Unfortunately this book wasn't for me, I found it really slow and difficult to engage with. The characters are unlikeable and I felt nothing for any of them, which when you consider the subject matter is quite surprising. The writing was repetitive and the pacing was all over the place so this didn't help to capture my interest either.

I have read far too many books that centre around trauma and abuse lately, not sure why this has become a narrative device for thrillers and think I have become a bit jaded and worn out by the number of them. That probably didn't help my reading of this novel!

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced ebook.
It sounded like a dark and interesting tale, however I found the pace so very slow that it became a bit of a chore to read, to the point that I just wanted to find out what happened, but wasn't really fussed with the ending by the time we got there.

Holy cow, what a dark, disturbing, and brutal read! If you have triggers, this is likely not the book for you, as it has a lot of triggering themes and is quite dark! If you’re like me, the darker the better, then you need to read this amazingly written book! Well written, fantastic character development, kept me entwined in this brutal bit gripping read! I would most definitely highly recommend, but to those whom like their books as dark as the night!

This is a dark and disurbing story of domestic and sexual abuse. It centres around Jenny, one of the victims, the subject of the interview, and Laura, one of the garda conducting the interview.
I wasn't a big fan of the book, in particular the style of writing. It's jam-packed with words but many of them are repetitive and I found the style clumsy.
It's a brave story but doesn't really flow and stays on the same level throughout.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin General UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
14 year old Jenny Cullen is found covered in blood, which is not her own, traumatised and shivering with cold.
Jenny is taken to hospital, she is covered in bruises, has multiple old fractures and required sutures where no 14 year old should.
She’s not communicating, Garda officers, Laura and Niamh are specially trained to interview children who have experienced trauma.

The story is told by Laura Niamh and Jenny, Jenny is a teenager and keeps saying, “dumb bitch” which I found irritating.
The Garda officer Laura is also extremely irritating, the story resolves around a lot of her past traumas.

The story is slow, when the pace picked up I found I no longer cared what happened and just wanted to get to the end.
Irritating characters and a boring repetitive storyline.

Jenny is found near the site of a horrific car crash covered in blood and severely traumatised! Her mum and brother are seriously injured and her step-father Stuart is missing.
Jenny can't/won't talk and in some sort of psychosis. This is when we meet Laura and Niamh who are brought in to try and get her to talk and see what she knows about Stuart and his whereabouts. The problem is Laura has mental issues of her own and she sees similarities between herself and Jenny, will this put the case in jeopardy, just how far is Laura willing to go to get Jenny to tell the truth? Cue the fairy tale story from Jenny, but is this her way of telling the truth?
Tackles hard hitting issues but in a sensitive way. Many thanks NetGalley for letting me read this book, I will be recommending it to family and friends. Also I think.it would be fantastic made into a tv drama! Night time tv sorted!

This is an interesting story told through the eyes of the victim and the police interviewing her as they try to discover what has happened to her step father. It’s dark and twisted tale of abuse and fear and a good read.

This story is told from at least three points of view and are all one long interview over just a few days. There’s Laura the police detective (and what we find out about her family) , Jenny the victim and Nimah, a very involved third party.
In time, we find that one individual is missing; another has blood on her clothes and a fairytale cannot be understood, or at least its relevance to finding out what happened.
The writer’s quality is easy to see as she encourages the reader to turn pages faster and faster as the speed develops. It's not easy for the police to interpret the story from the victim, so they must look to other ways to find out what really occurred. This isn't helped when we find out that the detective has many personal worries from her past and it's easy to consider that this story is developing around her, while forgetting that a victim is missing.
The healthcare worker uses an intriguing method to see how they can find out more and how they can help and if nothing else, this book is a great insight to how troubled people exist and react.
After being gifted a copy of this book I will look out for more from this writer in the future as this is more than an encouraging start.

What a good book!

Jenny is a 14-year-old girl being interviewed by Laura & Niamh. Both are Garda's who have been brought in to find out exactly what has happened to Jenny, her Mum, her younger brother & her stepdad Stuart! Jenny is traumatised & unwilling to tell all, but with Laura's expertise, she tries to encourage her to speak.

Laura is going through her own troubles & the whole process becomes complicated & unsettling. An engrossing book, that unravels so many events.

A dark and rather grim story dealing with mental issues and abuse as a sub plot to the crime. I felt it hard to feel a real connection with the characters particularly Laura. It felt a little repetitive and this style of narrative writing was not really for me.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is not your average crime story. The plot follows the interview of a traumatized girl found near the site of a horrific car crash in which her mother and younger brother have been seriously injured. As the girl's story slowly unfolds it affects the mental well-being of Laura the lead interviewer and events in her past life are slowly revealed. Issues of child abuse marital abuse, suicide, and rape are confronted in a direct manner and in a way that pulls no punches, But it is not all dark, we see the love and patience of Laura's husband and the steadfastness of her friend and colleague Niamh
It is not by any means an easy read but it is a worthwhile, sometimes uncomfortable but ultimately satisfying read and is an excellent debut novel.

I found this a dark disturbing read that I had to read to find out what had actually happened but I do have to say that I did not find it enjoyable. My biggest handicap was the way that Gill Perdue has chosen to write how the two main characters were thinking and speaking. I found this rambling and difficult to follow the trails that were so intertwined.
This was an exceptionally difficult topic to write about but I could not relate to the story, the places or the characters.

I found this book to be dark and disturbing. Other readers may enjoy it but it wasn’t for me. I also prefer a more conventional format rather than the rambling conversational prose the author uses.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a dark and complex story about a family who are being abused by the stepdad... its a hard gritty story to read that will hit several nerves with people

its hard hitting and at times upsetting but well written

I have managed/struggled to read 53% of this book and I have had to give up. I have found the rambling narrative too much. The subject is disturbing but the way it is presented just bored me witless. Apologies to the author.

This review will be posted with Waterstones

Intriguing story of how a police psychologist called Laura conducts an interview with a girl called Jenny who has had a traumatic incident and will not talk .Laura has problems of her own to deal with while trying to help Jenny. Cleverly written about mental abuse and gripping until the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a advanced copy.

📖BOOK REVIEW📖
⭐️⭐️

So this book definitely had the potential - the plot was intriguing in the beginning and tempted you to come ahead and find the truth. But unfortunately it was very repetitive and I felt I was reading the same pages over and over again.

It defo needed more action in the plot and discovery’s faster to keep up the momentum. The characters were wooden, not relatable and unlikable. I felt like it was a chore to read.

I did enjoy however the authors ability to make you feel confused using unreliable narrators just unfortunately it just didn’t work overall.

-EMILY

@the_book_gielrks_1

A girl, Jenny, who seems to be the victim of an assault, is found by the side of a Dublin road. She is refusing to speak and Detective Laura Shaw, a trained victim interviewer, is sent to interview her. On the face of it this seems like another police procedural but it is much more than that. A great deal of the narrative focuses on the inner turmoil being felt by Jenny and Laura. As their relationship develops the novel becomes more and more compelling.

There is a very clever use of fairy tales and Irish folklore throughout this book, especially through Jenny's thoughts about her family and her life. The writing is exceptionally good in this dark and intense read. The pace builds to a frenetic ending. I really recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a harrowing story covering physical and mental abuse. It's not an easy read and is slow to build to its ending. I have to admit I got a bit tired of the words dumb bitch which I found quite annoying. I didn't really engage with Laura who had her own struggles . Overall a good story and I woul recommend it .

This book was not for me,tried a few times just wasn’t for me,and didn’t keep my attention,apologies