Another belter of a roller coaster ride from Louise Candlish, a very cleverly woven story about families, love and revenge. So many twists and turns, such an unsettling and yet compelling story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and Louise Candlish for the advanced copy.

Louise Candlish has done it again! You can really tell this is one of Louise's by her distinctive writing style - and the multitude of twists!
Excellent, as always.

A great suspenseful domestic thriller, The Heights keeps you guessing and suspecting for its whole duration.
What I really liked about this book is that you don't know what to believe, or who to believe to. Who is the reliable character here (if there is one at all)? Is it Ellen Saint? The bereaved mother who wants revenge for her son's Lucas death, Or is it her ex Vic, who is also Lucas's father? Who is telling the truth, or has, at least, an unbiased point of view?
And what about Lucas? Is he actually the good boy her mother thinks he is? And Kieran? His "killer", is he as bad as he is depicted by Ellen? Or there's somenthing more about both of them that we're not told?
Oh, so many questions! And they all get satisfactorily answered to as you keep reading, but mostly towards the very end, which makes for a breathtaking ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Heights’ is the latest book by Louise Candlish.

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Tower Bridge, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him. Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.

It’s fair to say that Louise Candlish is doing well, ‘The Other Passenger’ is number 2 in the Canadian book charts and the cast has been revealed for her award winning bestseller ‘Our House’ and what a cast it is!

She is back with ‘The Heights’ a dizzy and thrilling story about obsession and the strength of a mothers love.

Like Louise’s previous novels, the story begins at the key moment that something happens before working back to the moment that lead up to it.

The story is seen through the narrative of Ellen and her ex-husband Vic, who’s lives are turned upside down when their son befriends a boy called Kieran Watts, a bad influence who distracts Lucas from his family and studies. Both Ellen and Vic think Kieran has disappeared and are relieved for him to be finally gone only for him to reappear and Ellen begins to question her own sanity.

Right from the start, this book is a compelling read that had me gripped from start to finish. Ellen is a fascinating character, an equal measure of likeable and dislikable in her mothering traits that can be seen as possessive and not just looking out for her children. As the story processes, we begin to question her sanity and also her reliability after all she’s been through. Her dislike for Kieran leaps from the pages, as she tries to keep her son safe and under her wing.

The dual narrative in the story is a great addition as it gives the reader another insight into the situation and Vic adds a bit of stability to the story whenever things get too much for Ellen.

The story is cleverly crafted with fascinating and flawed characters that make for unsettling but compelling reading and in true Louise Candlish style, nothing is ever what it seems in her latest psychological thriller.

A story about fears, love and revenge, ‘The Heights’ is a wonderfully powerful story that made for dizzying reading with a gripping plot that will keep the reader right on the edge of their seat throughout.

I really enjoyed this. I found it well paced and easy to read. I found Ellen to be a slightly unhinged and annoying character, but ultimately she became someone I loved to hate. This book is different to your average thriller, making it really interesting. It certainly feels more of a domestic drama in parts; tense but steady.
I did guess some of the ‘big reveal’ a little early on, but it did not spoil my enjoyment of the story leading up to it, and the ultimate showdown. The finishing chapters were really well done. My favourite Candlish read to date. I would certainly recommend this one.

A dark, slow and melancholic drama about bereavement and revenge

The premise for this sounded so good to me, and the opening was exciting, reeling me in! But that was where my excitement faded.. This was an overlong and slow moving book, which took me a week to read! I found it easy enough to read, but it had no real drama, tension or suspense 😢

I liked the setting, I could really visualise 'The Heights' building by the river in London. I also liked the way the phobia Ellen had was described. High Place Phenomenon, a sudden urge to jump when in a high place, was written in a terrifying and dizzying way, which made me feel quite sick!

However, the main characters were just so unlikeable, and I felt little connection with them. Ellen particularly put me off. I expected to empathise with her as she was angry and grieving, but she was just so filled with hate, bitterness and prejudice. I didn’t like her at all, her pov brought me down, it wasn't a nice experience to be in her head, to be in her world. I also didn't feel like I got to know other characters well enough.

Unfortunately, I saw most of the twists coming, except the final one, which did get me!

I seem to be the minority so far, so I will be interested to see what others think, once this is widely available.
Louise Candlish has a huge fan base, and I own The Other Passenger which I still plan to read.

If you're looking for a slow burning story about retribution, then give this one a go!

I love a slow burning psychological thriller where the truth is gradually revealed and this is one of the best.

