I absolutely loved this book! It was the best book I have read recently by a long way. I couldn't put it down. Very annoying when my kindle ran out of charge 20 minutes from the end and wouldn't boot up even when I plugged it in! Well recommended for a holiday read.

Gillian McAllister has delivered another first rate thriller. This story sounds preposterous; on holiday in Italy, someone is killed by accident so a group decision is made to bury the body and pretend nothing happened. Then they return to UK and it all goes pear shaped!

I liked the drama of the opening scenes where the hole in which to bury the body is being prepared. There’s a real sense of desperation, a hot night, fear and total loss of rationale. But later, the group dynamics really we start to work through and the tension mounts as developments bounce among the characters. It’s a twisty, turny plot and there’s more than a few surprises. Well rounded characters and a page Turner of a thriller.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

That Night by Gillian McAllister Pub Date 08/7/21
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?
Gillian McAllister does it again, providing us with another high-quality gripping thriller.
A well-executed, exciting and unpredictable plot with convincing relatable characters.
Well worth a read, I highly recommend it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and author Gillian McAllister for a pre-publication copy to review.

Thank you Netgalley for my arc of this book.
Read How to Disappear a few months ago and absolutely loved it so when this became available I had to read it.
It all centres around the events of That Night and what happens after.
I liked a chapters that were separated into That Night and Now.

Even though I knew who NOW was and saw the twists that were coming, I was still gripped and couldn't put it down. Stayed up late to finish it as had to find out what happened to Joe, Frannie and Cathy.
I really liked Cathy and felt sorry for her as the odd one out, but didn't warm to Frannie at all. I felt she was a bit babyish and clung onto her siblings a bit much, whereas Cathy had more freedom in a way.
Only knocked off a star as I loved How to Disappear and that is still one of my fave reads!

A gripping thriller that will keep you wanting to read more.

Wow this book is Gripping from the 1st Page it tells the story of 3 siblings Joe, Cathy & Frannie who are holidaying in Italy when one night Frannie kills a man with her car, Worried about going to Prison and leaving her young son , she asked her siblings Joe & Cathy to help dispose of the body and to Lie to the police what follows next is a gripping thriller book which will leave the hairs on the back of your neck stand up with all the twists and turns that follows in this book

With thanks to Netgalley & Penguin Michael Joseph Uk

Seem to be reading a lot of books set in Italy right now. Oh yeah. Lack of travel! But this isn't an Italy I want to meet or maybe it's the people.
Fractured relationships lie at the heart of this gripping thriller. Skillfully written
the writer only reveals what she wants in tiny glimpses. The end is a shock.

That Night by Gillian McAllister
Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph
Publication Date: 8/7/21

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NO SPOILERS

I have a sister and would do anything possible in my power if she needed help so I found this a totally believable and page turner of a book.

I liked the way it unfolded, keeping you guessing who was in the lawyers office and who might be a witness or defendant.
The gradual reveal of a previous family tragedy, showing how the strong sibling bond had formed and how each siblings guilt & place in the family is governed by both this event and their parents grief is intriguing.
Great initial setting in Verona with the complications of Italian Law thrown in to further complicate but also explain the decisions they have to make.

A twist towards the end and a satisfying conclusion made this an excellent read.

Highly recommended.
Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Michael Joseph & Gillian McAllister for my arc of That Night in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 8th July

The Plant siblings have always been close, ever since tragedy struck when they were younger they’ve had each other’s back. But none of them realised how far they’d really go until the youngest sister calls her siblings to say she’s run someone over with her car and killed them. She wants their help disposing of the body. She’d definitely have their backs so what choice do they have? But now the lies have begun, the secrets, who can they trust, can they even trust each other?

This is a difficult book to review, I thought the idea behind it was great and I had no idea of some of the twists before they happened but at the same time the characters were so incredibly unlikeable it would be difficult to say that I ‘enjoyed’ the book as such.

This is definitely a slow burner and yet tense and suspenseful at the same time. I’ve read a few books by this author now and they definitely all have great twists so I would read more from her again in the future.

That Night is another winner by Gillian McAllister and is full of what you expect from the Queen of the twisty thriller. Extremely well written and fast paced, I throughly enjoyed the true natures and morals of the characters slowly be revealed.

