It took me a while to get into this book and it did pick up pace at the end but it was not for me. I didn't like the chapters that were Jenny's POV and the way it was written and I know it was because she is only 14 but I couldn't get on with it. Just not for me I'm afraid.

Some readers might find this book to be a slow-read - or even quite challenging due to the narrators and structure of the book. However, others will definitely enjoy it and find it totally gripping.

Super taut and tense thriller based around an interview between a Garda and a teenager who is both a victim and possibly a perpetrator.. Enjoyed this page turner, which was written from an unusual angle.,

Took a while to get in to this book. Found the storyline to it interesting but didn't feel the writing executed it will. It became a bit too wordy, over describing of things and at times very slow in pace.

I like the idea of the book; the whole story takes place throughout an interview. What I struggled with was the unreliable narrator (there are three). I think it’s a book not to read before bed as you need to think a bit or maybe I’m just super tired at night.

Thanks @netgalley

Absolutely loved this book - it completely kept me engrossed throughout - the storyline is addictive and you want to know more. The connection between the interviewer and the person being interviewed Kept you engaged throughout …. Would definitely recommend and am looking forward to reading more from this author

This novel had me flailing around in the dark for so long. The story is written in three perspectives. The two gardai who are interviewing a teenage victim/witness and the teenager herself.
The interviews are designed to pave the way into her story and allow other detectives to get on with compiling evidence.
The story uses imagery from folk tales and whilst helpful, these also muddy the waters in deciphering the story. What is real and what is imagined? Do we have an unreliable narrator here?
ThIs psychological thriller is enthralling, engaging and confusing. In the early stages I wasn’t sure if it was brilliant edge of the seat writing, or overdone melodrama. I decided on a well constructed and believable (from my amateur perspective) tale of what trauma can do.
There are plenty of triggers here for victims of domestic or sexual abuse, so be warned, but ultimately I found it a cry in support of the resilience of women!
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to all concerned for the opportunity to read this and these views are entirely my own. Totally uninfluenced by this opportunity.

I struggled with this one. The storyline was ok but I struggled to connect with any of the characters which didn’t help. I did finish the book, but am unsure to whether I liked it or not. I am certain that there will be other readers who will really enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me I’m afraid.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A heartbreaking and horrifying story, The Interview by Gill Perdue was a harrowing emotional journey.
The POVs of Laura, Jenny and Niamh were brilliantly structured and their stories were slowly and painfully unfolded with brilliant timing and precision.
The stand out in this book is Jenny's account. To have constructed this plot, the inner workings of Jenny's broken heart and mind and weave it so beautifully into a story within a story is a real talent.
The questioning from Laura with Niamh's back up was brilliant and must've taken a lot of research and planning to construct in a true manner.
This is an incredibly heartbreaking but brilliant book and I really would recommend it, despite its heavy and heartbreaking content. Potential readers should definitely check out the content warnings before reading this book.
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Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Gill Perdue for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic debut nove from Gill Perdue that gripped me right from the start.
With three main narrators the story gradually unfolds and the reader learns more about teenager Jenny and what has happened to put her in a psych unit and her mother and brother in intensive care. Gardai Laura is in charge of interviewing Jenny, and somehow she has to gain the teenager's trust. The clock is ticking and Jenny's step-dad is still missing, and Jenny is the only one who might hold the key to finding him.
The third player in the interview is Gardia Niamh. Warm, caring, sporty, she might be Laura's junior but as the book goes on she is the person who is keeping the interview on track as both Jenny and Laura unravel.
This is a book that will have you reading right to the end.

Sadly, I was unable to finish this book. I just couldn't get into it, and it breaks my heart to write a bad review of someone's hard work.
However, the style of writing is really good and fast paced, but couldn't find the characters relatable and I was unable to engage with them.
Sorry!

This is a slow-burner but well worth sticking with. Detective Laura Shaw prides herself on being one of the top interviewers and, at a time when things aren’t going well in her personal life, she faces one of the toughest interviews of her career.

Jenny is a complex character and it takes all of Laura’s energy and will to break down the barriers and get to the bottom of her story. Full of twists, turns and exceptional characters, The Interview had me hooked to the very end.

