It's been such a long time since Laura Marshall released a novel and this was definitely worth the wait. Really enjoyed this read it you won't be disappointed

25 years after the village shooting that shocked the world, Cassie Colman has returned back to her home with her new baby to look after her who is suffering from dementia.

When Cassie was 4, her father was the final victim of that shooting. and a pesky journalist is sniffing around.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was engaging, exciting and easy to read, each chapter leaving me wanting more. A few red herrings meant I completely missed the twist until almost upon it….fantastic book.

Another great book from Laura Marshall- fast paced and gripping this book had me hooked from start to finish. Filled with twists that kept me guessing till the end. A brilliant read.

I loved Laura Marshall's previous books and this one did not disappoint. It was quick and it keeps you engrossed till you reach the end and then it makes you re think the story again! Highly recommended.

The lives of the residents of the town of Hartstead were changed forever on the 15th of June 1994 after Travis Green went on a rampage through the streets, killing eleven people in cold blood before turning the gun on himself. Cassie Colman's dad had been one of the killer's victims and the terrified four year old had been found clinging to her mother, distraught and spattered with blood. The subsequent police investigation had uncovered no links between the victims and to the outside world, the tragic event had just become another case of a crazy man going berserk with a gun.

In the present day, Cassie had moved back to Hartstead from London not long before the birth of her fifteen week old daughter Amy. Her life had always been haunted by the events of that shocking day and she would much rather prefer that the past was left alone. But, with the twenty fifth anniversary approaching, a journalist called Alison Pitchett arrives in town saying that she wants to interview people for a article that she is writing about how towns recover from traumatic events. Alison asks Cassie to help with her investigation because she feels that the residents would be more open with Cassie than with a journalist. At first Cassie is initially reluctant to get involved but as it gradually become apparent that the events of that day were not as clear cut as they appeared to be, she finds that there is questions that she wants answered herself. People in the town were harbouring secrets in the past and the present and someone is prepared to go to any lengths to stop those secrets from being uncovered.

This gripping thriller is written predominantly from the perspective of Cassie who when we are first introduced to her was struggling with being a single parent due to lack of sleep and dealing with a baby who just seemed to be constantly screaming. She was also struggling with her conscience over wether it was time to find a care home for her mother who was suffering from dementia and gradually getting worse as time passed. Cassie felt that to some of the residents of Hartstead she would be ' tragic Cassie Colman' and this made it difficult for her to trust people and she couldn't help.feeling alone. But, as the story unfolded, she began interacting with a variety of realistic characters including, amongst others, Alison, Chloe with whom Cassie had been friends with whilst they were at school. Natalie and James who she met at the pub and Paul who was Travis Green's son.Various individuals who seemed to take a lot of interest in Cassie's life but were they just being friendly or was she sharing her secrets with the wrong people? Or was one of more of her new friends really a dangerous enemy who was hiding in plain sight?

Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were written in italics and narrated the events of the 15th of June 1994 as seen through the eyes of each of the victims and Travis Green. They were all just innocent people who were just going about their lives so why did the killer chose those particular people as his victims?

Laura Marshall is a very talented author and in my mind is one of the queens of the psychological thriller genre. I loved this book just as much as her two previous books Friend Request and Three Little Lies. The story is extremely well written, gripping and addictive, hooks you in from the first page, keep you captivated, glued to your kindle and frantically turning the pages. The characters were vivid, realistic and relatable and the plot had a number of twists, turns and misdirections. This is a captivating, addictive thriller that is very very highly recommended and definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year

The Anniversary is a twisty page turner of a novel from a writer whose previous books I've very much enjoyed. Good to see she's going from strength to strength. The anniversary in question is not a wedding anniversary but the 25th anniversary of a rampage when a man shot 11 people dead. Progagonist Cassie's father was one of them. The novel shows how the survivors were affected and there are flashbacks back to the day, But was was actually the truth of the tragedy? Highly recommended.

Raced through this in one go! The book starts with a Hungerford style mass killing in a small UK town, and jumps between what was happening on the day and how the town has evolved and survived 25 years later. The main character, Cassie, was 4 when her father died in the massacre, and can't remember much of that day. As an adult, Cassie has moved back with her small daughter, to help care for her mother who has developed dementia. A journalist in town starts asking questions about the day in question, and Cassie finds herself caught up in the investigation, desperate to find out more about what happened now,.
Really well scripted and pacy, I would definitely recommend

Laura Marshall has done it again! Another fantastic page turner!
This book plays on the 'true crime' idea of returning to the anniversary of a crime and re-looking at it from a different angle. I think true crime fans will love this book - even though this book is a work of fiction it reads like non-fiction at times.
The book was really fast paced throughout, and kept e guessing and on my toes. I wasn't a fan of the ending, as it became a little far-fetched (and that's why I couldn't give it the full 5*) but overall I really enjoyed this book.
Bring on the next Laura Marshall book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and Laura Marshall for the ARC of The Anniversary.