At the start of the book the reader is told that Ellen, mother of nineteen year old Lucas has supposedly killed his friend Kieran. Something had gone wrong however because two years later Ellen sees Kieran on the top of a lavish new apartment block called 'The Heights.'

At the beginning of the story I had so many questions. What happened to Ellen's son Lucas? What did Kieran do to make Ellen want to kill him? If Ellen killed Kieran, how can he still be alive?

The story is told from Ellen's perspective as well as from her ex-Husband Vic (Lucas' dad.) Some parts are written in the present but it also takes the reader back to when Kieran first came into their lives (when he joined the same school as Lucas and they became friends.)

I loved the characters in the book and it was interesting to read from Ellen's viewpoint. Although I despised him, it would have been interesting to have some of the story written by Kieran to find out more from his perspective in the story.

Overall a brilliantly twisty thriller demonstrating what an obsessive mother will do to protect her children that is tense and gripping throughout. The reader has to decide whether Ellen is acting rationally and what they would do in the same situation! What would you do to protect your child? Would you seek retribution if your own child was hurt?

This is the first book I've read by this author so I'm excited to go back and read all her other books now. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this eARC in return for an honest review.

3,5* rounded to 4
i loved The Other Passenger and found it griping and highly entertaining. I'm not a fan of this one.
Ms Candish is a talented storyteller and I found the story entertaining but i couldn't care for the characters.
The plot starts with a bang but it reminded me of a cake that contains all the right elements but failed to rise.
The twists were a bit predictable and the tension seemed lacking.
I think that it will be appreciated by plenty of people and it's probably one of those "it's me not the book case"
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book is written from different perspectives in a very engaging manner. The story is mainly told by Ellen Saint who has two children, Lucas by her ex-husband, Vic and Freya by her current husband, Justin.

Lucas has been asked by his school to buddy Kieran Watts, a young man who comes from a troubled background. Lucas and Kieran soon become firm friends. Ellen soon sees that Kieran is a bad influence on her son and although she initially embraces their friendship, she soon bans him from the family home and does what she can to separate the friends. Lucas starts skipping school, taking drugs, and generally going off the rails. Soon Lucas and Kieran’s behaviour results in the inevitable tragedy, which compels Ellen to take revenge.

Moving forward several years, Ellen can’t believe her eyes when she sees Kieran. He is doing very well for himself and living in a smart part of London, in a rooftop apartment. This in itself poses an issue for Ellen, who is desperate to find out more about Kieran, as she has a phobia of heights. Kieran is not the young lad Ellen previously encountered, having changed his name and appearance. This fuels Ellen’s obsession to seek revenge on the young man who brought tragedy to her life.

For me, this book could have been deeper and much more enthralling. I would have liked to have learnt more about all the characters in the book, such as Justin and Freya, who seemed to almost be forgotten as the story unfolds. Although the plot was unbelievable it did have a few twists and overall, I did enjoy reading it.

One thing I have come to expect from a Louise Candlish book is that I will continually be shocked until the last possible moment and I run out of pages, and there was no exception here.

I was enthralled and hooked by the opening chapter, where is there is confession of sorts and seeing the events leading up to that point, were incredibly gripping.

I was hooked on this book, and really wasn't sure what to think a lot of the time, just knew I needed to read more pages to find out what would happen next.

I'm unsure what I would do in Ellen Saint's position but I'd like to think I wouldn't react as strongly as she did. But you never know!

Another just wonderfully addictive story that I can't say much about purely as anything I would say is potentially a spoiler. Rest assured that if you already know you love this author that you are in for a treat, as you are if anything about this book is calling to you to read it!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

Yet another brilliant psychological thriller from the excellent Louise Candlish. Once again she grabs our attention from the outset and the tension is unremitting! The characters are beautifully drawn, the writing is exemplary and the plot is full of twists, turns and stunning revelations. I loved it!

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Tower Bridge, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.
Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.
Because you’re the one who killed him. It’s time to confess what we did up there.

———————————————————————

Thank you to the publishers for my copy of this book.

This book is very slow burning. We are introduced to Ellen, Justin and Vic, parent and step parent who seem to be at the end of their wits with their son Lucas

There was so much tension in the book as the storyline unfolded and the reader was treated to more information.

I sympathised with Ellen on so many levels

I physically hated Lucas and Kieran. They reminded me of everything I hated whilst I was at school and brought up memories

The book is a revenge thriller, with a great storyline plot

I have been reading Louise Candlish’s novels for a few years now, since I first read Our House, and every time she manages to make it impossible to put the book down and to make me gasp in surprise with her twisty and shocking endings. The Heights is her latest gripping novel and, once again, I found myself completely engrossed in the story, the characters, and the twists.

