I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love that Netgalley has given me the opportunity to read different genres

Thrillers are not my usual fare but wow this was fantastic

This was tense, pacy, loads of twists and turns. I read this is one sitting - its that good
Some thrillers have plots that a pretty predictable and formulaic

This was neither, kept me on the edge all the way through, mostly I think because the plot was very credible which made it even more scary

It takes a lot for me give 5 stars but this absolutely deserves it

A cracking read

All her Fault by Andrea Mara was brilliant. Tense, horrifying and with many red herrings and twists. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day. Great characterisation and a pacy plot line that never falters, this was well written and credible. The unthinkable, where your child isn’t where you thought they were and you discover how much information people have about you and your lifestyle through others and social media gives real pause for thought. Marissa and Jenny allow us to see this unfolding horror through different perspectives and the ending was not what I expected. Top marks to Andrea for a first class read Four and a half stars

4-5 stars.

Well that was bonkers! Marissa Irvine, mother of four year old Milo, arrives to pick him up from a play date to find the resident at the given address, Esther, doesn’t know her son at all. Esther kindly swings into action and helps Marissa and they phone around but - Milo is not to be found. Well - that is every parent’s worst nightmare.

Milo was supposed to be at Jenny’s house playing with her son Jacob but Jacob is at another house altogether. Panic sets in. Marissa and husband Peter call the police and eventually they learn, from the teacher at the school who supervises the pickups, that Milo left with a woman that he seemed to know. What? It is not long before that woman is identified as Carrie Finch - Jenny’s live in nanny who is, of course, not to be found.

The Irvines, who are quite well off await a ransom demand that never comes and Marissa’s anguish is palpable. Jenny is feeling guilty as it is her nanny who is to blame and the local gossip mongers are vicious in their assessment that Jenny didn’t do her due diligence in choosing this nanny even though she did. Jenny does what she can to help the Irvines to assuage her feelings of guilt but there is no progress.

And then the fun really begins! Red herrings and misdirection made it very hard to pick this one. I had my suspicions and, while some of them were right, many weren’t. These characters had many layers and the landscape changed with each new revelation. Nothing was as it seemed and many characters were hiding, or at least not revealing, their true selves. I loved the ‘evil’ mother-in-law, I know it’s a cliche but it was also delicious! Towards the end the twists came thick and fast but in this case I don’t think it was overdone. Clever plotting by the author made this domestic thriller well worth a read. Thanks to Netgalley for my free copy, I am providing this review voluntarily.

This was a tense read because of its sensitive nature (missing child). The story was told using different point of views, which was very refreshing, and I kept turning the page wanting to know what was goind to happen. The ending was shocking but satisfying!!! Thank you for my ARC.

Marissa Irvine goes to pick up her son Milo from playdate but the woman who answers the door isn't anyone she recognises, she isn't the Nanny & her son isn't there. This is the start of her nightmare.

I loved this book! Fast paced, you think you've cracked it but no, another twist appears.

This is the first book I've read by @andreamaraauthor & it definitely didn't disappoint.

Thanks to @netgalley & @transworldbooks for giving me this advance copy. Out to buy on 22nd July.

5🌟

It is every parents nightmare to have their child missing and when the main character thinks their child is safely at a friends playing its even more of a shock when she turns up to find that the address he is supposed to be at doesn't even have any idea that he is supposed to be there or even belong to his playmates parents.
I really enjoyed this book and it keeps you guessing throughout. I really warmed to the characters and found the plot enough to keep me interested and want to carry on to the next chapter. Hence I read this very quick, always a good sign.
It has a twist at the end that I would never have guessed and a few other twists throughout the story line. I would highly recommend this book.

All Her Fault is a novel that throws you straight in at the deep end as Marissa experiences every parent’s worst nightmare. She arrives at the house of one of her son's school friends to pick up Milo, only to find that he isn't there, it's the address of a total stranger, and that Jenny who supposedly set up the play date isn't even aware of it. It’s clear the Marissa has been tricked, but by whom and for what reason isn’t immediately apparent. You really feel for her as her initial panic – time in which she still believes there’s been an honest mix up – soon gives way to an all-consuming fear as the minutes in which Milo's whereabouts are unknown turn into hours and the Gardaí are called to investigate. I had questions as to how and why this could have happened, but I couldn’t help for feel for Marissa and her husband who are devastated by their son’s disappearance.

