Hmm. I had such high hopes but was left disappointed with this one. The premise was interesting but the story did not grip me the way a thriller should.

The tale is a slow burn for the first two thirds with too much repetition, and the lead interviewer, Laura, has so much unresolved conflict that it overshadows the rest of the story.

The cover poses the question “victim or suspect?” I felt the answer to!this was clear from very early on.

It’s an ok read for insight regarding the sensitive handling required for interviews of rape and violence victims, but not a book to keep you hooked late into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.

TW: Sexual assault, domestic violence, PTSD and untreated mental health issues.

A missing man. A family in the ICU. A girl covered in blood.
Will this interview reveal more about the victim or the detective?

Jenny is found at the side of the road covered in blood. Following admission to an adult mental health facility, she is interviewed by SVI Laura and her culchie sidekick Niamh.
As the clock ticks, Laura tries to break through to Jenny, but finds herself being broken down in the process.

This debut had it all for me. While at points it was extremely difficult to navigate due to the subject manner, I found the way it was handled impeccable. Through trying to breakdown the walls Jenny has built around herself Laura herself is forced to confront things she thought she had locked away forever, leaving Niamh to try and hold the investigation together.

Told from the three perspectives we explore the devistating impacts of domestic violence, abuse and trauma both current and historical.

If you're in a mental place to deal with the themes I honestly couldn't recommend this enough. 4.5 stars.

We meet Victim Interview Specialist Laura as she starts to interview fourteen-year-old Jenny – a girl found covered in blood, whose mother and brother are in intensive care and whose stepfather is missing. What follows is Laura’s attempt to unravel Jenny’s story, with the help of her wonderful partner Niamh, building up trust and slowly coaxing details out of the girl while the clock ticks and the whereabouts of the stepfather remain unknown.

This really is an intriguing, if harrowing, story. We learn a lot about Laura, whose own personal history is revealed alongside that of the younger girl’s. The relationship between her and the girl rings true, and I adored her relationship with Niamh, who I wanted much more of. The pacing was good, and the tension was sustained throughout. I would certainly read more by this author.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

This was a really hard read due to the subject matter but worth it

This was a book with an unexpectedly psychological bent, which gave me a real insight into human psychology that I hadnt thought before. In The Interview, a police psychologist is interviewing a traumatised child who may also be a criminal themselves. It was not an easy read, with its insight on violence against women, trauma effects on children, and how the police have to navigate all of this - but it was fascinating and compelling

Wow! If you are looking for a lighthearted read you are in the wrong place!

The interview follows Laura and Niamh as they prepare for an ABE interview with Jenny, a traumatised girl who may also be a murderer.

The story builds tension throughout and more and more details and secrets unfold. An excellent look at trauma and violence against women.

Some powerful messages encased in a great plot that will have your heart racing.

When specialist victim support workers Laura Shaw and Niamh Darmody visit a traumatised 14 year old girl in Abbots Hill psychiatric hospital in Ireland they knew that this is going to be a tragic case.
Jenny the 14 year old victim was found lying by the side of a road covered in blood close to a car accident involving her mother and younger brother but her stepfather Stuart is missing.
The Gardai (Irish police) try to talk to Jenny but she refuses to talk.
Even though Jenny didn't suffer any injuries in the accident she has old unexplained wounds.
As they interview Jenny, Laura seems to take things personally and Niamh is concerned.
This novel takes on subjects such as abuse and personal trauma and some people might find it hard to read, saying that I found it a insightful read.

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?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review.

I felt this was a slow burner of a read, I struggled to understand the characters at the beginning and found it a bit confusing as to the storyline. However, I persevered and was glad I did. The story continued to improve throughout, with a few twists and turns along the way.

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

My thanks to Penguin U.K./Sandy Cove for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Interview’ by Gill Perdue in exchange for an honest review.

Dublin Detective Laura Shaw is her team’s top interviewer, highly skilled at encouraging victims to open up. Yet her latest case not only tests her skills but forces her to face her own past trauma.

