This is probably the most disappointing book I have read in a while... let me explain.
The opening chapters were phenomenal - so gripping! Brilliant! Hooked from the start. However, the more the book went on the more out of control and utterly ridiculous the book became.
I loved the tense atmosphere and the build up at the beginning, but after about 60% of the way there was too much description of trying to escape, and the actual plot just became stupid.

I had such high hopes, but by the end I was left wondering what on earth I had read.

It's just after 5 PM & Kate is running late for an interview for her dream job. She is in luck & makes it there just a few minutes late, & it starts off as a fairly normal interview - even if it is taking place in an enclosed & shuttered glass box in the middle of the office space. As the questions & the interviewer's behaviour start to become more & more strange & concerning, Kate is shocked to find that the rest of the staff have left, & she is alone, thirteen floors up in an almost empty building, with a man she's never met before. Feeling uncomfortable, Kate tries to leave only to find that all the doors are locked & the phones don't work. She realises that the man has a question he needs to know the answer to & he might be willing to kill her to get it.

Wow, what a gripping read! It is written via two viewpoints; Kate & Joel, the interviewer, & the chapters are fairly short which add to the tension. It also means that the reader carries on reading 'just one more chapter'. I see some other reviewers have mentioned that the premise is unrealistic - I agree with that, but it works well for this book. I found Kate easy to sympathise with, & Joel was kept teasingly blank up until the last moments. I would say that I found the ending a little rushed compared to the great build-up, I feel that the momentum was difficult to keep up & resolve the multiple plot strands. I thought it was mostly an electrifying read though, & would definitely check out the author's other books.

CW: Violence, kidnapping./confinement, physical & mental torture.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pan Macmillan, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was a real adrenaline fuelled page turner that was great fun to read. I read it in one sitting which is maybe the best way as the reader can suspend belief and enjoy the ride, otherwise, without giving spoilers I think. one would stop and consider a few plot elements that don't really make sense!
thank you to netgalley and Pan Mcmillan for an advance copy of this book
3.5 stars

Wow this book blew me away! Masterfully written, this novel will reel you in and hold you enthralled as the layers of story are revealed. Highly recommended.

Before reading this new book from Chris Ewan make sure you take a deep breath as there are passages of this book that you go through so fast you will forget to breathe. The pace of writing is fast, but not relentlessly so, the twists and turns of the plot come upon you and draw you up short.
Of the plot I won't comment as its pointless to regurgitate something that others are going to read and secondly so there won't be any spoilers. Suffice to say the whole story takes place across one day and largely in the same space and it is this claustrophobic intensity which is a great strength of the book. The small cast of characters have plenty of surprises and the way the author conveys their innermost thoughts is both convincing and compelling.
A pacy thriller that is to be recommended to all, but don't read it prior to an interview and certainly not on a plane!!

5 Stars *****

Do you ever start a book and want to shout at the lead character to turn and walk away from the whole situation in the first chapter? This was how I felt right from the start of this psychological thriller from CM Ewan. I'm a person who gets suspicious of people and places that seem too good to be true because that's usually exactly what they are. The Mirror, a trendy new high rise office block in London where Kate has been called in for an interview, is one of those places. Her recruitment agent Maggie reassures her that she has nothing to worry about, she's perfect for the role she's being interviewed for; all she has to do is be herself.

Alarm bells ring for Kate from the moment she is introduced to the man who's interviewing her that day - she was told it would be a woman and nobody has offered any explanation or apology for the change in personnel. Things head swiftly downhill from that point onwards and I have to say I found some of the situations Kate encountered a bit far-fetched and slightly repetitive. However the short, action-packed chapters keep the tension ramped up to the maximum and the timely addition of new characters and some shocking twists will have your pulse racing right to the end. The stifling feeling of claustrophobia carries well throughout the whole book, and every time you feel Kate begins to stand a chance of perhaps escaping the offices of Edge Communications the doors are quite literally slammed in her face.

