A girl covered in blood. A missing man. A cryptic fairy tale.

Detective Laura Shaw seems to have it all: a supportive husband, a happy two-year-old and a great career. She is her team's top interviewer, brilliant at coaxing victims to open up.

Then, she meets Jenny - a 14-year-old assault victim - and the façade crumbles. Jenny's stepfather is missing, the blood on her clothes is not her own and Laura can't interpret the fairy tale she keeps repeating.

But Jenny isn't the only one with secrets. With every hour that passes, Laura loses more of her grip, grappling with the biggest question of all:

Is every life worth saving?

‘The Interview’ by Gill Perdue is an exceptionally gripping debut novel. A slow burn start but the author has a wonderful way with words and before long the tension is ratcheting up. The interviewing detective is almost as damaged as the 14 year old victim who has the answers but communicates by creating a sinister fairy tale - and time is running out for the victim. The psychology is fascinating and the detective is forced to take risks to get to the answers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope it’s the first of many from this author. I mean, who needs sleep anyway?

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow this was addictive!

This was one of those books that had me itching to pick it back up as soon as I’d put it down for a break – I was completely gripped and desperate to know just what was going to happen.

Chapters are told from the points of view of Laura the detective, Laura’s colleague Niamh and finally, Jenny the victim / suspect.

I will say the subjects this book covers were pretty harrowing to read about at times but I think the author did a fantastic job of highlighting them through Jenny’s ‘fairytale’. It’s hard to know at times whether Jenny is telling the truth and just how to interpret her story she is telling. It really showed just how victims of such horrific trauma compartmentalise their feelings and thoughts in order to survive and move on.

I don’t want to go into much more detail as this really is best enjoyed without knowing too much. It’s an absolutely gripping story that slowly unravels with each chapter, becoming even more heartbreaking. Both Laura and Jenny have secrets and ultimately end up helping each other face their fears and past traumas.

A brilliant read that was so addictive and impossible to put down!

This is a dark and complex book which I struggled to finish as I found it slow to start and difficult to engage with the characters.

It is a book which tells the stories of Laura, a guard who has in her past suffered a rape which she never disclosed, Niamh a fellow guard and the only level headed character and finally Jenny, the teenager who is in hospital struggling to come to terms with her own abuser and the tragedy of her family.

I did finish the book however I found it quite slow, despite the trauma. The descriptions of the fantasy world that Jenny part lived in were confusing for me as a reader.

Not one I would recommend but I would thank Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

This book gives you an insight into the minds and thoughts of trauma and abuse victims. This look beyond the outward persona gives you cause to think and have a better understanding of what bottling up anxieties can do to a person.
In that respect the book does a good job although Laura's drifts of concentration and resulting lack of professionalism was a little frustrating at times.
I would rate this book 3.5 stars as it was quite a slow burner, I nearly gave up a third of the way through but it did improve after that.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. I found it very slow and I just couldn’t get into it. I DNFd at 20%. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. It was on my kindle and I read it without reading what it was about, I was gripped from the first page it is a very interesting book, I found I could not put it down. Very disturbing in parts

I unfortunately was really disappointed with this. The blurb really intrigued me and I was excited to read this, but it definitely didn’t live up to my expectations at all. The book was written well and I could see what the author was trying to do but it just didn’t hit the spot, Jenny’s constant swearing and all the internal monologues got a bit annoying and repetitive and I feel like after nearly 100 pages we hadn’t really learnt that much at all., I didn’t find myself wanting to read more or actually read it at all. This is the first book I didn’t finish. Too long, too slow!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
The character development in this book is speedy, unlike the record of the interviews with Jenny which clearly demonstrate the difficulties of interviewing a teenager who is distressed and psychologically affected by events and the actions of others during her childhood; I thought the very slow trickle of information from Jenny coupled with the language in her thoughts was typical of someone in that state. Laura's character showed her to be somewhat unstable, requiring counselling support but refusing to access it, and her anger with and behaviour towards her long-suffering husband made me dislike her intensely. I thought she was extremely unprofessional in her job and selfish at home.
I think the plot and narrative style of this book is clever, but it wasn't for me and I gave up at 30%.