Fourteen-year-old Jenny was found wandering in distress and both her younger brother and mother have been severely injured in a car accident. Her stepfather, Stuart, is missing. After a medical examination it is clear that Jenny has been abused.

Jenny seems to be suffering from Acute Distress Disorder and at first does not speak though when she does communicate it is through riddles and a fairytale that clearly has meaning for her. The Police are concerned about Stuart’s whereabouts yet Laura has to balance the need to locate him with the necessity to protect Jenny’s fragile mental state.

The story is told from three first person perspectives: Jenny’s rambling stream of consciousness; Laura’s account that includes her memories, and occasional contributions from Laura’s fellow garda, Niamh. The chapters are quite short and the story moves quickly taking place over four days with an epilogue rounding things up.

Aside from communicating through the symbols of Irish folklore and fairytales, Jenny also references the lives and music of the Beatles. This kind of idiosyncratic language felt quite authentic along with Laura seeking a route to communicate through an interpretation of Jenny’s words rather than forcing her back to lucidity.

The novel often enters quite dark territory and was at times a harrowing read.

Overall, I found ‘The Interview’ an intriguing psychological crime thriller and a strong debut.

I liked the characters and the well-developed, although quite disturbing, story. Found it a bit repetitive at times due to the different points of view, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A teenage girl is found covered in blood in a Dublin suburb, her mother and brother are in serious condition in hospital and her stepfather is missing.
The teenager, Jenny , is admitted to an adult psychiatric ward and specialist Garda Detective Laura Shaw who is a specialist in interviewing victims, along with her partner Niamh, is tasked with trying to find out what happened.
The plot unfolds through the interviews with Jenny although she refuses to speak about reality, instead telling them a fairytale. On paper , Laura's life looks good but as she interviews Jenny, the cracks in her in own life seem to widen, as her past comes crashing back and she becomes more reckless in her actions at work. Time is of the essence , as the hours tick by in the interview room as both Garda work to try and unlock the fairytale Jenny is telling them.

This was a good strong debut. A new twist on a psychological thriller and Perdue writes with empathy and authenticity. It's a bit of a slow burn and it took a while to fully engage me but the writing and the dynamic between the two Garda characters keep me reading. Both Laura and Jenny were interesting, really well developed characters and the coded fairytale was a clever tool to use, however, it did get a little repetitive at the midway point, that's my only criticism. The plot builds nicely to a tense and riveting conclusion. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed lots of elements of the book. It reads potentially like the first in a series for Detective Laura Shaw and if so , I would be eager to read what happens to her next.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Content warning: abuse, assault, sexual assualt.

I loved the way this was put together, focusing on the interview that takes place over the course of a few days. Held in the adult psychiatric ward, 14 year old Jenny has been found on the street, covered in someone else's blood and almost hypothermic. She won't engage in conversation, except in her head. We don't know whose voice is continually saying "shut up bitch", "dumb bitch" in her head. We do understand early on that her stepfather has been sexually and physically abusing her and physically abusing her mum and baby brother. But where is he? Has Jenny killed him? It's a rush to find him. Laura, the garda who is a trained and experience interviewer is going through her own troubles and is finding this case getting to her preventing her normal objective, empathic approach. She makes a potentially fatal mistake, can this be put right? A really engrossing read. #netgalley #theinterview

I enjoyed this a lot. The main characters were well written, and the descriptions of the terrible abuse suffered was sympathetically handled. It was well paced and the general air of confusion brought to life. Recommended.

I absolutely loved the sound of this book, however, I found that the reality didn't quite live up to the expectation.
The Interview is a story about a young girl, Jenny, who is found covered in blood and her step-father is missing. She is obviously suffering with the after effects of trauma and other mental health concerns. Then we meet detectives, Laura and Niamh, who come to question Jenny. Much of the dialogue from Jenny is told in riddles and fairytale references and it is unclear whether she is a victim or a suspect. As the story unfolds, we learn that Laura is dealing with her own trauma which all comes to a head.