Reading quite a lot in this genre, I usually have a reasonable idea of what to expect from this kind of novel. It's always a pleasant surprise then to come across a novel that has something a little different to offer the reader. All Her Fault is one such novel. It starts with a missing child but goes in some unusual directions that I wasn't expecting. It’s wonderfully complicated, with plenty of potential suspects and motives and it’s one of those novels where I suspected pretty much everyone at some point. The reveals are done brilliantly, giving enough information to the reader to keep them engaged but without giving away too much too soon.

It's told from three perspectives. Through Marissa, we see the terror of a parent whose child has gone missing. There’s the desperation for any hint of news – always hoping for the best and fearing the worst simultaneously. Interestingly, we don’t get the perspective of the Gardaí directly, but we see the progress of their investigation through Marissa. Her point of view also highlights the sheer effort required to keep going in such circumstances. The second perspective is that of Jenny – mother of Jacob, the boy that Marissa believed her son was on a play date with. While the circumstances cast suspicion on Jenny, she is quickly vindicated, and Marissa and Jenny begin to bond. It’s clear that Jenny feels guilty, despite not being at fault, and she’s one of the few mums to help Marissa out, distributing flyers etc. and doing whatever she can to assist. The third perspective is that of Irene. It would be a spoiler to say how she is involved, but she is rather different to both Marissa and Jenny. I don't want to say too much, but she is immediately unlikeable – she comes across as a selfish individual who is out for whatever she can get and with little consideration for anyone other than herself.

One thing that this novel does really well is looking at how others perceive such an event. In All Her Fault, this comes from the parents at the school gate, who are very quick to point the finger and assign blame even where there is none. There’s a sense of irony, and the saying “there but for the grace of god” springs to mind while reading this. This could have happened to any one of those parents, however much they’d deny it, and yet there’s a clear sense of schadenfreude as they get to experience the drama, but one step removed.

All Her Fault is a brilliant and complex take on the missing child scenario, and a novel that offers the reader something a little different. Original and gripping, I highly recommend this.

Oh this was really good! I felt the terror and fear of Marissa whose child had gone missing while on a supposed playdate. Most of the characters were pretty horrible and narcissistic which left the reader wondering who would have the motive to steal a child. The outcome totally blew me away as I had no idea the direction the story was going in! My only slight criticism was it all got a bit convoluted, I had to reread the last few chapters to confirm who did what and why!

All Her Fault is about Marissa, a mom whose kid goes to a playdate but, when she goes to the dress to pick him up, he is not there. Soon, Marissa starts de search for his missing child and for answers, both in the case, her job and personal life.

I enjoyed this book! It was a medium paced story and I liked that there were different parts to the story. You first have the part where Milo is missing and we are learning about the search for this 4 year old boy and then we have the part where he is found and we learn about the investigation. I really liked the plot twists at the end as I don't think they are predictable.

However, I feel like the story was dragged on too much. The four POV's felt like too much and there is a lot of information we get, especially from Irene's and Jenny's POV that is not relevant. Also, I think the way all the 4 yo kids talked and behaved was a little too uncharacteristic. From my personal experience, kids that age don't speak and act that mature. In the very ending, there could be identification of who's talking when the author does one paragraph for each character.

Overall, I thought this was a good book and I would rate it 4/5 stars.

*This is an ARC. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this title. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I found All Her Fault to be a gripping thriller that was impossible to put down. I was hooked from the first page and devoured the twists and turns eager to see how the plot turned out. A fantastic five star read and I’m eager to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and the author for the chance to review.

Oh my gooodness this book started out amazing and just didn’t stop! I loved the writing so much and the twists and turns. Will definitely be picking up more by this author in the future!

Melissa Irvine is a successful lawyer with her own practice in Dublin together with an old college friend, Colin. She is married to an investment Manager with their four year old son, Milo and his live in nanny, Anna. They live in a big house and seem to have the perfect life. This life falls apart when Melissa goes to pick up Milo from his first playdate to find out she has been given a wrong address.

As the investigation continues, they are shocked to discover it is another childs nanny that has taken Milo but they have no idea why, particularly as there is no ransom demand. You start to relate to each character quite early on in the book but as the story unfolds, secrets are revealed and you start to realise that not everybody is who they first seem.

