The writing style made this really hard for me to read. I was able to finish, but it was off putting. I wanted to care about Daniel and his story, but it didn’t work out for me. Perhaps with some editing and work, this book could be that much better. The story started out well, but it didn’t pander out in the manner that made me care about it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

I enjoyed this canal side tale of Daniel and Poppy. They were both easily likeable characters, with different backgrounds - brought together to solve a 19 year old mystery.

The human brain is a wonderfully complex and interesting organ. With Daniel’s superior memory and Poppy’s experience of a relative with Alzheimers the book touches on those affected but some of these neurodiverse conditions.

All in all, a good story - a little slow to start, but once the two had met, the pace really picked up and I was keen to keep reading to find out if they would ever catch up with the owner of the Golden Serpent.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Joffebooks for an advance copy of this book.

#theperfectwitness #susannabeard

…… I really wanted to DNF this book.

I was beyond excited to have the opportunity to receive an arc that I HAD to finish it. I chose this read based on the title and description. It set me up to believe this was going to be a bad ass psychological thriller and it never came close.

I would proceed with caution with this one.

I really wanted to love The Perfect Witness. However despite the writing being good, the plot just wasn't gripping or suspenseful enough to carry me through the chapters.

When I first started reading this book, I couldn’t see what would come next. This book is a good combination of psychological drama and suspense. At some points of the story I got goosebumps. At another point of the book it gave me an “aww” vibe!! Sometimes the book made me sad too.

Don’t you love a book which gives you sweet, scary, and sad vibes all at once?

Daniel just lost his job, his apartment and his girlfriend. He is not like ordinary people. He has a special kind of brain where he remembers every single details of his young life to adult without missing any dates, location and how incidents happened in his life. His this special brain condition called “highly superior autobiographical memory”, which he didn’t know until he set out for an adventure by walking by the canals to figure out the horrible murder scene that he witnessed near the canals nineteen years ago was just a flashback of blurred memories of a ten-year old or it really happened.

While he was walking he encounters with Poppy, who just lost her grandma because of Alzheimer’s. She was also walking by the canals in the memory of her grandmother and to get some donations for Alzheimer’s patients. At first meeting they found comfort in each other and even though Daniel was set to walk alone to find the murderer, when Poppy offered she would also join him he didn’t decline. So they set out together in this journey.

I was scared to know if they would find the murderer or not. I was scared to know if the memory of Daniel was really true or not. I was scared to know if it’s true and they find the culprit, how would Daniel react. As the story unfold more and more, I got goosebumps. I got sad. Sometimes Daniel and Poppy’s little moments together made me root for them.

I really loved reading this book. I would recommend it to others who likes to read psychological drama with a suspense. I would rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked this book a lot. It definitely kept me on my toes, which I love in any psychological thriller.

Daniel had a perfect life, even though twenty years ago he witnessed something he should of have never seen.
Now haunted by the memories of that night, it returns again over and over to his memory. Then he panics and looses everything. To get his life back on track he wanted to see if he could find out what happened that night.
One person he trust may be a danger. Will he be able to save them and find out what happened on that eery night. Read this book and you shall find out. Great psychological thriller book.
Thanks to Joffe Books, netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
Published: March, 30th, 2022.

Instead of having a memory like most, Daniel is plagued with a memory that recalls unthinkable details about his past with perfect accuracy. Overwhelmed by a lifetime of memories, one stands out. When Daniel was a boy, he witnessed what he thinks is the murder of a classmate. Now, 19 years later, he’s determined to find out what happened.

This book was a sweet read with lovable characters. You live through Daniel’s struggles with his memory and fall in love with Poppy’s sweet demeanor. However, I really wanted there to be a bigger twist or thrilling storyline. While the last 1/4 was suspenseful, this wasn’t overwhelmingly a thriller for me.

Not one for me I’m afraid and the description of it as a thriller is very misleading. There was some romance in it but not enough to call it a romance either.
The story plodded along but as another reviewer wrote it was easy to put down but not so easy to pick up again.

