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That Night by Gillian McAllister
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Thanks @gillianmauthor @michaeljbooks @netgalley
Publication date 10th June
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Another brilliant book by Gillian McAllister. The suspense in this book was killing me, what happened that night? Who is telling the truth? Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended xx
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Ah I loved this book! Focusing on the Plant siblings, you as a reader are taken from their first crime, through the months that follow that they all come to terms with their actions.
I love a psychological thriller and this was no different. I was gripped from page 1. Clear your schedule for this one!
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Joe, Cathy and Franny Plant all work at the family vet practice, they are very close siblings, so close they live in a row of cottages alongside each other. However, everything changes as their world is hurled upside down when they are on holiday at their villa near Verona. This clever psychological thriller examines moral dilemmas and how far you would go for your siblings.
Gillian McAllister is one of my favourite authors but this one resonates the most for me probably because I am very close to my siblings. This is her most intense book in my opinion, at times you could cut the tension with a knife, at others you witness the massive impact emotionally and mentally of the burden they now carry with a lifetime of lies. The closeness of the three siblings intensifies following a family tragedy when they are young, this has never been properly addressed and has certainly damaged them in different ways. The characterisation is outstanding as you can really picture them in your minds eye. Joe is protective especially of Franny, he’s quick to anger while Cathy is cool, calm, enigmatic and serious with Franny the opposite being usually sunny, funny and sometimes irrational. I like the way the past and present in the storytelling sit alongside each other and in different settings allowing the plot to unfold organically. Sometimes we’re in Verona (we wish), then an office in Birmingham, Frannie’s kitchen, the vets and the law court. These link easily and through this we come to understand what has happened, their different emotions, responses and motivation. The novel is well written at a good pace and with clever twists, some shocking revelations as you watch their world disintegrate.
Overall, 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. It’s a sort of modern day crime and punishment in all its forms. This is a book with much to think about and reflect on and another bestseller for this talented writer I am sure.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
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Another brilliant book by Gillian McAllister - a go to author for me.
That Night is a thrilling page turner, a great five star read.
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This is the equivalent of car crash fiction = you know someone is going to get hurt, there's going to be a heck of a crash but you can't look away. Gillian M what are you doing to me? If you cover up an accident abroad and then come home, can you really run from the past and the truth? This will have you questioning everything and then asking yourself what would you do. My brain is tired now but totally psyched from reading this.
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Three members of the Plant family return from a holiday in Verona during which they covered up an accident. Unfortunately guilt, lies and circumstance all combine to change their lives for ever. Gillian McAllister is an author who knows how to create believable characters and then place them in a fast moving storyline where their strengths and frailties are subject to brutal examination. In this case we have three siblings Cathy, Joe and Frannie who share the family Vet Practice, live in 3 adjacent cottages and rely totally on each other for emotional support. So it is not surprising, as the Verona incident increasingly impacts their lives, everything begins to crumble - trust, the business and their relationships. Interesting twist in the story produces a genuinely unexpected conclusion ,albeit proving the adage that " blood is thicker than water".
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You’re in holiday with your family, staying in your Italian villa when your phone rings in the early hours. You answered to hear your sister begging for help from outside the villa. You rush to her and see your brother has also been summonsed. Why? Your little sister has a dead body lying at her feet and the road is drenched in blood.
She begs you for help...what would you do? Dispose of the body to save your sister or alert the authorities?
And so starts a nightmare for the Plant family.
This book kept me guessing all the way through. I enjoyed the timelines and piecing the clues together although I was left open mouthed more than once. A must read!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for my copy.
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Well. It’s not often I’m speechless. But writing this review I am
I have no idea how to write a review to do this book justice
As soon as I found out that Gillian was releasing a new book and it was on netgalley, it got requested
I held off reading straight away as I knew I would need to read this book at the right time
I started reading this book at 2.30am one night as I couldn’t sleep, hoping a few chapters would relax my eyes and I’d get some sleep. Boy was I wrong. I actually saw 8am, as I had to read and find out how is book ended. The plot was suspenseful and dramatic. I had to know where Cathy, joe and frannie were going to end up on this book journey.
There was a dramatic twist at around 80% which in all honesty, I should have guessed.
This book is highly recommended and I am in such a book hangover after reading this.
Cannot recommend enough. The book is out on 10 June
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This was a stupendous thriller showing how strong family ties can be, and yet simultaneously so weak... A wonderful read!
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Well. It’s not often I’m speechless. But writing this review I am
I have no idea how to write a review to do this book justice
As soon as I found out that Gillian was releasing a new book and it was on netgalley, it got requested
I held off reading straight away as I knew I would need to read this book at the right time
I started reading this book at 2.30am one night as I couldn’t sleep, hoping a few chapters would relax my eyes and I’d get some sleep. Boy was I wrong. I actually saw 8am, as I had to read and find out how is book ended. The plot was suspenseful and dramatic. I had to know where Cathy, joe and frannie were going to end up on this book journey.
There was a dramatic twist at around 80% which in all honesty, I should have guessed.
This book is highly recommended and I am in such a book hangover after reading this.