The story is told from 3 points of view - Jenny, Laura and Niamh. Whilst it was insightful to hear the thoughts of an assault victim, I found the repetitive jumble of thoughts quite hard to read and found myself getting a bit fed up with it.
I found that I didn't really 'like' any of the characters, which didn't help with reading this book as I just wasn't invested.

Overall, the premise was good and there were parts that I enjoyed, but it was a bit too slow paced and repetitive for my liking.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Reading this book you would never guess its the authors debut book!! The storyline has been well researched and well written. It's dark, disturbing and compelling.

Description 🔖

Detective Laura Shaw is successful, happy and accomplished. She has a great job, fantastic husband and an adorable baby daughter. She is well respected amongst her colleagues and is known to be able to get even the most vulnerable of witnesses to open up.

When Laura and her colleague Niamh are sent to interview 14 year old Jenny, everything changes. Jenny is an assault victim who has been taken into hospital covered in blood, but the blood is not her own. The poor girl will only talk in fairytales and refuses to give Laura or Niamh any solid information.

Laura behaves strangely during the interviews and outside of the interview room. It appears that something about this particular witness has triggered her and Niamh is left bewildered, trying to hold everything together. Laura is on the edge of a breakdown and disaster and faces a very difficult decision; is everyone’s life really worth saving?

General Thoughts 🤔

This book gripped me right from the start as it jumps straight into the drama. I liked that a lot as it got me turning the pages and wanting to know more and more about what had happened to Jenny. I quite liked the fairytale way in which I had to try and piece together her story. Even though it was pretty obvious to work out what Jenny had been through, it was interesting to hear it from her subconscious.

As much as I enjoyed the interviews with Jenny and the tension created by Laura falling apart during them, I was a little disappointed to not leave the interviews more. I would have liked to have known even more about the background of the various characters and maybe to have been given more detail about what had happened in the run up to Jenny finding herself in hospital.

Characters 👫👭👬

There weren’t many characters in the book but there were enough for me to have likes and dislikes. The easy one for me was Laura. I couldn’t get along with this character, however hard I tried. I completely appreciate that the woman had her own demons and problems, but I thought she should have taken responsibility for that and stepped aside if she was not able to handle the job she had been given.

I really liked Niamh. She seemed incredibly smart and was able to play different roles to achieve an objective. I think that the interviews would have gone very differently if Niamh had been leading as opposed to Laura. Niamh struck me as a bad ass side kick that really should have been the star but was loyal to her friend and colleague.

Writing Style ✍️

The whole book is written from three points of view; Laura’s, Jenny’s and Niamh’s. I really enjoyed the way the author told the story through these three women, however I thought it would have been really interesting to have heard snippets of the story from some of the other characters.

I liked that the chapters were short and snappy as it kept the pace of the book going and had me on edge. It felt like I was reading against a timer that was quickly running out.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This was an enjoyable thriller and was a relatively quick read. The story was a really good concept, but I think that it could have been taken a little bit further and turned a good book into a great one. I did enjoy the tone of the book and the writer’s style, so I will definitely look out for more from Gill Perdue.

I found The Interview to be a slow burn until around a third in. I loved the way everything unfolded slowly giving you a peek of what might have happened. And then a heart thumping crescendo that had me reading past my bedtime. The characters were well defined and easy to empathise with. Trigger warnings as it deals with abuse.

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy.
I couldn’t put the book down although its a harrowing and graphic story. A teenage girl is found covered in blood and can only talk to the police in fairy tales.
The police detective is dealing with her own traumas. The question is whether she can get beyond her own experiences to work out what has happened to the girl.

14 year old Jenny is mute, traumatised and living in a world of her own. She is suspected of knowing where her step-father, who is missing, is. Laura, a special victims interviewer and her partner, Niamh, are tasked with interviewing Jenny and getting to the truth.. As Jenny's story unfolds Laura's professionalism and control appears to be fracturing and one begins to wonder who this tale is about.
Told with empathy, great attention to detail and with building tension this is a compulsive read. Can't wait to read more by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Gill Perdue/Penguin General UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.