I was a big fan of Friend Request by the same author, so was super excited to get stuck into her latest Thriller, The Anniversary.

The book starts with a bang - a flashback to 25 years ago, when Travis Green picks up his shotgun and goes on a killing spree - shooting dead 11 people - seemingly with no obvious connection. His last victim was father to four year old Cassie Coleman, who is feeling increasingly uneasy as the 25th anniversary of that fateful day edges ever closer.

A single mother raising a young child alone and with her Mum's health deteriorating quickly from early onset dementia, Cassie is feeling lonely and down. She befriends Alison - a journalist who is looking into the events in Hartshead 25 years ago - hoping to publish a piece on how towns recover from tragedy.

As they start revisiting the events of that night, more pieces come to light that leave them questioning everything. Were the shootings random after all or did Travis plot to kill all these people - and why?

One things for certain - someone knows the truth about what happened that day and will do ANYTHING to keep it hidden.

I absolutely flew through this book, it was fast paced, tense and built suspense throughout, with lots of chararacters who all had a link to, vested interest, or involvement of the events back in 1994. I found myself questioning everything and everyone, thinking a few times that I had the answer, yet despite this, I was left shocked and pulled in another direction on multiple occasions.

This book to me is exactly what a good thriller is all about, a page turning ride that keeps you guessing until its big climatic reveal. Loved it! :)

The Anniversary was a very interesting book with lots of twists that managed to make look in every other direction instead where I should have been looking which was right in front of me. I enjoyed the characters and found them intriguing but I didn’t really find Cassie to be that likeable but maybe that was just me. I had no idea where this story was going but I did enjoy the ride and that twist at the end was perfect.

1994 and Travis Green picks up a shotgun, going on a shooting spree killing 11 people. The detectives couldn't find out any connection and thought he just went crazy before pulling the gun on himself. Was it random?

25 years later and Alison, a journalist writing a piece about the Anniversary of the event. Begins to rake up the past and a few things do not add up. With the help of Cassie Colman (who was 4 when her Dad was killed by Travis,) Will they discover the truth?

Wow, what a page turner. I had been in a book slump and this book helped me out. It was easy to read and I kept finding that I could not put it down. It's written cleverly and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

25 years ago Travis Green walked through town on a murder spree. killing 11 seemingly random people. Cassie was the four year old daughter of his last victim, her father, Garry Colman. But was it as random as everybody believes?
Cassie wrestles with her new role as a mother to a fuzzy baby, her mother’s dementia diagnosis and the 25th anniversary of the shooting of her father. It’s heartbreaking to see her struggle, beating down on herself. Not to know who you can trust was a feeling well portrayed in the book. The uneasiness was palpable and I couldn’t stop reading. It was like being in a trance, I just had to know what happened that day? Highly recommended.

June 15th, 1994, a date nobody in Hartshead will ever forget.
As the town approaches the 25th Anniversary of the atrocities, a journalist is seeking the help of one of the only survivors, Cassie Colman. Cassie has her own issues to contend with - her mother's health is declining rapidly and Cassie is struggling with motherhood, so much so that the friendship of journalist Alison is welcomed.

Someone really does not want Alison or Cassie to keep digging - but we need to dig too to find out what really happened on that fateful day and if things were really as they seemed.

I liked this a lot. There were a lot of side characters to keep track of, but the core group were different enough to be able to know who was who. I liked how Cassie was a realistic portrayal of a young mother trying to care for several people and retain some of herself too, and I liked how the story of what happened in 1994 was unravelled slowly. Yes, parts of it were predictable, and the end was a little unbelievable, but overall I thought this was a very solid thriller that fans of the genre should enjoy.

The Anniversary is another great book by Laura Marshall.

It’s coming up to the 25 year anniversary of a mass shooting in a small town, where 11 people were randomly shot dead. Cassie was only 4 at the time and her father was one of the victims. When Cassie moves home to look after her mother, she makes a discovery that makes her question what actually happened that day.

There were so many twists and turns in this book and I found myself flying through it. I really liked the mystery and trying to put the pieces together. A very enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book so much! To be honest, when I picked it up I hadn’t actually given too much thought as to what The Anniversary was, so was surprised by the fact it’s not a wedding anniversary but the anniversary of an horrific and heinous crime. It’s 25 years since Travis Green committed a “Hungerford” style massacre, killing neighbours and residents of the town where he lived. Eleven people lost their lives that day including Cassie’s dad. And as the anniversary approaches, Cassie discovers a photo in her mother’s belongings that give a clue about what really happened that day and it’s not as random as everyone had previously thought…

The opening of The Anniversary was incredibly chilling as Travis Green sits planning the day he has ahead of him. We aren’t given too many clues about why he is about to commit multiple murders although he hints that his wife will understand exactly why he’s about to do what he does. To be inside the head of a killer as he justifies to himself who he will let live was deeply disturbing as the reason for his future crime floats around his head.