If this is a debut novel then I can’t wait to read the next book by Gill Perdue.
The Interview is told from multiple POV, 14 year old Jenny, who was found with mild hypothermia and covered in blood, Laura and Niamh, both Garda who have been sent to interview Jenny in hospital.
Jenny at first is non verbal, then, as she begins to speak, talks as though she is retelling a fairytale. As the book progresses, the reason why Jenny speaks as she does becomes clear.
Laura is battling her own demons and the intertwining of her experiences with Jenny’s are heart breaking.
This is thankfully not an explicit read, much is implied.
I thought it was hard hitting and very well written.
Recommended.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

The Interview is an intense and harrowing read as trauma experts Laura and Niamh question 14 year old Laura who is a victim of abuse. The novel is told from all 3 characters point of view as the truth slowly unfolds. This is a original and well written novel that deals with a sensitive subject with care and empathy. However, it's a slow paced read and I found it dragged in places so I lost interest.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Niamh and Laura are interviewing Jenny, who is a 14 year old girl who you originally think that she is the victim in all of this, as her stepdad has gone missing, however there is blood all in the car and all over Jenny too.

Whilst Jenny has been the victim in the past at the hands of her stepdad, is she actually the victim now???

It was a hard and difficult read at times, only because of the subject and not the writing. I great read by Gill Perdue!!!

This book was well written and dealt with difficult and frankly harrowing subjects in a sensitive way, I sadly just didn't enjoy it very much.

I was gripped by The Interview, a tense psychological thriller about an abused 14 year old girl, Jenny, and the quest from police interviewers Laura and Niamh to find out a) what happened to her and b) where her missing stepfather is. The tension is gritty, raw and finely wrought but may be very upsetting for those who prefer to avoid the topics of child sexual abuse, suppressed trauma, gaslighting and rape. These feature heavily in The Interview and make the story a solid one but I want readers to go in forewarned.

The story of Jenny and the abuse she suffers at the hands of her stepfather takes a fair amount of work to unravel for Laura and Niamh but there is another trauma in Laura's past that continues to haunt her and grows more present in her life now that she is the mother of a two year old. Laura knows trauma, so is good at her job, but she is falling apart as the story progresses. The combination of Jenny's difficult life and Laura's struggle with mental health makes this a timely and powerful story.

To say I enjoyed The Interview seems a bit crass, given the heavy topics but I did feel emotional involved in the story as it felt authentic in its pain. I highly recommend The Interview to others.

Laura is on the case after a young girl is found almost dead with her mother and brother injured but her step-dad missing. Can she get to the bottom of what happened and what the girl is hiding, whilst dealing with her own trauma?

This was a really interesting premise and you could figure out early on that Jennie knew more than she was letting on. The plot is quite a slow burn with the POV changing regularly allowing you a deeper scope of the characters. The ending was really good however and i like how it all came together. I really stuggled with Laura and liking her. So many of her actions were all over the place but her trauma played a huge role. I just couldn't quite find myself liking her. A good read.

Teenage Jenny was found covered in blood & traumatised. Obviously something dreadful has happened & the police want to know what- in particular , if the blood doesn't belong to her whose is it! Laura & Niamh are called in. They are experts at interviewing victims. Laura is considered one of the best. However since she has returned from maternity leave she is not the same & Niamh worries about her. Jenny is not going to give up her account easily. Instead she draws pictures & tells a fairy story. As Laura becomes obsessed with Jenny's story she seems to follow her own path. Niamh knows that procedure is all in their business. They need to be able to produce a narrative that can be used in court. This isn't the Laura she knows. The story is told through the perspective of the three characters. Niamh was the only one I warmed to. I knew Jenny had been through a lot so she had an excuse for the way she was, but Laura really needed help!

This book was well written, dealing with difficult subjects but I didn't really enjoy iy very much. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I thi no this was a brave debut but after careful thought I can only score it a three star rating. It all seemed rather too mixed up especially the almost random thought processes for the detectives. Maybe just too many issues.

Slow moving had a hard time getting invested in the characters. Sounded like such a great book but sadly fell short for me. Hard topic of abuse and the lead character dealing with her own demons. Just moved too slow for me.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this.

Slightly slow to get going but once it did I didn’t want to put it down. Brilliantly written for a debut novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book by Gill Perdue. This was a compelling read with some difficult and dark themes around abuse. Well written with good character development, including the lead investigator who is battling her own demons, this is a great read and it’s hard to believe it’s a debut!!

I was left really disappointed by this book. The synopsis and blurb really intrigued me, but the actual book just left me pretty bored.
The pacing just felt all wrong.
I didn't feel there was enough going on - we kept going back to Jenny and she wasn't revealing anything, and it became quite frustrating, and nothing really moved the plot along.
At the end when Jenny and Laura connected over their shared experience, it just felt too simple.
Nothing exciting for me, nothing original.
Too long, and not thrilling enough!