This is the sequel to a previous book following a group of soap actresses who are covering up a murder of one of their fellow cast members. It doesn't really matter if you read the first book or not since Melanie Blake goes to great lengths to recap the plot at various stages.

Rather like a soap itself, the plot arc of this book is really strange - something happens, it is resolved, and then doesn't come to anything later. There are some pretty sensational things that happen which get barely any time at all (Holly Hunter for example) while we the readers get repeatedly treated to talk about men with big dingles. I am also at a loss why so many people are desperate to bring down this ageing soap actress when their own careers also rely on her still doing the show, it makes no logical sense at all - but then I suppose there is no drama in everyone tolerating their work colleagues and being professional. ;-)

The book is just supremely trashy. Some people will love that, some won't. I thought I would enjoy it a lot more than I did, but the weird focus on less interesting elements of the plot made it a bit of a plodder for me. Also, like a soap opera, it finished on a cliffhanger, so ultimately I'm left rather frustrated.

Oh. My. God. - it started slowly, drawing the reader back into the events of the previous novel, ‘Ruthless Women’, but what a fantastic ride this sequel is!

Drawing its inspiration from the classic ‘bonkbuster’ novels of the 1970’s and 80’s (Jackie Collins is even name dropped at one point in the narrative), the best thing to do when reading ‘Guilty Women’ is just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the fabulous ride. What’s not to love about storytelling that lovingly describes a character’s exact shade of lip gloss and the height of her Jimmy Choos before she goes on to decimate her evil ex-partner with a few well chosen insults? And all the women are wonderful, guilty or not - I love them and want to be like them all.

So anyway, there I was blithely thoroughly enjoying the read, secure in the knowledge that all would end well and that my new heroines would triumph in the end, therefore I was thoroughly unprepared for the vicious twist near the end and the devastating cliff hanger I was left with. There’s going to have to be a sequel. But on reflection that’s not a bad thing - bring it on!

Many thanks to all concerned for letting me read and review this brilliant book. Can I read the next one please?

Took me a little while to get involved in this book ! Once I had I was not disappointed. Great plot and lots of twists and turns. Loved it.

This is the first of Melanie Blake books I have read. Even though it's a follow on it does give background about the plot so far and can be read as a stand alone it's an OK read, not really for me. If you are looking a read to purely escape into this is it. Would be a good holiday read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Brilliant storyline well written story congratulations to the author.I would have liked to see a better ending,but that's what suspense is about.Would highly recommend this book.

Absolutely not for me. I felt the same about the first book in the series, but had wiped it from my memories. Just trashy, and not in a good way. Sorry, but dnf. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, and I’m sure it will appeal to a lot of people!

An enjoyable and glamorous story about a fictional soap opera, set in a television studio in Jersey. The plot centres around a group of successful and extremely glamorous female friends who have some dark secrets they are trying to keep from the rest of the world.
If you’re looking for escapism and easy reading, then this may be the book for you.

A long running TV show, a group of actresses and plenty of secrets - what could go wrong !!

Falcon Bay is a long running TV show that is filmed on its own island just off the English coast. The future of the show is in doubt after a live episode when terribly wrong and the owner of the show was killed.

A group of glamorous women that work on the show are trying to get everything back on track but there are secrets and lies everywhere. Will the truth about these women’s lives finally be revealed or will they manage to continue to keep everything hidden ?

This is a really juicy read, with some fabulous sassy characters. These women will take no nonsense from anyone no matter who they are. If you love gossip, lies, secrets, murder, revenge, loyalty and so much more, then this is the book for you.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Set on the island of St. Augustine, one of the jewels of the Channel Islands, Guilty Women follows on from Ruthless Women and is the home to the location of the long-running hit TV drama, Falcon Bay. If you haven't read Ruthless Women, worry not as Guilty Women is a complete read in itself. In this steamy tale of revenge, jealousy and hatred the female characters are ruthless, empowering and vibrant. Full of surprises, wickedness and suspenseful mystery, it sports a humdinger of a finale.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Welcome back to the beautiful island of St. Augustine, one of the jewels of the Channel Islands, and home to the location of the long running hit TV drama Falcon Bay.

The previous season of Falcon Bay was fraught with fierce clashes, behind-the-scenes plotting, and a surreal live episode which saw the uber-bitch channel owner Madeline Kane coming to a very sticky end. The ambitious women we met in book one, Ruthless Women, are desperately trying to hold it together.  All are attempting to keep under wraps the things they were forced to do to protect themselves and the show, but the guilt is weighing heavily on more than one of them and breaking point may not be too far away...

Then fate decides to take a very unfriendly turn, putting them all under unbearable pressure, and risking everything they have achieved. Will their sins be discovered and bring their lives crashing down around them, or can our Guilty Women come out on top once more?

