is the second book I have read by Gillian McAllister and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. I had to keep reading as I had no idea where it was going to go. There is a twist at the end that I definitely did not see coming. I also liked the fact it was based on a family and how far they would go to cover for each other.. If you like a story that keeps you going right until the end, then this book is for you. I look forward to her next one coming out.

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That Night is an excellent read,gripping,compelling and very unpredictable.Cathy, Frannie and Joe ,the Plant siblings are very very close ,they live next door to each other in adjourning cottages,work together in the Families Vet Practice and enjoy holidays together in their Villa in Verona.A perfect life it seems until one night whilst in Verona ,Frannie rings Joe and Cathy in hysterics saying she has killed somebody and needs their help.From then on nothing is the same ,poor decisions are made ,lies are told and their lives are changed forever .Will they have to pay for the consequences of their actions ?One of those books that is very hard to put down I thoroughly enjoyed it .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

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Siblings Joe, Cathy and Frannie are at their holiday home in Verona, Italy when there’s a dreadful incident. Single mother, Frannie, has killed a local person in a car accident and prevails upon her siblings to conceal the body as she is fearful of losing her toddler son, Paul, if she is sent to prison. The siblings have always been very close, live in adjoining houses and manage the family vet practice as a threesome. They rush to Frannie’s aid on this fateful night and bury the body. Later they hear on the news that the deceased was a local police officer so he is noticed missing almost immediately and a massive search ensures. The siblings return to England and their plight just gets more and more complicated as others find out what they’ve done and further crimes are committed as a cover up.

While the book has the twists and turns that Gillian McAllister is so great at I didn’t care so much for this book as none of the three central characters were likable in any way. I also found the character of Lydia, wife of Joe, quite unbelievable as she seemed so accepting of Joe’s many absences and spending time with his sisters and not with her.

The story wrapped up well but for me it took too long to get there and started to feel repetitive as the situation spiralled downwards into a more and more complex situation with zero chance of these crimes being concealed.

That Night is a 3.5 star read for me. With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Great read, lots of twists and turns! Fab. Well done Gillian. I did really enjoy how this book progressed and the shock at the end - no spoilers but wow. It was great. Definitely recommend to everyone

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That Night by Gillian McAllister
I give this book 4.25 stars

What would you do to protect your family?
During a family holiday in Italy, you get an urgent call from your sister.
There's been an accident: she hit a man with her car and he's dead.
She asks for your help. She'd cover for you, so will you do the same for her?
But when the police come calling, the lies start. And you each begin to doubt your trust in one another.
What really happened that night?
Who is lying to who?
Who will be the first to crack?

The title really helps define the plot and it will certainly leave you with something to think about!
A powerful and intense read that kept me guessing all the way through ,l was hooked and couldn’t put it down.Told between the past (that night) and present, from the 3 siblings pov. Complex and real characters and a fantastic plot with consequences and motif make this a must read book...........so go grab your copy!
With thanks to Netgalley,Gillian McAllister and Penguin Michael Joseph for my chance to read and review this book.

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What would you do to protect your family? Anything? That night everything changed. The night Frannie committed a murder, but she didn’t mean to? That night we helped her bury the body, what else could we do? One hot summers night in Italy, Joe and Cathy Plant receive a phone call that will change their lives forever. Their sister Frannie has killed a man, and she needs their help. They were always close, some might say too close, siblings who worked together, lived next door to each other and now they’ve buried a body together. But when they return to England, Frannie, Joe and Cathy become tangled in lies they’ve been telling to the police, to their friends, to each other, but if you can’t trust your family, who can you trust?

This is a high-quality psychological thriller with crackling tension, a very good examination of family and sibling dynamics, their strong and loving bond, what they are prepared to do for each other and what they will sacrifice. It’s an emotional read at times, especially with the mental toll their actions cause.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

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Superb - I'd expect nothing less from Gillian McAllister! A wonderfully intense and surprising thriller with beautifully drawn human relationships at its heart.

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Another jaw dropping book from Gillian McAllister who seems to the ability to draw you into a story right from the off. What I loved about this book was it was so completely different to what I was expecting it was much more character driven than some previous books and although I really didn’t like the characters I think that was what made it all the more interesting. The plot was startlingly clever but this was no surprise as it is what we have come to expect from this author and I just loved the way a twist was revealed at the end of a chapter and I never damn well saw it coming!
I read so many thrillers that sometimes it’s hard to be surprised by a plot but for me that is what made this book so good it was original with some real tense moments and a lot of “what the hell would I do if put in this position” thoughts.
So a sure fire winner for Gillian I’m sure and I’m looking forward to reading the next book as I’m sure that this is an author that will continue to surprise.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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A great page turner which did not loose pace as the story progressed. The premise of a family villa holiday with a tragedy is cleverly written to keep you not only guessing to the end, but also asking yourself the question... What would you do?! Really?!! Although the sister came across as a little too needy for my liking, and the brother possibly a complicated character that wasn't fully explored, the family dynamics were interesting and made for a unique angle to the story. Another cracking read by Gillian McAllister, who very quickly became one of my favourite authors and continues to craft realistic storylines which, allowing for a little artistic interpretation, could happen to any of us, and therein lies the magic of her writing.

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I have read and enjoyed Gillian McAllister previous books, so I was excited to get a copy of her latest one That Night.
How far would you go to protect your family?
The Plants, Joe, Cathy and Frannie are on holiday in Verona Italy when Joe gets a call from his sister Frannie. She is hysterical and crying down the phone that she needs him to come quick there has been an accident. When he arrives, he sees his sister on the ground with a body and she is covered in blood. Frannie says that she it was an accident and she mowed down the man. But when they try and use CPR the man is already dead. So, when they discover that Frannie has called the Police. They try and protect her by burying the body or she will be arrested for murder.
When the holiday is over, they go back to the UK to the Vet’s practice they both own. But events take place, that starts the unravelling of the secrets of what happened that night.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for a copy of That Night. I have heard good things about this book, so I was expecting great things. This is a professionally written story with well-developed characters, but I thought were unlikeable. I did like the premise of this story but just could not get into it and I eventually started skipping paragraphs. For me personally I just thought that there was too much back story which wasn’t relevant to the story and not much of the repercussions of what happened that night. So, because of that I give it three stars.

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A taut, compelling thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great character development with a pacy plot. Recommended! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC

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A family faced with a moral Dilemma, an easy read, some characters were most unlikeable, a lot of different timescales, still an enjoyable book although it did seem a bit far fetched at times

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This book gripped me from the beginning and kept me guessing as to how the siblings would support and cover up for each other as more and more of the story unravelled.

As you read you know there is more to it than it first seemed but the author twists and turns and I didn't see the ending as it was.

Good read.

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