A psychological thriller with a hard hitting abuse thread running through it. Although a difficult subject to read it was covered sympathetically, Jenny is found covered in blood and in a psychotic state, her mother and younger brother are also badly injured and are in hospital, Stuart, Jenny's stepfather is missing.
Specialist interviewers Laura and Naimh are trying to find out whether Jenny is a victim or suspect.
I read this book in one sitting it was told from different views of the characters involved with background stories interwoven. I found it to be compelling and wanted to know more about the characters and what had happened.
This book was an advanced reviewers copy from NetGallery for an honest review

I really wanted to like this book, but I’m afraid to say I didn’t. The premise sounded right up my street as well.
Detective Laura Shaw is given a brand-new case, 14-year-old Jenny, who has been found covered in blood; her step-father is missing and the only story she will tell, is one of a fairy-tale. However, that’s okay, because Laura is the team’s top interviewer, and a whizz at getting people to open up. However, this particular case triggers something in Laura and her behaviour also starts to change. Can she maintain her professionalism or will this case tip her over the edge?

I struggled to engage in the narrative from the beginning; I just found it really slow and very, very repetitive. I found the characters unlikeable and irritating, and I felt that the voice of Jenny wasn’t age appropriate either; she was supposed to be 14 but seemed either much younger or much older. As well as this, we were told as readers, that Laura is really competent and a successful detective, but she’s actually cold, unprofessional and incompetent. As a reader, I could tell that Laura wasn’t in any emotional position to be doing her job, which made it frustrating that she was allowed to continue and it wasn’t addressed by any of the other characters. I just wish things could have been more realistic and believable.

The pace of the plot was tedious, and I felt like I was reading the same pages over and over again (Jenny literally repeats the same lines over and over) because nothing happened. Then predictably, all the action was crammed into the last few pages.

To be honest, I just couldn’t wait for it to end.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, though it was a bit slow to get going. I found Jenny’s way of speaking quite grating and the constant ‘dumb bitch’ was definitely overdone.

It picked up when we started to learn more about Laura’s back story and overall was an enjoyable read, but a little slow paced for me.

This is at times a tense, rather dark tale where sometimes you wonder who is the victim and who is the cleverest with answers or questions. Jenny is vulnerable but knows how to play the game- whatever game is set before her. Laura is the specialist victim interviewer (along with Niamh) but as the interview goes on roles become grey areas. This is brilliantly written and had me gripped to the finale.

Gill Perdue certainly makes her mark in this harrowing Irish psychological thriller that revolves around the unsettling dynamics of a emotionally charged interview. Found in the streets, 14 year old Jenny is covered in blood, not hers, although her body shows signs of older injuries, so much blood that lends an urgency to the proceedings that follow and she is in a adult psychiatric ward. Jenny's mother and brother, were in a crash, are unconscious and have sustained serious injuries, and the stepfather, Stuart, is missing. Conducting the interview is a specialist victim's trained detective, the married Laura Shaw, with a young daughter, and her colleague, Niamh, who becomes increasingly concerned as she tries to keep proceedings on track when the interview threatens to become derailed.

Laura's own troubling buried personal history and secrets begins to emerge and unravel as she begins to identify with a locked in Alice who communicates only through the grimmest of realities and horrors through fairytales and Irish folklore. The perspectives of Alice and Laura hold centre stage, along with that of Niamh, in this most chilling and disturbingly upsetting of narratives, as revelations come, where we learn of Alice's life and family. The characterisations are distinct and done well in a thriller that is loaded with intense levels of tension and suspense, and a heartbreaking social commentary on the ills that plague our world. This is a a compelling, tough and brutal read of damaged and traumatised characters, of abuse, physical and sexual, that will not be for everyone, but one which I recommend. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I loved the switching between the characters to find out what exactly happened to the 14 year old, wandering the streets, covered in blood. Detectives Laura and Niamh have to somehow navigate interviewing Jenny, who is sometimes mute, to try and solve the mystery. I really enjoyed Jenny's chapters and seeing how she would respond to the police's questions, if she could talk (all the time). A realistic view of how trauma can effect us all - both police and those who may be victims or perpetrators of crime. I found this a bit tricky to get into but still enjoyed.

Not my cup of tea. Took ages to get going, plenty of surprises ,but characters did not draw me in or interest me.

I was looking forward to reading this book.
I love psycholigical crime thrillers
Unfortunately, this one left me cold.
Not much happens in the first half of the book. There is no character development, other than the characters really started to get on my nerves.
It's like an endless spiral of one character observing the other.
The main investigator seems immature beyond belief (sure, something happened to her, but that doesnt quite justify her immaturity).
The teenage girl (victim or perpetrator?) is annoying. Her vocal staple 'Dumb bitch' is overused and become very tedious very fast.

What I like: Multiple POVs (three) where each character has a unique voice.
The story was good, but it could have been handled better. I would have liked more twists. A tad more of he unexpected.
This could have been a stellar read. Unfortunately, it started to take off too late.
And then it was over...
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.