This book kicks off in the middle of the action straight away and that is it, you are hooked in! The story jumps back and forth between ‘ That Night’ and present day for the main characters. A truly fantastic read with a realistic feel. The three siblings at the centre of the story display a strong bond of loyalty to one another which is an important element in the plot. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but the many twists in this book ticked all the boxes for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read an advance copy and also for the introduction to this fab writer, Gillian McAllister.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

That Night is the first book that I have read by Gillian McAllister but it definitely won’t be the last!

Frannie, Cathy and Joe Plant are siblings who work together in the family veterinary practice and live next door to each other, to say they are close is a huge understatement. But their relationship is put to the ultimate test when Frannie accidentally kills a man when they are all on holiday in Verona. She calls Cathy and Joe for their help and together the three of them bury the body and then fly back home to the UK. They try to get on with their lives but the news comes in about a man missing in Verona and then the hunt for a body. Plus the siblings start to learn that Frannie has not been completely honest with them and they discover that they have covered up so much more than they thought. As the pressure increases their relationship becomes more and more strained until something has to give.
That Night is fast-paced and extremely well plotted. McAllister doesn’t mess about, she takes you straight into the thick of it and then doesn’t let up. I loved the way she explores the relationship between the three siblings and we gradually learn how that has developed from their childhood to where it is now. The tension is so well done, there is conflict between each other, their own consciences and also the others around them. I can highly recommend this book and it is a great addition to the Richard and Judy list this year.

The Plants are as close as siblings can get. They work together and live next-door to one another, they even go on holiday together. When Cathy gets a phone call from her younger sister Frannie while they're on holiday in Italy, she doesn't hesitate to help her. Frannie's hit a man with her car, he's dead and she needs Cathy's help. When Cathy arrives, her brother Joe is there too. The Plants take a vow of silence.

But when the police turn up, the siblings begin to doubt one another. They begin to second guess what really happened that night in Verona.

Gillian McAllister has created a compulsive moral dilemma that dissects a family in crisis and questions how much you can ever really know those closest to you. Intricately plotted, 'That Night' is taut and tense.

A Brilliant book.

I loved this book but will only be able to give a bare outline of what happened as to give too much detail would spoil it for everyone.

So, the story revolves around the Plant family, Cathy, and Joe, both vets in the family practice and Frannie who is the receptionist. They live near Birmingham in three adjacent cottages and when the book starts are on a family holiday in Verona, again all together. Joe is married to Lydia, and they are trying for a baby, but Lydia feels herself excluded from the closeness of the Plants.

The story begins when Frannie calls her brother and sister in total panic, she has knocked over a man who was near their holiday cottage, she thinks he is dead. Immediately both siblings rush to her side and do find that the man is dead. From papers on his body, they discover that he is called William McGovern and even worse he is a police officer. Frannie is a single parent to Paul who is only 2 and is terrified of going to prison. She swears it was an accident as she forgot which side of the road she was driving when she hit him. To make matters worse, Joe had had an altercation with this man earlier in the day when he had blown cigarette smoke over Lydia. Joe has problems controlling his temper and fears that he might be implicated by anyone who had seen the argument.

The only decision the family feel that they can make is to bury the body and hope it is never found. This they do and from then on, the book really begins. It was a fascinating description of how the guilt affects all three of them in different ways and how their own relationship as well as their relationships with everyone else are impacted.

As stated earlier I do not want to give away any spoilers on how everything ends, obviously they do not get away with their crime, but you really need to read the book to see how blame and guilt is apportioned. As well as a really good story various incidents happen that I did not see coming and the ending was just so different to what I was expecting.

I thoroughly recommend this book, I really enjoyed it.





Dexter

Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review

An addictive psychological thriller exploring family love, loyalty and trust. Siblings Frannie, Joe & Cathy are a close-knit family. They work together, live next to each other and go on holiday together. Whilst out driving Frannie hits and kills a man. She calls Joe & Cathy for help claiming it was an accident. As they attempt to cover it up they begin to question their relationship. A gripping and pacy page-turner full of twists.

Another great book
You’ll be hooked from the start
Plenty of twists
Brilliantly written
Thanks NetGalley

what would you do for family? this gripping tale is about the lengths people would go through when they are very close maybe even too close to a family member. I thought the story was a good pace, engaging. I did care much for the characters, I felt they were unbelievable at times. Over all I did enjoy this book

As someone who has read a range of Gillian McAllister's work, I was extremely excited when I got approved to read this on NetGalley. This is a fast-paced, gripping thriller that has it's fair share of twists and turns throughout.

I will admit that at first I was worried this book was going to fall a little flat for me. I found the first 30/40% of the book rather slow. HOWEVER, the final half of the book was amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and I devoured the last 50% of the book within a day haha!

