Rounded up from 4.5 stars.

I’ve been desperate to read this book as soon as I heard about it as the premise sounded brilliant and I’m very happy to say it didn’t disappoint!

Chapters are short, pacy and always end on a mini cliffhanger leaving you wanting more, which is most likely why I ended up late into the night reading as I just couldn’t put it down. You will need to know what happens next – it’s so fast paced and full of intrigue.

El is a bit of a lost soul since losing both her mum and dad, with the death of her dad hitting her the hardest. As she discovers the cause for his death this is when she begins her journey into the murky world of revenge and secret online websites to help formulate a plan.

The online conversations she has with a man called ‘Horsehead’ were especially good. I really enjoyed their interactions and I was definitely laughing out loud at one point in regards to a well known mumsnet reference!

The events and situations that El gets herself into had me on the edge of my seat and as we get nearer to the end I did start to put some things together, however my guesses were incorrect which is always good as nothing worse than guessing the ending. The author did a brilliant job of keeping the suspense up until the very end.

If you’re looking for a fast paced mystery / thriller with a unique premise then you need to read this!

What a great story!

El is grieving the death of her father, and while she's at work she overhears a name and it sticks in her mind. Who is Jim Valente and why does she feel like she's heard his name before? She starts digging and finds out he might have been responsible for what happened to her Dad. She decides to play Jim at his own game and get pack back, but will she be able to stop before it goes too far?

I really enjoyed this, and the way it's written. I loved the conversations between El and Horsehead and felt the whole book was a great thriller.

Does anyone else remember the mid-noughties shows, the likes of 'Punk'd' and ''Jackass'? I loathed these shows and tried to avoid them at all costs. Maybe it was because I had some sense of being above the humour (I liked to think I was mature beyond my years 🧐 - but could also be read as just boring!). But perhaps it's because I connected with the innate shame and humiliation that's at the heart of these shows.

It's this uncomfortabless cranked up to the extreme that @lv_matthews_author explores in her debut novel THE PRANK, which poses the long-term effects of what might happen when one of these prank shows goes very wrong in the guise of an engaging and clever thriller.

"How far is TOO FAR?

Eleanor Greene is about to find out.

Still grieving for her father, El has a chance encounter with a man linked to his death and realises she can orchestrate the perfect revenge. But her quest becomes an obsession and soon her drive for his destruction means risking her own life and the lives of those closest to her"

I thoroguhly enjoyed THE PRANK as it fits perfectly into my love of thrillers that do something a bit different. The MC Eleanor is a little reserved to start, but I liked this as it gives the novel a sense of authenticity and reality, as opposed to a Hollywood heroine. Eleanor is brilliant and brave and yet so damaged and undone, but once the story really gets going she is a character that you can't help rooting for. The inclusion of the technological wizardry brings the story bang up to date and furnishes one of the best characters in the novel as well as a surprisingly dark, twisting and all-consuming narrative that I couldn't put down.

The only drawback is that I think the ending was a bit too tidy. However, I'll forgive this because the climax was so strong, it was just the denouement that I wasn't quite sure about. A strong debut for sure!

This was a fantastic debut. Well written, fast-paced, and tense. A perfect psychological thriller. The author wrote the main character really well and made the reader root for her the whole way.

This is an excellent debut thriller.

This is a book about revenge but the plot is original and not something I’ve seen before. It was a unique take on the classic revenge story. How far would you go to take revenge on someone who is partly responsible for your father’s death?

The pace of this was great. It engaged me from the get go and the pacing was great throughout the novel. If you are after a fast-paced, high drama novel, this is it. It rarely lets up except for slightly in the middle.

I also loved the twist at the end as I never saw it coming (I know that is such a cliche line when it comes to thrillers but it’s true).

The Prank is out 18 March 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and WellBeckPublishing for my advanced reader copy ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Prank is a contemporary thriller examining the fallout from a single moment in a reality TV programme that has devastating and long-term consequences, according to its synopsis.
Very different the book, I really enjoy. Amazing debut.
Thanks netgalley

Still grieving for her father, El has a chance encounter with a man linked to his death and realises she can orchestrate the perfect revenge.
But her quest becomes an obsession and soon El doesn’t seem to know how to stop. Her drive for his destruction means risking her own life and the lives of those closest to her . . .

This was quite a dark book. It starts with El wanting to get revenge on her father, but as the story unfolds untold secrets come to the surface and we discover that not everything is as simple as El initially thought. I liked the tension of the last 30% of the book, and I did not expect the twist at the end. The first part was good in setting the scene but it felt a bit dragged to me.
I did not particularly liked any of the main characters. Jim, for the obvious reason of being an arrogant, entitled man who thinks everyone has to live by his rules, El for being so obsessed with her father, so much so she can't see what else is going on around her.

Overall a good book that I would recommend if you like dark mysteries.

I would like to thank NetGallery and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know what it says about me but I love a good revenge book. This book combines revenge plot into a thriller. I could identify with the main character and it was seriously afraid for her at several points. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend.

Eleanor Greene is about to find out.

Still grieving for her father, El has a chance encounter with a man linked to his death and realises she can orchestrate the perfect revenge.But her quest becomes an obsession and soon El doesn’t seem to know how to stop. Her drive for his destruction means risking her own life and the lives of those closest to her . . .
Go for it.