I did struggle with the whole back story of why Kate had ended up being interviewed by Joel, and that part of the book was the one which didn't work so well for me. Maybe other people will find differently but it didn't click for me personally. Not sufficiently for it to spoil the book overall but my feeling was that it was two separate storylines which didn't quite blend. A good concept which just failed to hit the mark.

The Interview is an interesting and fast-paced thriller with some clever ideas and a claustrophobic setting.

However, I think your enjoyment of this thriller will depend on how you think would react in this situation. Because if you would find it tense and nerve-wracking, then this book is sure to get your heart rate pounding. But if, like me, you think you'd be a little stubborn and not quite believe the seriousness of the situation, then the shocks don't come as easily.

I personally didn't find this one very effective, but I did enjoy Ewan's writing and the concept is a great one, so I'd definitely recommend this if you like more action-heavy thrillers that avoid more twisted, psychological issues.

Imagine an extended version of one of those cringeworthy interviews that take place on The Apprentice in a tall, glass London building. But then the horror and confrontation doesn’t stop at pointing out the inconsistencies in a moderate CV but extends into full on physical violence, siege, lockdown and murder. All on a Friday night in central London. The story rattles along and is a quick and diverting read especially if, like me, you are self isolating with Covid!

I raced through this partly to find out why what was happening was happening but also because I was keen to get into reading something else with a bit more depth.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for a fair review

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

oh my word where to start

a simple interview for a job
but for kate it could be the turning point in getting her life back to normal

but is it....

could not put this book down.. shock after shock hits you... wow

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

Friday evening, 5pm. Kate is Thirteen floors up, in a sleek glass office, you're waiting for the interview of a lifetime with a huge PR agency she is in no way qualified for but dreams of working for. It's quiet, the staff have trickled away for their busy weekends and she's told her interviewer can't make it, but another person is happy to interview her instead - but soon, she realises the questions are bordering disturbing, and she's locked in, and something terrible is happening.

The interview isn't just about a job anymore. It's life or death. If you can't answer the questions, you won't just lose a job offer, you might lose everything.

This escape-room action is something like die-hard meets saw - an over-the-top explosion of thrills and scares but with in-depth characterisation and backstory, letting us fully get attached to Kate before putting her through hell.

There was a suffocating sense of tension and claustrophobia throughout - the entire story takes place in one office block in one evening, and while it was slow to start, once it picked up there was enough terror and action in that small period to keep everything moving at breakneck pace. It left the reader in confusion and disbelief for most of the story, not really explaining anything until the end but creating a brilliantly twisty conclusion eventually.

This book started off quite strongly, degenerated into bonkers and farce in the middle third and then eventually provided most of the answers to my satisfaction as we raced to the end.
Imagine going for an interview for your dream job and then being abandoned by your interviewer and locked in a glass office, unable to escape. Not knowing why? This happens to Kate. But why and who... well... I'm not going into all that here. For one, it's far too convoluted and interconnected, twisty and turny, secrets and lies, but also cos it would inevitably introduce spoilers. Suffice to say, trust no one, believe nothing and, well, give up second guessing. My best advice for you and this book, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Buckle up tight cos it's going to get rough...
I have to say that some of my enjoyment was a bit marred by the fact that I completely failed to connect to Kate. This meant that I really wasn't bothered what happened to her. I also guessed something quite key quite early on. Nothing the author let slip, just I've read too many of these books not to think this stuff. Not that I was wholly sold on my idea, but I did get a bit smug when I found I was right.
The story was interesting though. The motives and premise the whole book was based on. Intriguing stuff which also had me googling the possibility of what I read. Scary stuff indeed.
Although I rolled my eyes several times along the way and also shouted at Kate to do certain things that were obvious to me, I did have a reasonable time reading this book. There were a few things that niggled at me along the way but nothing that kicked it all out of whack too much. The twists that came were delivered well and at the right times for maximum impact.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Kate Harding arrives at The Mirror, a new office block in London, flustered and slightly late. On the thirteenth floor at 5pm on a Friday, Kate has a job interview with Edge Communications – the current leading PR agency. Kate was approached by a recruitment agency acting as a go between after Edge requested that Kate interview for a position as Senior account manager with them. Not having a huge amount of experience and currently working for a small PR company, Kate is understandably nervous, despite squatting with an interview ‘how to’ book in the days leading up to the interview.