I really liked the exploration of family love and how the book questions your own morals, making you wonder just how far you would really go to protect your family. I loved how the story floated from 'past' to 'present' day, allowing the story to build up form both perspectives as you went along.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a gripping, character driven thriller that's full of twists and turns!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph and Gillian McAllister for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really solid read. Gillian McAllister is one of my favourite thriller writers, she’s such a clever writer and all of her books are similar in writing style but the plots are vastly different and usually involve a few gasp-worthy moments.

That Night tells the story of the Plant siblings, who witnessed a tragedy when they were teens which bound them together forever - they work together, at their family-owned vets practise and they each live in a row of three cottages (I loved this idea and loathed it in equal measure as my sister would likely kill me if we lived in such close proximity). That bond is called into question when Frannie calls Joe and Cathy one night during their holiday in Verona, Italy to say she’s killed a man and the entire novel focuses on whether sibling bonds can prevail even through murder and lies and secrets.

This novel has two threads running through it - Then and Now. Then tells us the story of that night and all of the consequences that come with the decisions the Plant siblings made that night and continued to make long after that night, whereas the Now is the most intriguing aspect because of where that plot line goes - no spoilers, but I genuinely liked where this part of the novel went. The bait and switch was fun.

To be honest, this novel is quite depressing because it’s very much a case of you’ve made your bed and you’re roped to it and can’t do anything bar make it worse. I loved the idea that even three siblings as close as the Plants who thought they knew everything about each other also began to question each other as things increasingly ramped up for them and their lies and everything started to catch up with them.

This was such a fascinating, absorbing novel. Gillian really does have such a deft touch within her novels that truly makes you care about the characters and makes you question what exactly you would do if you were in Joe or Cathy or Frannie’s shoes. I loved it.

I was really looking forward to this novel but for me personally it fell short. It tells the story of the Plant family.. Frannie, Cathy and Joe.. Extremely close and will do anything for each other.. They even live next to each other in a street.
So when Cathy and Joe get a call from Frannie asking for them to help her, they rush to her add... However what they find is not what they thought.. Will they stand by their sister, will they help her????
For me however I just found this book too flawed... A bit unrealistic and I found myself skim reading too get to the end.

This is a gripping story told over two timelines - then and now. A tense story with lots of twists, which had me hooked. Highly recommended

An amazing thriller. So many twists and turns you have no idea what is coming next. A family that work together, live next door to each other and holiday together. So close that when a tragedy happens they cover the evidence. It makes you think what would I do to protect family. The implications are far reaching and the results shocking.

How far would you go to protect your siblings ?! Cover up murder ? That’s what joe and Cathy do to protect their baby sister .. but soon life starts to unravel . 4 stars with my thanks from the author and the publishers

I have read all of Gillian Mcallister's novels and the new one is fantastic.
The plot seems far fetched but from page one you’re invested and you stay that way until the last page.
Frannie has killed someone so she calls her siblings Joe and Cathy to help her cover it up, which they do without much persuasion. What follows is the fall out from this one decision.
The story’s written across two timelines, the past from the time they cover up the death and the present. It’s written from the POV of the siblings as well as Lydia, who is Joe’s wife. There were any twists and turns. There was also my favourite thing when reading which is when you have to turn a page back to reread as you can’t believe where the story has just gone.
I read this in one sitting and was bereft when it concluded. I can’t wait to read the authors next novel.
Thanks to Penguin UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#ThatNight #NetGalley

A tense and gripping psychological thriller about family, loyalty and trust
How far would you go to protect your family The plot flows well, and the author keeps you guessing as to what will happen throughout.

This was an excellent intense story that kept twisting throughout introducing new aspects in bursts. I did not imagine the ending that resolved the issue that the siblings faced. The family secret was well kept so we were led to believe but what we never really knew until the end what the truth was of the family secret. The story bounces well from past to present keeping the reader thinking about what happened, why it happened and what would be the final solution. The characters and the respective scenery were described well and it was easy to feel that the reader was there with them all the time

When I first started reading That night I wasn’t sure if it was for me. It seemed a situation that was far beyond comprehension.

But I’m glad I continued because it’s a cracking thriller. A

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an independent review.
Gillian McAllister writes really good stories and this one was no exception. It was an interesting, well plotted thriller centred around three siblings. I liked the way the story was narrated through each of the main characters. Throughout I felt that each sibling was carrying secrets which would eventually become clear.
My only criticism would be that I did not feel empathy as I didn’t really like any of their characters. But perhaps that is what the author intended.
A compulsive read which kept me reading avidly.
4.5stars

I had high hopes for this book, however it fell very flat for me. It wasn’t something I could get into, but with thrillers/mystery’s I am usually straight in them and finish them as soon as I can but unfortunately this didn’t do it for me