I wasn't sure quite what to expect with this novel, set as Lockdown was eking in- but it's absolutely brilliant! Quite a slow burner, we have suspicion, shady characters and a world that looks too good to be true.. an edge of the chair thriller, and there are no words for that ending!!

The courier follows the ins and outs of Laurel's life. Her days consist of delivering parcels, making small talk with customers, and the occasional chat with her neighbour.
And drinking.
She spends her spare time at the missing mums group for mums who's child have gone missing, every Tuesday without fail...But her other pastime is following the ins and outs of paradise found, a gated street she delivers to often. Will she find what she's looking for?

This book was particularly a slow burner, more so than I'm used to with this style of book. It almost got to a point where I was wondering if something was going to happen or not! But the small bits of information of the real story really helped to keep me engaged and wanting to carry on reading.

About 3 quarters of the way in the truth of Laurels story started to unravel and I found myself unable to stop reading!!

Was definitely a surprising ending aswell as completely unexpected. I'm glad I carried on reading it until the end.

This is a fairly slow burning read about Laurel, a courier in London who develops an obsession with Paradise Found, a gated residential area on her route. Told from her perspective it’s apparent she has more than a few issues going on in her life and her interest in her customers is extremely creepy which makes her a difficult character to like or sympathise with. I think the author did a good job of weaving in life before and in the early times of covid and the characters in Paradise Found were each well thought out. This only really came into its own during the last 10% and turned into quite a dark read.

Five years ago Laurel had it all - high-powered city job, loving husband and a perfect daughter. Now she is alone and working for a courier service. She is particularly fascinated by the residents of Paradise Found, even finding ways to be there on her days off soaking up as much information about the inhabitants as possible. Then one day Laurel sees something that blows her whole world apart and will have devastating consequences for everyone involved...

This didn't really end up being what I was expecting from the blurb. I really struggled to get into the book and it very nearly ended up being a 'did not finish'. It wasn't until the last 30/20% that I felt something start to happen and there was a good twist there. I also really didn't take to Laurel at all, I couldn't really find anything to like about her or even sympathise with her. Overall, it was okay and eventually it did compel you to keep reading.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for my advanced copy in return for a review

I never repeat the blurb. This was very contemporary and a rather unusual plot, although the 'twist' at the ens was a little too obvious for my liking - I like more of a surprise. Quite a quick and easy ready.

At first, I found it hard to get into this book but once I had, oh my goodness I am glad I kept with it. Really gripping and tense with some very unexpected disclosures and what an ending...

Woah! This book! It will have you gripped, I actually couldn’t put it down. Thought provoking, chilling and absolutely compelling reading

Wow! I loved this but hated it ended the way it did, took a few chapters to get into it but once I was there I was hooked.
Laurel is a courier in London and couriers always see more than you think...

I must admit when I started this book I felt it was a little slow. I wondered how a job as a courier could be interesting. I stuck with the book but it took until the last third of the book, when plots started to reveal themselves, that I became hooked. I loved the twist at the end but felt it needed developing slightly to explain why the character behaved the way they did.

This sounded really good but did not really live uo to my expectations. I didn't like Lauren at all and I didn’t understand why everyone was accepting of her strange and creepy behaviour... and the plot was a bit all over the place at times and it improved halfway through to the end. However, I have to say that the twists at the end were really good. It was entertaining buy draining at the same time.

A New Revelation…
Laurel Lovejoy has left her previous life behind and now works as a courier. With the job comes a new revelation to her - the fact that she is, in essence, a non entity, an invisible being that no one notices nor pays any attention to. When she becomes fascinated by the residents of the exclusive Paradise Found area a new hobby begins. Compelling psychological suspense with an intriguing premise and a tension mounting storyline with a surprising twist that you may or may not see coming!

While I found the lead character sort of exhausting to read about, especially with her narrating and the book being all about her thoughts, her dreams, her day to day activities, I did find the plot twist at the end very good. I wish there had been more expansion on that. It literally came in the last few pages and I felt more could have been done to give it more oomph... More backstory on the suspect, etc. I didn't believe the motivation for the suspect's actions. Overall, an entertaining story, tho I felt a bit too slow in its development.

I read this excellent thriller over the course of two night, and had a hard time stopping. The story of a barely noticeable courier drew me in, showing just how little people notice the service providers around them.

This book had me gripped from start to finish! Absolutely did not see that ending coming. Its got a good pace to it that keeps you drawn in and hungry to know what's going to happen next. The characters are relatable and realistic and I guarantee you'll see your own neighbours in them. Definitely one that leaves you thinking for quite a while afterwards as its just creepy enough to actually be real. It's one of those perfect books to chill out on a beach with

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the concept very intriguing. Laurels character is very complex and she clearly has a lot of issues. I never saw the ending coming despite my many theories along the way!

The characters in the book bring the story alive and leaves you wanting to hear more about them.
I am blown away by this book, the twists and turns are mind-boggling!… BRILLIANT…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Warning, mild spoilers ahead!

This book sounded really, really promising. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The blurb made me think we'd see something early on in the story and that it would happen just because the MC was your average, run of the mill courier. Instead, we're introduced to Laurel who is, in all honesty, very unlikeable and while her behaviour is somewhat understandable, I never warmed to her. I also couldn't understand why most other characters did.

I found the twist at the end somewhat surprising, but the one at the very end was obviously hinted at all the way through and even though I didn't come to like Laurel, I didn't enjoy where the story ended up.

I'm giving this 3 stars because I thought it was well written and about half-way through till near the end, I was compelled to keep reading to reach the twists I knew would be coming.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good easy book to read. The characters were interesting and the plot was engaging with lots of little twists and surprises.

Laurel Lovejoy had it all - a high powered job, loving husband and beautiful daughter. Now, five years later, she lives alone in a dingy flat, working for a courier service delivering parcels. She likes her new job as it lets her be invisible and she sees more than everyone realises. Her favourite place to deliver to is the exclusive gated Paradise Found. She even enjoys visiting the street during her time off, watching the residents and trying to find out more about them. Other than her job, it's the only thing she has to occupy her time. Laurel feels herself get closer to some of the residents, and then she sees something that blows her whole world apart and may have devastating consequences for those involved...

A brilliant, well-written thriller that keeps you turning the pages to find out what will happen. There are an interesting set of characters and the story has some shocking twists and turns. I like how it takes place as the Covid pandemic is just starting, making it more relatable to the reader. Very much recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

The Courier by Holly Down
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for granting me acces to an e-arc of this book. Here is my honest opinion.
Laurel works as a delivery woman in London and right from the start you know she is full of secrets. She seems to be very interested in the lives of the people she delivers packages to. To a point where it is kind of creepy. Soon she developpes a crush for Patrick, an author who lives in Paradise Found. This book gave me strong The Girl on the Train from Paula Hawkins vibes. Laurel is a middle aged lady who drinks to much and have a life she had to leave behind because of things she did. She had a husband, a child and a great job. Now she lives alone in a crapy appartement and have a minimum wage job. What happened ? Read the book and you'll know. Beware this is the kind of book that haunts you but in the best way.