The protagonist of The Heights is Ellen Saint, a mother, a wife, and a woman with a big secret. A few years ago, Kieran Watts entered her life leading to a series of events and choices that changed her life and that of her family. She thought she had got rid of Kieran once and for all, but then she sees him again, on top of The Heights, the new apartment building on Shad Thames, and the nightmare begins again.

One of the things that I love about Louise Candlish’s novels is that she creates characters that are multi-layered and well-developed, but also unlikable and unreliable, although, at times, I also feel a bit of pity and sympathy for them. Ellen Saint is one of these characters. When she first meets Kieran, she instantly dislikes him and she doesn’t trust him. However, we only see Kieran through Ellen’s eyes, through her narrative of the events, so I couldn’t help wondering: is Kieran really dangerous and reckless as Ellen claims or is she simply an overprotective and over-worried mother?

The Heights is a gripping and intense story of revenge and obsession, a story of family drama, grief, and secrets. The suspense and the tension will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first to the last page and the twists will keep you guessing until the very last line. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fantastic family drama with the theme of teenage trauma, revenge and forgiveness. I loved the family dynamics going on and the relationship between Ellen and Vic was very well written. I also liked the way the story switches from different points of view giving the perspective from different viewpoints, I always find this adds to the depth of the story.
It did drag slightly in the first half I felt, once the perspectives had changed I felt the story progressed more quickly. Being scared of heights myself I could feel a lot of empathy for Ellen! Louise Candlish certainly knows how to write a gripping thriller which certainly kept me reading, I would definitely recommend this book.

Ellen Saint manages her patchwork family really well – she’s living with her husband Justin, their daughter Freya and Lucas, Ellen’s son from her first relationship with Vic, who lives nearby. Lucas is a brilliant young man, a sixth former, doing really well at school – until he meets Kieran Watts. Kieran is new, living in a foster home, and is matched by the school with Lucas to be his buddy. They quickly become really good friends, also outside school. But Ellen is not happy – she doesn’t like Kieran, she feels he’s a bad influence. And actually, well, it’s true, right? Lucas begins to neglect school, ignoring his parents, partying and taking drugs. Is this a behaviour of normal teenager, or is this Kieran’s influence? But then the tragic accident happens and Ellen is obsessed with getting her revenge. And then, five years later, she sees Kieran again, in a penthouse on top of „The Heights“, a luxury apartment building. How come? When she herself set her hand to his disappearance?

The book is told in different points of view. Part 1 is mainly told by Ellen and we learn how it „all“ started. This „all“ is a tragedy that the family suffered and what has led to it – a random friendship between her son Lucas and a new pupil at his school, Kieran Watts. Kieran was supposed to be dead, so when Ellen spots him on a roof terrace she’s in shock – how come, when she contributed to his death? Part 2 introduces us to Vic’s point of view, Lucas’s father and Ellen ex – partner. While actually Vic is on Ellen’s side, his narration sheds a bit different light on Ellen and her actions. Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? Who is hiding something? And then we are taken back to Ellen, telling us about the dramatic events of the present.

The characters were very well crafted. They were full of flaws, to be honest, but this is what makes them feel much more real. Ellen and Vic, as well as the background characters, were truly present, they were there like living and breathing people, showing their good and bad sides. Not sure now if I should confess it, but I was all the time team Ellen. I so understood her feelings and emotions, she was a lioness – mother who has followed her sixth sense and, it turned out, she was right. There was a whole fan of emotions and they were so brilliantly captured – unconditional love, hate, hope, hopelessness and the author took us by the hand and walked with us through every single one of them. The way Louise Candlish portrayed her main character seemed very authentic to me, her anxiety and uncertainty felt real and yes, I could empathise with Ellen and her concerns. Sure, you can’t justify her actions, but I also think you can’t absolutely condemn her and her movements.
What I missed a bit, though, was more of Kieran’s point of view. I had a feeling that I don’t know him good enough – he was introduced to us and immediately he was the bad one, the judged character. I had a feeling we are not allowed enough space to make our own mind about him but, on the other hand, to be absolutely honest, it suited me, I felt justified that I didn’t like him. Even though the other characters seemed to like Kieran – Justin, Freya and Lucas, they seemed to fall under his spell – I, however, couldn’t see or find his charm.