Following on closely from the rollicking Ruthless Women, Melanie Blake steps up the glamour, suspense and all-out sexiness for this sequel Guilty Women. Here we find our powerhouse femme fatales coming to terms with the twists, turns and tragedy of recent events, while struggling to keep their secrets hidden. The success of their beloved Falcon Bay is paramount, and everything in their lives is so much better without the revenge-fuelled attentions of Madeline Kane. The show must go on!

But Madeline's ghost looms large over them all and a whole new crop of trials come flying thick and fast from the fertile imagination of Blake to disrupt their private and professional lives - faces from the past, prying journalists, and steamy shenanigans threaten to derail them, and serve to keep you on the edge of your seat more than ever before. No spoilers from me, dear readers, but there is a lot of momentous drama going on, and all the threads carry the hallmark of Blake channelling her idol Jackie Collins to create a highly entertaining mix of plotlines that take you to intriguing places. Revenge is still well and truly in the air, mixed up beautifully with plenty of sex, drugs and cameras roll, with lashings of suspenseful mystery too..

This is a grand old-school, over-the-top, page-turning bonkbuster, brought right up to date for a modern audience. In many ways it gives you more bang for your buck that the first instalment Ruthless Women, which shows Blake really warming to her theme and settling into a style that suits her down to the ground. Older women are once again front and centre, and they are smart, glamorous, and resourceful! Hurray!

I gulped this fun, feisty, flirtatious book down in one delicious bite, transported right back to the salacious best-sellers of my youth (Shirley Conran's Lace anyone?). It also has a cracking cliff-hanger of an ending that hooks you right into the next book - I cannot wait!

This is my first book by Melanie. Although I hadn’t read Ruthless Women the book before Guilty Women it didn’t matter as I still enjoyed this book it can be read as a stand-alone. Following the stars and crew of a long running soap drama you get the back stabbing and the rumours that flow behind the scenes. There are lots of smiles to your face while stabbing you in the back happening along the way. A great holiday read which would also make a good TV show.

This is the second book (Ruthless Women being the first book). Melanie Blake does give background about the plot so far if you didn't read the first book. It's about the actors and staff in a Dymasty style soap set on an island off the English coast. Very escapist. Melanie Blake has clearly been part of this industry and knows how behind the scenes works.
Sadly it wasn't for me, but it would be good for reading on a plane, beach or poolside.

I hadn't read the first book in the series however I soon got into this one.

I quite enjoyed it easy to read I would read any future books

Continuing from book one, Ruthless Women, Guilty Women has the eighties 'blockbuster' vibes with a contemporary twist. The female characters are ruthless, but you can see why they must be when you meet the men. The strong friendship bond between the main protagonists makes this so readable. The plot is full of action, shocks and surprises and keeps you turning the pages. The characters are vibrant and flawed, but they make you care about them, and you are intrigued to know what next? Are they guilty?
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't read the first book in this series, so I was disadvantaged. However, there was quite a bit of backstory so I soon got into it. An interesting read. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I’d just read the first book in this series and couldn’t wait to get into this one. Reading it so soon thought meant that some of it was repeating (recapping for new readers or those with a decent gap after the first one) which disappointed me, but I totally understand why this was done. Still loved the main characters and hated the a*holes too.
Great writing and characters and can’t wait to see what Melanie writes next

I haven’t read the previous book so I did not know what to expect. I found the cover very interesting and the description seal my wish to try it.

I’m all about the drama behind the scenes in a glamorous setting, and this book delivers in spades.

I can’t say I liked or got closed to any of the characters as there are way too many for my liking and maybe it felt harder to keep up with everyone in the end. It really reads as a big tv drama soap opera, maybe the older versions like Dynasty or even Dallas.

And one thing that really stood out for me and was quite impressed, was the smut! Like full open door scenes, where my kindle catches fire. I’m all about it and I was just surprised to find it so blatantly put on the page on a traditional published book, which we rarely see nowadays, more so in a crime story.

It's an interesting story with intriguing characters, one too many for me, but a book that maybe it's worth reading just because it's more outside of the norm.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy
3.5 stars

Guilty Women was a book that drew me to it by the blurb but I didn’t realise there was a previous book to this one and although you can read it as a stand-alone it had too many characters for me to try and get to grips with.
The book is set mainly in jersey and centres around a tv show, “Falcon Bay” it is set four months after the events of what happened in the first book. The book has a lot of characters and I found it hard to get to grips with who looked who, who was jealous of who and who down right hated each other but that aside it was also a sexy read at times with nothing held back. The book reminded me of the tv show way back called Dynasty and felt like it had been written by Jackie Collins, so the two mixed together makes quite a decent read I just wished I had read the first one and then I would have been more sure of who was who.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins, HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The story of this was great with some fabulous twists and turns keeping you hooked however I did find some parts of the story a touch unnecessary and not really relating to what was happening.

Enjoyable and frothy, it took me a while to catch up with who everyone was and understand impact of denouement of previous book in what seems to be a series. The crime is well set out, people care .. while it's not quite my usual genre I appreciate its skill .. theres another one on the way..