Cannot recommend enough. The book is out on 10 June and anyone who wants to preorder https://www.waterstones.com/book/that-night/gillian-mcallister/9781405942447
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Thanks netgalley and Gillian McAllister for this great story which I could not put down.
Three siblings hid a terrible secret, and what happens when you let your secret out, it’s not a secret any more.
Loved the characters of this book.
Cannot wait for another book from this author.
Well,done.
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Three siblings , Cathie , Joe and Frannie are all successful partners working in what used to be their mother's Veterinary practice . They seem to have everything ,living in adjoining cottages , a holiday Villa in Verona . Frannie has a son Paul after a one night stand and everything seems hunky dory for them .
On holiday in Verona , one night Frannie accidentally knocks down and kills a man called Will , she rings her siblings who are staying in the villa and asks them to help her . They decide to bury the body in woodland near the villa and hope to get away with it.. They are interviewed by the police about Will's disappearance but are allowed to return home to England.
Things are a bit tense but seem to be settling down until they hear that the woodlands are going to be developed for housing . They keep quiet but things start falling apart after an overheard phone call , leading to blackmail , murder and being brought to court to find justice . Many twists along the way and an unexpected turn , just who is lying to who , and why is the question ?
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A good family drama. No massive twists or turns but enjoyable to read. I enjoyed the different members of the family and was intrigued as to how they had become as close as they had (I certainly couldn't live in a row with my siblings in the way they do!) I have enjoyed other books by this author and similarly enjoyed and would recommend this one too.
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I really enjoyed this book & I read it really quickly! Highly recommended by me. Will read more by Gillian. She is a fantastic author. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.
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What a brilliant book, I couldn't put it down and finished in 2 sittings.
I was delighted to get a copy after having loved How to Disappear.
I really liked the Plants and the dynamics between the 3 siblings and I liked how the consequences played out from that one choice they made.
Plenty of twists and turns kept me guessing all the way through and I still couldn't predict how it ended.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.
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The Plant siblings, Cathy, Joe and Frannie, are about as close as it’s possible for siblings to get - they live in adjoining cottages, work together at the family veterinary practice, and holiday together at their villa in Verona.
One evening on holiday, Cathy and Joe receive a phone call from Frannie. She’s done something terrible. And she needs their help.
The story follows the subsequent events arising from the decision made that night. How far will the siblings go to protect Frannie and, by extension, her young son Paul - and now themselves, too - from the consequences of her actions? And how can they live with it, both individually and as a once closely bonded sibling group?
The suspense comes from wondering how and when it’s all going to unravel - because we know it is - although there was a twist which I really didn’t anticipate though in hindsight, I really should have done (those are the best kind). The ending is satisfying and very believable, given everything that’s led up to it.
All the characters were credible and Cathy is a particularly relatable character, as is Joe’s wife Lydia, though we see less of her.
At heart it’s a story that asks “what would you do?”. And while my instinctive reaction was that you should always face up to what has been done and take responsibility, however hard it is - I then thought about the people I really love, and what I might do to protect them, and suddenly I wasn’t quite so sure...
Gillian McAllister is never less than excellent, and this book lives up to the high standards set by its predecessors. If I have any criticism to make, it’s that I’m not wild about the title, That Night, which feels a bit like a placeholder. But apart from that, it’s brilliant.
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Great story with some many different twists and turns throughout it as to what is happening and why. Thoroughly enjoyed!
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This was a pressure cooker of panic, excitement, fear, anger, more fear.......I love Gillian McAllister, especially the court room excitement she does so well! This was a different format - the plot was not necessarily unique - we are all familiar with the “how far would you go for family” story line - but this was on another level! My anxiety was such that at times I forgot it was a book and it almost spilled into my own life - worrying about what was going to happen to the siblings like they are real people!
I cannot rave about this enough! I absolutely loved it from page 1 to the last page! There was nothing I could find to dislike in this absolute corker of a book! ⭐️
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I adore Gillian McAllister's books so I was really excited to read this one. I enjoyed it very much but it wasn't my favourite of hers. That says more about how good the others are more than anything negative about this one though.
As always the characters are fantastically vivid and really well thought out. My pet hate is cardboard cut out characters and Gillian is definitely never guilty of this. I liked the setting of the veterinary surgery and found the relationships between the characters fascinating to read about. One of the twists really surprised me and I'm rarely surprised anymore so that was nice.
The only thing stopping me from loving this is that I didn't feel particularly emotionally invested. I was rooting for the characters in the last two novels so much that they made me cry, and I just didn't feel that pull with this one. I also just didn't find the concept as interesting, but that is personal preference.
I would still 100% recommend this book. The writing is fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One final comment, I'm not sure if the cover is final but the colour scheme is very similar to How To Disappear. I'm not sure if this is intentional but I think a more distinct cover would benefit the book to show it for the individual that it is.
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Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I was super excited to see her new book! I feel like her last few books are rather slow in the middle but all tie together nicely at the end. The three siblings seem a little too close to me with some odd boundaries. Or lack of boundaries. The subtitles didn’t seem to matter much to me in the grand scheme of things. Parts were predicable. Parts were total shocks. She always seems to grab me at the end with a holy cow moment! Good book! Will continue to read.