Kate finds herself sitting across from Joel, an attractive, well put together, professional – when she was supposed to be interviewing with Amanda. A woman Kate had researched and felt a connection to – she was told the interview was to be something of a formality – so why did she feel like it was turning into an interrogation?

I sped through this book so fast! This book is the definition of fast-paced and action packed! The story just keeps on ramping up the heat as the stakes for Kate get higher and higher. It’s well written throughout and i’ll be looking up C. M. Ewan’s other work for sure. The Interview is a thrillingly quick read and I highly recommend it! At one point I was definitely expecting Bruce Willis to make an appearance, and I have to admit – I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t. The only thing that could have topped that, would have been if Alan Rickman and his German accent could have made an appearance.

“Yippee-ki-yay.”

John McClane
My thanks to the author and Pan Macmillan for the gifted copy to review via Netgalley.

Due to be released 17th February 2022

Four action packed stars

Oh boy did I enjoy this book! Fast paced, short chaptered, well written and would definitely recommend it.
I found myself reading well into the night to try and get to the next thrilling twist. To be fair, you do need to stretch your beliefs a bit for this book but overall a great read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to preview and congratulations to C M Ewan on another cracking read.

Wow, this book blew me away! I was hooked immediately and found the concept, both exciting and highly original.

The story starts with Kate, our protagonist, all ready to attend a job interview with a prestigious company at 5pm on a Friday evening. Waiting nervously, she has no idea what to expect, but when eventually the questions begin and become ever more sinister, Kate starts to wonder what she has let herself in for. The truth is more earth shattering than she could ever have imagined.

The book is excellently written and the heart pounding pace completely unrelenting, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! The character of Joel is at first charming, then menacing and we, as the reader, share in Kate's mounting fear, and eventual terror, in every step.

We're told the story through several view points, which worked well and gave us vital insights into the different characters. I was rooting for Kate and later, Luke, in their rollercoaster of a journey.

This was the first book I've read by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. Highly recommend. Just read it!

Thanks to author C M Ewan, publishers Pan Macmillan and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received a gifted copy of ‘The Interview’ by C.M. Ewan in return for my honest review.

This book follows Kate Harding in London, as she is still getting over a devastating time in her life.

Trying to rebuild her life she is offered an interview for a top PR job at Edge Communications. She is really nervous, but her recruitment agent Maggie helps to steady her nerves.

The interview starts off normally, but then the questions get a little personal and unusual. Kate isn’t sure if she is being tested or if there is another agenda behind the interviewer Joel.

When she finds herself locked in an empty office room, Kate starts to realise things may not be as they seem.
Will Kate be able to escape? Is this still a job interview or is this something more sinister?

This book is extremely tense, is told by the point of view of Kate and Joel and is mostly set in one building. It felt like Kate was in a Horror film, over and over being pulled back to the same room.

There are so many shocking twists all the way through which keep you turning the pages quickly to find out what is going to happen next.

I liked Kate’s character as she develops throughout the book, as she seems to realise that she has more fight in her than she thought and that she is a strong woman.

Overall, an intense and shocking psychological thriller, which will put you off going for any job interview again.

A claustrophobic and intense thriller, CM Ewan’s The Interview turns a merves wracking amyet mundane event into a true fight for survival.

Kate has been invited to an interview at a trendy firm in a luxurious city skyscraper late on a Friday afternoon. Because of the late hour, it isn’t long before she’s alone with the interviewer and it soon takes a sinister turn.

I found this to be such an easy read, I flew through the first 160 pages before I even realised. I ended up reading the rest before the day was out.

Kate is a relatable character, recovering from a huge loss in the personal life and trying to restart her life with a new job. She remembers a time when she was confident and bubbly, and though she is nervoous for her interview she has prepared well.

Her interviewer Joel is a harder character to read. Cool to the point of being cold, he is manipulative and calculating, but ultimately surprising.