Cassie was a likeable character who made some questionable decisions due to her nativity and the fact that she obviously wasn’t a great judge of character, as seen when her past is revealed! But she is struggling, her father long gone and her mother now disappearing into her own mind due to her Alzheimer’s so returning to the scene of the crime at a time when the country’s spotlight is focused on her home town was a difficult time for her. She also has other personal dilemmas to face so the fact that it looks like her own mother has been keeping secrets from her seems to tip her over the edge!

The Anniversary is a gripping read, full of twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. I think this is Laura Marshalls best book so far and it’s certainly my favourite of the three she has written. It grabbed my attention from that very first introduction to Travis Green and I couldn’t put it down until I had discovered the real truth about this horrible crime. A book that made me question everything that I was being told in a storyline that seemed far more likely that I would ever want to believe. A brilliant read!

Wow! This book was truly chilling! I absolutely loved the storyline and liked how there were chapters from each of the victims' perspective. Laura Marshall has a fantastic style of writing and knows how to keep a reader wanting more!
Thank you to Laura Marshall, NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Harrowing Secrets…
Dark, destructive and traumatic events give way to harrowing and emotionally charged secrets in this tense and twisted suspense. Gripping from the off through to last page and not as predictable as you may at first think.

The Anniversary is the latest psychological thriller from bestseller Laura Marshall about the earth-shattering impact of a mass shooting in a small British town and the trauma that still lingers almost three decades later. It has been twenty-five years since local man Travis Green raged through the small town of Hartstead on a mass rampage, shooting eleven people dead, seemingly at random, who happened to be on the usually safe streets. Cassie Coleman was only four when he gunned down his very last victim - the father she had never known - before he took the cowards way out and shot himself, too. Four-year-old Cassie witnessed her father Gary's slaughter alongside her mother, Sylvia, and naturally, their lives have never been the same since that tragic day. It is now swiftly approaching the anniversary of that fateful day that changed not only the Coleman's lives but those of so many other families as well as the town itself. Cassie has spent her life trying to escape her past, but she is forced to return home when her mother starts forgetting even the basic details of hers and is diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Struggling with a mother whose puzzle pieces are becoming muddled and memories becoming increasingly faded and now a young mum to baby Amy herself, she decides to let the imminent date pass by and mourn it silently.

Then a strange discovery amongst her mother's possessions calls into question everything Cassie thought she knew about the eleven murders all those years ago. And on her quest for answers, Cassie realises the past is a complicated thing. Some can't remember, some don't want to. And some will do anything to ensure it stays buried. Cassie, desperate to know the truth about an incident that had so much impact on her life, teams up with journalist Alison Patchett to get to the bottom of what precipitated the mass murder on 15 June 1994. This is a compulsive and enthralling thriller with an intriguing mystery at its centre and unsettling secrets many people will do anything to keep concealed. It's a clever, slow-burn novel with plenty of drama, twists and family friction and the well-written narrative is shot through with the dead’s backstories. The story slips seamlessly between 1994 and 2019 and features two sides: the domestic drama and the past traumatic incident, both of which are equally interesting and relevant to one another. Cassie is a realistic and likeable protagonist who only wants to know the truth about what happened to her father all those years ago and she has a right to know after the suffering she has endured because of his merciless murder. It is a tense and shocking portrayal of the impact trauma and horrific tragedy can have on the people and places involved. Highly recommended.

✨The anniversary✨

6th June 1994 and Travis Green is a killer, 11 people die, Cassie only 4 years old is one of only the few survivors in the small town shoring. 25 years later and she is in her home town to look after her mum due to her illness. However when a reporter starts sniffing around, Cassie finds some strange things in her mother’s possessions, is the story they told 25 years ago true? Or are there secrets to be revealed?

This story had many twists and turns and I throughly recommend to those who enjoy a crime thriller.

Thankyou @netgalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review

When a small town is rocked by a local man going on a gun rampage through the streets, everyone’s lives are changed forever.

For Cassie Colman the memory is mainly of what she has read and been told, as she was only 4 years old when her Dad was gunned down. Now, twenty five years later she returns to her home town to care for her Mum and suddenly the memories are being brought to the forefront when a local journalist starts asking questions.

Whilst looking through her mother’s belongings she finds something that changes everything she thought she believed about the shooting all those years ago. Can she trust the local journalist to help her find the truth ? Can they really work together or will Cassie be betrayed ?

This is a great thriller mystery with plenty of twists to keep you hooked. As well as discovering the truth about what happened in the present we also get snippets of each of the individuals that were killed in the shooting, on the actual day of the shooting. I really loved Cassie and i truly felt for her with all the struggles she faced, but I think that all adds to the story. Definitely a bestseller !!

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.