It does make you stop and question how far, and to what depths, you would go to to protect your family...Really recommend for anyone who enjoys dark thrillers.

With many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

During a family holiday in Italy, Frannie calls her siblings, Cathy and Joe, in distress: she has hit a man with her car and he is dead. Fearing years in a foreign prison away from her young son, she asks her siblings for help, reassuring them it was not her fault, and asking them to cover for her. But how far would you go to protect your siblings? All is not what it seems, and the truth of what happened that night will eventually come out.

Yet another five-star read from Gillian McAllister! Gripping and full of surprises from start to finish. This was a real page-turner, and I was left guessing.

Each character was credible; I wasn't too sure about Cathy at first, but I warmed to her more as the story developed. I loved the fact the story was told from more than one viewpoint, showing each sibling in more detail, as well as 'Then' and 'Now' chapters so we learn about what happened both as it unfolds, plus in reflection.

Extremely tense and a must-read!

Another winner from Ms McAllister! A tightly written plot in which the very believable characters gradually reveal more about their actions makes for a great page turner. I particularly enjoyed the then and now timelines and the gradual divulging of who is with the lawyer and why. I was pleased to see the author's note at the end that she is working on a new book for 2022 and can't wait to read it.
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

You help to bury a body with your siblings, but how do you deal with what comes next? This is the reality for the three Plant siblings who bury a body in Verona and struggle with their web of lies back home in Birmingham.

I really did love this book, Gillian McAllister never disappoints! There were some truly clever twists and turns throughout and plenty of ‘on the edge of your seat’ reading. I’ve given this 4 instead of 5 stars because I felt like the ending was hugely chaotic and I was struggling to pull all the strands together (although that may be my own fault for reading it too quickly to find out what happens next!).

If you’re a fan of a thriller, definitely give this one a go!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Three siblings are on a quiet holiday in Verona. One night one of them calls for help, they have killed someone. How far would you go to protect your family?

This was a new author for me. However, after reading this I am looking forward to reading more of this authors work.

I found the story started off slowly, it goes back and forwards in time too but was easy to follow. The story started to open up more as I read, and as more things were revealed about that night it really picked up the pace for me and I found myself wanting to know more and more. At this point I couldn’t put the book down and just had to continue on until it was finished.

It also really got me thinking about what I would do in the same situation too.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

How far would you go to protect your family?
Frannie, Joe and Cathy are siblings who do everything together - they work together, live in neighbouring houses and go on their yearly holiday to Verona.
But what will they do when one of them commits hit and run and asks the other two to help with the cover-up….?
Really enjoys the twists and turns of this books and the time shifts which were used to reveal the story…

Wow. I've just spent another night reading into the early hours and then as soon as I woke up, picking up the book again. Isn't it a fab feeling when you're so consumed like that!

However... I am only going to give this book 4 stars. Simply because I struggled for the first half of the book, it just felt disconnected somehow? But when it picked up, it REALLY picked up. If it had just flowed that bit better at the start, then it would have definitely been a 5* read.

Absolutely brilliant, and cleverly constructed. Struggled to put it down when I knew I needed to, because I just ‘had’ to know where the story was going. Needlessly to say I never saw the ending coming.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Publishing and Gillian McAllister for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Wow - what a book. This book had me gripped from the start. Gillian is an incredibly talented author and this book proves it. The plot is so well written and medically accurate. The characters are likeable and relatable. I was hooked by the first chapter.

There are only a handful of authors whose books I'll read without hesitation, not even bothering with the blurb. Gillian McAllister is one of those authors. Everything she writes is totally fantastic, with amazing characters and totally realistic situations. I read this book in little over 24 hours and honestly could not put it down.

The Plant's are a very close trio of siblings. They run a successful vet practice and live in adjoining cottages where they literally live in each other's pockets. An incident whilst on holiday in Verona changes their lives forever, and our family unravels in the worst way possible. Relationships are ruined, truths are covered and uncovered, and we find out just how far each is prepared to go to protect each other. It is totally gripping.

My review is on Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon on the revised pub date of 8th July.