The story itself is a suffocating and isolating thriller, putting out lead Kate at the mercy of the cold, contemporary building, turning thr latest in security and mod-cons against her. We are with her every step of the way, feeling as trapped as she is.

The heart of the story comes from her brother Luke, with the appropriate occupation of a cardiac nurse. By including a narrative from outside of the so-called interview, we get a sense of perspective and reality that grounds us as a reader.

The story is propelled forwards as Kate could not simply disappear-she would be missed. Luke is our hope for a resolution to this hostage situation.

I was gripped throughout as I simply needed to know the outcome to the various plotlines embedded within this story. I found the writing easy to read, the plot quick to draw me in and the ending was more than satisfying- a great read!

Kate Harding is going for an interview for her dream job at Edge Communications. It's the last interview of the day at one of London's newest office buildings and Edge have fitted out their part of the building to be something special. Maggie, Kate's recruitment agent, is keen to see that Kate approaches the interview in a good state of mind: Kate assumes that this is because Maggie will get a decent bonus if Kate gets the job - and she has to admit that life has not been easy for her recently.

Her husband was killed in the MarshJet air disaster some fifteen months ago and coming to terms with his death and trying to rebuild her life has been difficult. Recently she's been working at Simple PR in a job that was almost created for her by the owners, Simon and Rebecca. She feels guilty about looking for another job but she needs to do something which will challenge her - and she's not getting that at Simple PR.

The interviewer is Joel White and Edge's receptionist excitedly tells her that he's flown in from the New York office to do the interviews. The staff are all trying to find out if he's single! It's perhaps a good thing that Kate doesn't know that Joel has flown in from Shanghai and that the name on the paperwork was very different. Kate's going to be on her own in the office with White: the rest of the staff have gone home and most of the other offices in the building are not yet occupied.

The interview began well. Kate's brother, Luke, had helped her to prepare some of the expected subjects but the questions gradually became more and more intrusive and very much too personal for Kate's liking. It all seemed to come back to the death of Kate's husband and the MarshJet disaster. Had Kate looked around carefully when she arrived at the interview, she's have seen Joel White in conversation with the rather sinister Sir Fergus Marsh, CEO of MarshJet.

The action all takes place in the space of a few hours: it will take you longer to read the book! Please try and remember to breathe: it's all too easy to get so engaged in the story that you forget. The plotting is superb and the pace never lets up. Everything that happens seems to follow logically from what has gone before and it's easy to see why Kate is torn between answering the questions in the hope of getting the job and walking away from the situation.

There's only one problem: Kate is not going to be allowed to walk away.

I enjoyed The Interview very much. The characterisation is excellent. It was easy to empathise with Kate after all that she's been through: you want her to succeed, to be able to rebuild her life. It's still early days in the passage of grief but you admire that she's trying to improve her life rather than wallowing in self-pity. Strangely enough, I found myself respecting Joel White. He's there to do a job (and it's not a job that many of us would want) but sometimes you spot a little concern for Kate creeping in.

I finished the book far too quickly and I'll be interested to see what C M Ewan writes next. I'd like to thank the publishers for allowing Bookbag to have a review copy.

3.5 stars
This is a good read but quite an unbelievable story.
Kate wants more from her career and is persuaded to go for an interview with a top London company.
The interview is not real but it’s too late for Kate to get out by the time she realises.
She’s locked in a room with no way out and has no idea why.
It’s not clear to the reader why she’s being held captive until quite a way into the story and this frustrated me a bit.
This is a clever story on one hand, but also far fetched on the other.
A good read but not as gripping as I’d hoped.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An addictive thriller that grabs you from the very beginning and doesn’t let up until the last page.
Interviews are the stuff of nightmares, so when Kate’s takes an unsettling turn, you are instantly hooked.
There is always an undercurrent in interviews as to what do they want to find out about you and what do you want to project, the mind games in this are a good starting point for a thriller.
The danger, implied or real, kept my interest and there was always a hook into the next chapter.
I raced through this in a few days and really enjoyed the ride.

The description of this book sounded very good but I found it quite strange. This is the first book I have read from this author and I would try another one but sadly this book didnt do anything for me