I love the Hampstead Novel, despite the way they are often disregarded. This was funny, warm, and full of enjoyable Bon mots! One to savour (perhaps on the heath with a picnic).

When a journalist is struggling to come up with a story she makes a snap decision and reports something untrue and has to deal with the fall out.

I enjoyed the look into journalism in this book and how toxic the media can be. Also how one small lie can spiral completely out of control which isn’t ideal. I found this book very funny, very real and very descriptive

I have to say upfront that this is not quite my thing, nevertheless quite enjoyable. However I did find it a bit slow for my taste, I also found the protagonist to be a bit silly and irritating at times. not really for me

An engaging and witty exploration of the boundaries between real and fake news. Fairly predictable but an enjoyable read nonetheless. I found myself reflecting on the experiences of my journalist friends and the morality they navigate at work - I'll definitely recommend this to them at our next pre-work breakfast.

When a journalist is demoted from the news desk to the lifestyle section ,she files a story which she knows is a lie and then has to deal with the repercussions as the story captures the public interest .The book has a lot to say about the way the media presents news to the public and is interesting from that angle.However,I found the main character,Rose ( known as Thorn) very irritating and couldn’t sympathise with her at all.She is self centred and immature,considering she’s in her mid forties, and her constant wisecracking was grating to say the least.
So not for me,I’m afraid.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

I enjoyed the writing style, the story and the characters in this book. Very enjoyable and a book I looked forward to reading each night. Parts weren't that plausible but it didn't detract from the enjoyment of it. It was well-structured too.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing up and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

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

Wow-a fabulous book-just goes to show don't always trust what you see on the news. Recommended.

When Thorn Marsh, a journalist, is tasked with writing a page of heartwarming inspirational stories, she struggles to find the interest or inspiration, and ends up writing a fake story about "The Angel of the Heath", a man who saved a woman in a local park.

When the story goes viral, Thorn feels awful - least of all due to the fact that she has become close to the man at the centre of it. Can she tell him the truth?

This was so darkly funny, I really liked it. I liked Thorn a lot, I felt like her character was really well written and I understood where she was coming from. The story itself was clever, elements reminded me of the movie While You Were Sleeping (which I also loved).

However, what spoiled it for me was the abrupt ending. I actually checked to make sure that my review copy wasn't missing a chapter. A shame, because I would have happily read another fifty pages.

An engaging book featuring the main character, Rose, stressed and under pressure in the cut throat journalistic world where she uses the name Thorn. Interesting plot which explores Rose's various relationships in her private and work life plus underlining how life can get out of hand quite easily when she takes her eye off the ball. Quite light and humorous in part .whilst also being more serious in others. Well written with a good set of characters whilst drawing the reader in and giving plenty to think about

This was an absolute delight to read and had I had the opportunity, I could easily have sat and read it all in one go. I was completely engaged with it, and I really did not want to put it down.

It has a wonderfully contemporary setting and illustrates how one item of fake news can snowball and have enormous consequences. It reads as a novel for the modern age.

Whilst it has this serious issue at its foundation, the author writes with humour. There were points during which I laughed out loud, which I rarely do with a book.

The main character, Thorn, is a fully rounded, flawed and endearing character. She is easy to engage with, and in her we witness her professional and personal integrity collide with her actions as the stereo-typical journalist who must have her story at any cost.

The main theme of the book is honesty, whether that be in the public sphere, the workplace or relationships. But most of all it is about being honest with ourselves, and not attempting to justify ill-considered decisions.

I am stunned that I have not come across this author before and am delighted to learn that she has a back catalogue of seven other novels. I feel a trip to the library coming this weekend.

It is a hugely entertaining book to read, and I highly recommend it.

Thorn is an old-school journalist who values truth and honesty in her storytelling and relishes uncovering hidden secrets in her work. Her newspaper is bought by owners who dont feel so passionately about the 'truth' but prefer to have clickbait-y headlines and news content that goes viral. Thorn finds herself manufacturing a story of a life-saving death defying stranger to fulfil their requirements and finds the story has travelled much quicker than she can manage,
This is a well-paced and mature story; it didnt grab my attention initially but once I gave it time, i enjoyed the story and wanted to find out how it developed.

'Oh what a wicked world we weave,' thinks Thorn, a journalist, whose actual name is Rose. Drinking wine and carried away, she makes up a story based on a photo by her ex-husband Nick about a handsome red-haired man who does a good deed, but the tale takes on a life of its own..The problem is partly that the man does exist but he is not an angel. Demoted from her job in news journalism, Rose has to tell a 'Good News" story, but when the story gets away from her, she is headed for a whirlwind lesson in the importance of truth, love and relationships.