I love when the plots are not straightforward and make me think, and this was the case with „The Heights“. This is a slow burner, nevertheless there is so much tension in it and you feel that something really bad is going to happen and you can’t prevent this. While the story is not so fast paced, it still keeps you on your toes, with the dark and tense atmosphere encircling you and the plot keeps you guessing and plotting by yourself.

It was not only thought – provoking, but also provocative, presenting you with an ethical dilemma, making you examine your own thoughts and actions. A brillianty crafted and thought over story filled with tension. I loved it when the authors manage to blur the lines between truth and deception, when you actually cannot be sure where the facts lie and who is telling lies. It was gripping from start to finish, it was cleverly plotted and complex on so many levels. Addictive and compelling, it kept me awake at night – another gem from Lousie Candlish. Truly recommended!

Thank you to Books and the City and Simon and Schuester for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I loved Louise's previous books Our House and Those People so I was very excited when I heard about The Heights.

As is usual for Louise the characters are very realistic. Ellen, Vic Lucas, Justin and Freya are your average blended family. Ellen and Vic, parents to Lucas while Freya is the child of Ellen and Justin. All is well until Kieran comes along. I cannot decide if I like Ellen or not. She clearly loves her family and wants to keep them safe. However, there are times when she seemed I'm not even sure of the right word. Neurotic seems OTT but I'm not sure what else to call it.

Louise drip-feeds information so as to keep you perfectly on edge. I have to say the whole book made me edgy. I never knew which way the characters were going to turn. It was obvious that something terrible had happened but for a long time, it wasn't clear what.

I liked that the chapters flicked between the present and the past. I also liked the little clips from the newspaper article. I love things that break up the usual chapter 1, chapter 2 etc in a book. We also had multiple POVs which is something I love too.

The story is very twisty and as is Louise's style almost verging on the unbelievable but still within the realms of possibility. Louise has a way of making the outrageous seem plausible. Her characters a driven to the edge to where it's all they have left. I thoroughly enjoyed this chilling story and I cant wait to see what twisty story Louise brings next.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster UK and Louise Candlish for the ARC of The Heights.

First up, I am a big fan of Louise Candlish, having read and enjoyed other titles such as Our House and The Other Passenger, so I was really looking forward to reading this one.

Dark, obsessive and at times pretty sinister, The Heights tells the story of Mum Ellen, who's always wanted the best for her son Lucas. When Kieran, a teen with a troubled past starts at his school, things rapidly go downhill. Convinced he is bad news, Ellen does everything she can to keep them apart - until one fateful night when Lucas ends up dead - and Ellen holds Kieran responsible.

Years later, Ellen is being shown around by a client when she spots Kieran at the top of exclusive development The Heights. It can't be him can it?? Its not possible - It can't possibly be Kieran - she would know, because she killed him!

The first half of this book was a bit of a slow burn for me, lots of history, character building and back story, which at times lacked a bit of pace, but it ramped up considerably in the 2nd half, with part 3 in particular being packed full, of twists, reveals and revelations.

The Heights is a story of obsession, revenge and retribution which begs the question how far would you go to get justice for your child?

Another great read by Candlish, excited for what she does next!

I'm just in awe of how Louise Candlish crafts her novels. The writing style is just addictive and so so clever. I can't begin to image what the process of creating such tightly woven plot points is like. This novel just blew me away and I loved the different nature of the subject matter.

This book explores in depth the overwhelming love and sense of protection a mother feels for her children. The intensity of feelings that Ellen has for her children Freya and Lucas comes off every page. The pressure she feels is portrayed to the reader and so a sense of urgency and an intense pressure came over me whenever I picked the book back up. I love the idea of the thrill of this novel coming from a mother's love for her son and her despair when he veers from his planned path and away from his potential in life.

This book had so many twists and turns, I immediately read the first few chapters again after finishing the book because there were revelations along the way that I just didn't see coming and I wanted to know how they might have been hinted at right at the beginning. We also hav the trope of the unreliable narrator being turned on its head slightly. I haven't read anything else that makes use of that trope in quite as unconventional a way as this book and I was here for every minute of it.

I had so many theories about what was going to happen throughout the course of this novel that I had to talk to someone about my ideas and my thoughts as I was reading it. It is a unique books and I know you will also find yourself thinking about Ellen and her story when you're away from it. I loved the structure, I loved the pressure it put on me as a reader and I loved the way Ellen's story is portrayed in this book. I really loved it and highly recommend The Heights by Louise Candlish.

I really enjoyed this story and I did not expect the twist at the end. I couldn’t totally sympathise with the family but the mother’s behaviour was so obsessive