This latest book by Gillian McAllister is written in two timelines dissecting the lives of the Plant siblings, Frannie, Cathy and Joe. Their relationship with each other is completely under the microscope here and they are close knit - working together, living right next door, holidaying together and then ultimately the lengths they will go to for each other.

I found this story had a great solid plot, was well structured and had a thrilling tense finale. The scene is being set for the first half of the book and then it really starts to gather pace and momentum.

This would be a perfect book for a book club group or to discuss with your friends/family as they’ll be so many differing perspectives and putting yourselves in the siblings shoes.

5🌟review! I can really see this as a 3 part ITV drama!!

I fear that I may have started to read this book with a dose of what the music industry calls "difficult second album syndrome". This is not quite an apt description, given that That Night is actually Gillian McAllister's sixth novel. But it's relevant - if you bend the rules enough - partly because it's the second book of hers that I have read. But mostly because the first was the utterly fabulous How to Disappear, which was one of my top five books of last year.

This of course meant that a request to Netgalley was made almost as soon as her latest book became available, and also that I started reading it just as soon as I possibly could. But it also meant that I felt what I can best describe as being slightly nervous. Could Gillian McAllister really surpass the amazing heights of her previous book?

The short answer is: not quite. But she's made a darned fine effort.

The book starts with a gripping and eye-opening scene. It's late at night during Cathy's holiday in Verona when she gets a panicked phone call from her younger sister Frannie, begging for her help. She and her brother Joe arrive to find Frannie covered in blood, her car damaged and the body of a dead man lying at her feet ...

The family are a particularly close one, who live and work together as well as holidaying together. Plus, Frannie is a single mum and fears for her young son if she is sent to prison. So, they decide to bury the body ...

The book continues, in alternate chapters, to describe the rest of that night and the subsequent days in Italy, and later events in Birmingham the following winter. The scenes are perfectly described so that the heat of Verona starts to feel as oppressive as the characters' own guilt, whilst the rain, snow and bitter cold of February makes Birmingham feel like the most miserable place in the world. And, even though the book maintains a fast pace, there is just enough fine detail added. A description of a pair of dusty flip-flops. A plate of custard cream biscuits in an office. The treatment given by a vet to a sick dog. All of these conspire to draw you right into the character's world, their thoughts, their minds.

Dealing with the aftermath of committing a crime isn't something that any of them know how to do. And slowly, but surely, their secrets start to unravel. More people overhear things. More lies are exposed. And by this point I was so well and truly drawn in that I was almost continually asking two sets of questions: "well if that was me, and my family, would I do the same thing?" and "so what else have we been told that isn't true?"

My only rational criticisms of the book are so small and pernickety that they're hardly even worth mentioning. There is the point that Frannie's brother is called Joe and her young baby is called Paul. For several of the early chapters I had it in my head that it was the other way round. Perhaps it's down to me having a six-year-old nephew called Joe, whilst the youngest Paul I know is in his 40s, but maybe it would have helped to have given the baby a name that's more common in young boys.

There's also the point that the the ARC supplied included quite a number of formatting errors. I'm sure these will be corrected before the book goes on sale, and I know that to criticise anything about the presentation of an advance copy of a book, when it's been given to me free of charge makes me sound like a spoiled brat. But my problem was when the same line includes speeches from more than one character. It wasn't immediately obvious who was saying what to whom. And I have to say that this made the book harder to read than it should have been.

But really, as far as criticisms go, that's about it.

And yet, for all of that, there was something missing for me. That final extra piece of connection that was there so strongly in How to Disappear. The best I can think is that it's the questions asked of the readers that make the difference. In How to Disappear, they almost always decide to make the right decision, even if it's by no means the easy one. Which means that the reader supports them all the way.

But, without wanting to give away any more spoilers than I probably already have, that isn't quite the case here. To feel the same way about That Night, you have to be happy that a character has, quite literally, got away with murder. It's not impossible for a book to make me feel that way, because Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca managed it. Which might be why it's possibly my single favourite book of all time. However - and even though it's both captivating and memorable, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone - That Night hasn't quite managed to pull off the same trick.

I can understand everything the characters have done, and continue to do. I can tell myself that the outcome was for the best. But ultimately, I can't agree with it. And that, I think is the problem.

My thanks to Netgalley, the author and Penguin Books for an e-ARC of this book, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly. I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.