Rose has a lot of problems to face - a difficult relationship with her mother, dealing with the fallout from her explosive story and an ex-husband with a younger wife. She finds some peace at the bedside of a new 'friend' and talking to Lottie, her older and wiser neighbour, but she is rapidly headed for a big fall. The reader is certainly kept guessing how she is going to get out of the mess!

I haven't read Marika Cobbold for a long time, but I always enjoyed her books, and this one is even better than the others that I've read! Witty, captivating and set in beautiful Hampstead, it's a timely tale about truth in journalism, and how it's being swept away in this technological and fearful age.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781911350927
PRICE £14.99 (GBP)

It was a very interesting read: it's entertaining and full of food for thought at the same time.
The uplifting, compelling, and well written story of a journalist and how she invented a story and the web of lies.
It's a reflection on the world of news and the story of a person whose only interest is work.
i liked the style of writing and the character.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I had wanted to read this for a while so was pleased to be granted it on NetGalley. Thorn is a journalist in London who witnesses a man jumping off a bridge on Hampstead Heath. What happens next is Thorn being on a mission to track down who the man is and what has happened to him.

There is more to the tale than this. Thorn, who is actually called Rose, loses her job after being demoted; she is single, and finds it hard to make ends meet; she looks after a neighbour and her dog. Dealing with ex-boss Mira is a challenge. Even though the premise is interesting, I didn’t really ‘bond’’ with this book, partly due to the somewhat clunky nature of the narrative.

Despite this, it’s a 4* review. I probably wouldn’t choose to read it again as I found it a little weak. But, there are some thought-provoking ideas and, above all, it focuses on one woman’s mission to seek out the truth.

This is a beautifully written book by an author I'm not (until now) familiar with, but, I'll be looking for more.

It's very 'of the moment' as Thorn Marsh, a journalist, is struggling with the pressure to not worry about the authenticity of her journalistic work and more focus on the number of 'likes' and 'clicks' it gets. She keenly feels this stress as does the reader, although, it's mixed with such humour and pathos it really works.
Then, she writes something that's not true and gets caught up in the web of lies she has spun. In and amongst this story are the lives of her ex-husband, her neighbour and co-workers and I found it to be an easy, enjoyable read.

It's intelligent, funny, emotional and a perfect Spring / Summer read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the Publishers Quercus Books. One of the amazing things about NetGalley is the opportunity to read and enjoy a book that, under normal circumstances, I'd likely not consider.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What will a journalist do to get an exclusive for her paper? This is the dilemma for Thorn after she is demoted from her job on the newsdesk of a newspaper. Then she sees a photograph taken by her ex-husband Nick, of a man jumping from a bridge, and what follows is how she turns her imagination of a 'fake' story into a headline news one. But the book is also a gentle romance, one which is not helped by the web of lies Thorn has woven around herself and her true identity.

On Hampstead Heath is a most engaging read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcadia Books for the opportunity to read and review it.

This is a great murder mystery book that will have you guessing and trying to work out what it going on and why.

Thumped down from her lofty newsdesk position at her London daily newspaper, Thorn our heroine ends up in the basement, trying to collect heartwarming bits of trash and positive, cutesy "and finally..." stories for the midweek supplement. Well, her idea of what makes a story a proper news story doesn't work with the new click-counting upper management. By chance one morning she meets a hunky guy standing in the right light to make him appear an angel, on a bridge in Hampstead Heath's wide country acres. Also by chance, her ex-husband – who moved on so as to not play second fiddle to her career forever – managed to capture a photo of him leaping from the bridge. Cue a bit of Thorny fancifulness, with him becoming a life-saving hero in the waters below, and she has made her first bit of fake news, and set no end of problems in motion.

This is not too bad a commentary on the current state of play – the scene where anybody can present themselves as a news source, and have no political contacts, scientific nous or attention to accuracy, and if they're clicked on enough they become a part of the algorithm for people who want to read what they want to write. I mean, this very much labours the point about how good journalists are vital and bad ones are evil, and it does seem to suffer the delusion – like most journalists – that it can actually change anything, but there is more to this than that.

Thorn, in starting at the end then flashing back through her demotion to the full-on downfall, is good company for the duration, but as I say the take-away from the book is not just a career study, but something much more in line with the general read, looking at life and relationships, and the power of truth in both those. The angel's storyline is equally interesting, making this a book of the quite unexpected.

I ought then to have liked it a bit more than I did, but that may have been down to the heavy-handed approach when comparing news writers with news-makers and click-aimers. Still, this does remain readable, fresh and interesting enough to steer well away from becoming tomorrow's fish and chips wrapper. Three and a half stars.