This is every parents worst nightmare - your child being taken by somebody you knew and trusted. The characters, and fears are instantly believable to anybody that has been involved with school runs and play dates.

A brilliant and gripping book

This an addictive thriller that toys with one of parents’ most dreaded nightmares, the fear of having one’s child abducted -- what’s worse by someone you deeply trust. Marissa, married to a successful investment manager, is a successful solicitor who shares the practice with her sheepish-looking former course mate Colin. They live in a magnificent residence in an affluent Dublin suburb and have a four-year-old who is just starting infant school. Imagine collecting at his very first playdate but it turns out you have been given a false address.

Set in affluent South Dublin, it will keep you on your toes from page one till the very last page in an impressive series of twists and turns. The novel is carefully plotted and everyone seems to have a share of guilt, a hidden side, or a possible motive: we find mothers guilty of having a career (if they are affluent they are double guilty) and of having a nanny, if foreign even worse; we have lonely au pairs eager for connection who talk too much and solitary men who live eternally in the shadow of someone else; we have the privileged who can get away with anything and those who always hide from the police no matter what because they are taught they will always pay.

The cast is quite large, which can cause frustration. In several cases the psychological portraits are complex, sympathetic and interesting (in particular the working mothers or the nannies), and the novel manages to comment on class, perceptions of motherhood and working mothers and racist attitudes in an interesting way. Unfortunately, not all characters are portrayed with the same depth and at times a few of them resembled caricatures or seemed cliched. In addition, Like probably all readers, I didn't see what was coming at the end: this is positive, even if for me the denoument and the surprise ending required some suspension of disbelief.

Nevertheless, this is a thriller with very good tension that can keep readers guessing from start to finish and certainly a worthy, enjoyable read.
3.5 stars
I am grateful to the publisher for an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

This story gripped me from the start. It seems to start off ordinarily enough. A mother,
Marissa, goes to pick up her son from a play date. But when she gets there, her son isn’t there and this begins a twisting, turning tale, full of characters that are not always what they seem.
As a mother, who has dropped her own children off, at many play dates, I could empathise with Marissa completely.
This is an excellent domestic thriller and one I’d highly recommend.

allherfault #netgalley
All Her Fault by Andrea Mara
Every parent's worst nightmare - Marissa goes to pick up her son from a playdate at his new friend's house, only to be told that that she has the wrong house. The confusion continues, until it becomes clear that another parent's nanny has taken him. The story continues to unfold, until it is clear that no one is quite what they seem at first glance.

Really enjoyed this- it kept you interested until the last page, with instantly recognisable characters from the school playground and local community.

Really enjoyed this book, a proper page turner! There was one point in the book when something happens (won't say what as don't want to spoil it) that I wondered if there was any point in carrying on because I thought the rest of the book would be boring now, but how wrong was I ?! Just a brilliant book with believable characters cannot wait to read Andrea's next one.

A missing child is at the centre of this story. After dropping Milo off at the play date Marissa returns later to find a different woman and no children present.

The ultimate fear for parents is told well but doesn’t break any different ground from similar novels

Wow! This book was incredible! From the moment I started reading, I could not put it down! 5 stars!
The storyline is nerve-wrecking, chilling and has the reader on edge. There are so many brilliant characters who all have their own secrets and motives. This story is full of twists and turns right to the end!
Andrea Mara has an excellent style of writing and I loved how this book was written. Even though there were a lot of characters and twists, it was still easy to keep up with the story and I didn't feel lost or confused.
Everything is tied up by the end of the book and you aren't left wondering about different characters. I would highly recommend this book if you love mystery, drama and thrills!
Thank you to Andrea Mara, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This domestic thriller is incredibly well written with constant twists and turns, i genuinely was surprised by most of the twists which were all believable and not too outlandish. Nothing is as it seems which makes this a very engrossing read. Really, really good read.

A spicy, twisty thriller that kept me turning pages and also awake at night. I can only imagine the stomach-churning that you'd feel if you were reading this as a parent - utterly terrifying. It's really well paced which is the most important thing in a thriller, really! I still have some pages to go in this but I cannot wait to get to the end. I will be keeping an eye out for more of Mara's stuff as this book really impressed me!