The Interview by Gill Perdue is a riveting, disturbing read. We are taken down a fairy tale rabbit hole by Jenny, the young girl at the centre of the police investigation, and quickly realise this young girl is very damaged. The storyline is complicated when Laura, the main investigator, identifies too closely and personally with this suspected victim. Jenny and Laura are great strong and complex characters but Niamh, Laura’s colleague (& also her subordinate) is the character who stands out for keeping things on track and recognising when to push, cut some slack and rigorously follow up! A brilliant riveting read Four stars

Gill Perdue's "The Interview" is haunting, engrossing and dark. I must admit that it took time for me to get used to Gill's writing style but as the pages turned, I couldn't put my iPad down. On paper Detective Laura Shaw has it all, a supportive husband and a beautiful daughter. However, Jenny is a victim of rape, abuse and trauma. With every successive interview with this 14-year-old, Laura's deep-rooted trauma comes to the surface. This book is an emotional symphony of Laura's and Jenny's past. It's about Laura confronting her past while deciphering what truly happened to Jenny. This book was insightful as it provided a psychological perspective on trauma and sheds light on the support victims receive. I found the ending of this book to be rushed and would have loved a little more time for things to come together. This read is not for the faint-hearted as it contains domestic abuse, rape, assault and animal death. A 4-star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narative of the book is essentially several interviews with a teenage girl, victim of repeated physical and sexual assaults and the attempts of the investigators to find out what happened to the perpetrator, her stepfather. The interviews are conducted by an unstable Victim support officer who has almost as many problems as the victim and is certainly incapable of conducting an interview that could legally lead to safe and viable evidence.

The whole is turgid and I really struggled to read this book. It completely lacks impetus and fails to build any real mystery. Having broken every rule of the Irish Garda our investigator is back in her job soon after. It felt unbelievable

A bit too much of a slow burner for me. I kept on going until the end but I didn't feel as invested in it as I usually do when I read a thriller.

I enjoyed this story, it was dark and intriguing. I look forward to more by this author.
14 year old Jenny Is found covered in blood, but it's not her own. Her stepfather is missing and her mother and little brother are in serious condition in the hospital.
It's up to special victims interviewer's Detective Laura Shaw and Niahm Darmody to try and get the truth from Jenny. The only problem is Jenny is only talking in fairy tales.

A gripping, hard hitting read. I was drawn in and intrigued by Jenny’s story from the start. The corresponding story of Laura gave this book another slant and another hook to keep you reading! Well written! A super read!

This one was a slow book for me, muddled along following the story. Didn't really like the cross over between the victim and the policewoman. Not enough empathy and too much self pity, crossed the line near the end, expect better.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

I found this a gripping and dark book. I couldn’t wait to finish this book to find out what happened and who did what to who. Very topical theme, really enjoyed it...very real and believable story
#TheInterviewBook #NetGalley.

I am sorry but I gave this book up at 45% as it didn’t seem to be going anywhere and I really didn’t like the characters or the over descriptions. As a reader the author has to bear in mind that we need to like at least one of the characters to be invested in the story and committed to continuing until the end. These two prerequisites weren’t achieved.

Is 14 year old Jenny a victim or has she committed a crime ? She was found covered in blood and her step-father is missing. Unfortunately for the police, she isn’t very communicative and they are left trying to fathom out what has happened.
The book was a bit slow in places but I’m glad I stuck with it.

This is a gritty thriller, quite disturbing in parts, set in Ireland, containing themes of sexual assault, Detective Laura Shaw has to crack the case of whether 14 year-old is a victim, suspect or both in a missing person case. This could be the start of a series for Detective Shaw. Personally I prefer to read about lighter themes but if you like your thrillers to be dark then you'll love this debut.

I read this book quite some time ago now but I’ve only just got around to uploading my review.

Police detective books are some of my favourite thrillers to read. I found this book very different to anything I’ve read before. It’s a very interesting concept of going between the reality and a fantasy and you as the read trying to work out the narrative.

The book is mainly by interview and told my the view point of two police officers and Niamh who may be the victim or suspect.

The detective Laura also has her own issues and background which influence her work. I found both story lines interesting. A lot of the book is the police trying to get Niamh to talk so it does drag on slightly.

Some of the events are quite distressing but are dealt with well. Make sure to check the trigger warnings. The style of writing was impressive for a debut.

I would rate this a solid 3.5 ⭐️

This book deals with dark subjects like domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and rape. It is set in Dublin and primarily tells the story of a teenager called Jenny who has been found covered in blood and is so traumatised that she won't speak about what has happened to her. She is sent to a psychiatric ward and two female detectives are assigned to help unravel what has happened . Both detectives, Laura and Niamh, are experts in their field and highly skilled in dealing with victims of crime. Laura has just returned from maternity leave and is finding things difficult, and this case seems to send her on a downward spiral as it reminds her of an incident that happened years previously where she was assaulted. She never spoke of what happened to anyone, and now she is reliving her own trauma as Jenny's story begins to unfold. She takes chances she shouldn't and does not stick to the guidelines in place for dealing with the crime, thereby jeopardising her career and her friendship with Niamh.
I thought this was a terrific read, the tension was building from the start. I did not want to leave it down. A marvellous debut thriller from this author, I can't wait for her next one.

This book presents problems to the reviewer: in the first instance, it deals with challenging themes of violence against women, domestic abuse and rape, whilst offering an unusual route for the reader to explore a sometimes tangled plot from the perspectives of the three key characters in the eponymous interview. This plot device is generally effective, although the author’s attempts to speak with the voice of the troubled young girl who has witnessed abuse and may be a key witness or agent in a series of potentially violent events, has not wholly convinced this reviewer. Conveying the jagged and shifting thoughts and language, together with the swinging moods of a young person in such a situation is always going to present a serious challenge to any author.
However, this was not a book that was easy to discard; there is something compelling about the narrative, and the tension builds effectively towards the denouement. One final thought: it may be that some of the slightly less convincing aspects of the book could have been mitigated by some more ruthless editing.

This is a disturbing book with a disturbing theme of child abuse.

The Interview in the title if The Interview of teenager Jenny who is found in a cathartic state at the side of the road. Jenny’s mother and brother have been seriously injured in a car accident and her stepfather is missing.

What emerges is a slow tale of trying to unravel truth from fantasy, and get to the truth, and the missing stepfather. I found the pace to slow for me, and the characters unengaging.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher for an advance ARC in return for an honest review. I am just sorry that its only a two star one.

I had been excited to read this book but found the pace rather slow and the constant inner dialogue of the characters difficult to keep track of.

A darkly compelling mystery, we’ll written but a bit slow at times
Is Jennifer a victim or a perpetrator of violence? She is 14 years old and has been discovered covered in blood which is not her own plus her step father is missing.
She refuses to speak to the investigating officers, Laura and Niavh in anything but a fairytale which they must unravel.

Urgh this book was not as advertised whatsoever. It was really dull and boring with nothing interesting or engaging happening whatsoever.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin General UK - Fig Tree and Gill Perdue for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

A bit slow to get going with this book but the storyline was good and once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would try other titles from this author again!

An interesting and complex story. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the concept of a series of interviews over a couple of days but the back story was brought in really well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was really well written and cleverly brought to a conclusion. Recommended.