I found this so boring it got a little better towards the end but still didn't thrill me at all. Extremely disappointed

I was not that impressed by this book. It could have been good but unfortunately, it didn't excite me. I couldn't decide if it was supposed to be a thriller or a romance. I like a book which is advertised as a psychological thriller to be just that, with lots of twists and turns. Sorry, this was just not for me!
Thank you Netgalley and Joffre Books for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion.

THE PERFECT WITNESS
by Susanna Beard



The premise was great, unfortunately this book was a bit easy to put down, and not so easy to pick back up, for me, at least.

I did finish it and was glad I did.

The beginning bothered me, but well those events had to happen or there would have been no story.

Daniel witnessed something at 10 years old that haunted him to this very day as the book tells.

He can't forget the incident, but he also can't forget anything. Daniel has the opposite of amnesia, he remembers every single thing in his life.

At 29 he decides to look into that event that happened at age 10. He wants to see if he can prevent something like that happening again.

Daniel was ok, I doubt I will remember him in a few weeks.

I preferred his girlfriend for some reason, she was just super sweet.


I don't know if the story could have been shorter, if that would have made it a better book, or if it just well it was NOT a thriller nor fast paced.

The story seemed to drag slowly along until he went back to the canals and then it picked right up.

So overall it was not a bad book, it wasn't super fast nor psychological thriller that it claims to be.

If someone wants a slower paced story with a bit of mystery, then this book would be great for them to read.

3****


This ARC was gifted to me from NetGalley to be read for my honest review and feedback. I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #SusannaBeard for this ARC.


Review on NetGalley, Goodreads, Wordpress and amazon.

DNF @ 44%
Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC!
It seemed like an interesting concept but I just could not get into this book unfortunately. Daniel was just boring to me and I had to drag myself back to this book, when typically I finish a book in 2-3 days.

This just wasn’t for me unfortunately, I wasn’t hooked or interested throughout and it took me weeks to get through

THE PERFECT WITNESS by Susanna Beard.
Then
Ten-year-old Daniel witnesses his friend being murdered by the boy’s father, and dumped in a canal. Terrified of his friend’s father, scared he won’t be believed by the police, Daniel convinces himself that it was all a nightmare.
Now
Daniel is plagued by memories of that night. The frightened scream. The splash of something heavy hitting the water.
What really happened that night? Daniel has to find out the truth. His new girlfriend, Poppy, promises to help him.
But the more questions they ask the more they dredge up.
I did enjoy this book. I wasn't sure if I liked the characters. Good story. 4*.

Daniel is a man who is haunted by his memories. Within 24 hours he lost so much, his job, his girlfriend, his home. Struggling with mental health issues and the haunting memories of what he witnessed when he was 10 years old. The memories of his friend being murdered by the father of the friend and than dumped. Daniel can’t escape it. He lived in fear of the boy’s father, afraid no one would believe. Daniel spent years telling himself it was nothing but a nightmare, that those memories weren’t real..

I was not sure what I was getting into with this book but I was not disappointed. It was a fantastic read and while not the thriller I expected it was a very entertaining crime drama. Very different to other books, covering crime, friendship, neurodivergence and the power of memory.

Extremely entertaining, I read it in a night as I could not put it down. I loved Daniel's journey of self-discovery and healing while also trying to solve a crime. I loved the characters, especially Beans. Well worth a read.

This book is so mismarketed and mislabeled that I feel very sorry for those who expected something else. It is definitely NOT an absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller.

The beginning might be as a thriller or mystery but then it goes into regular fiction and eventually becomes a romantic novel. It is definitely not a thriller because it has very little suspense nor surprises, in the end only arriving to what most readers have figured out already. Thus the title is also super unfitting and the cover is not a good choice.

NEVERTHELESS. I started this book without remembering the synopsis and took it at a face value. It had a great start that gripped me but then the development became quite slow and made me wonder about the genre of the book. I really liked Daniel so I kept reading and would have liked to invest in him even more, to go even deeper into his head if the point of view stayed with him and was not jumping back and forth between him and Poppy's. The whole background about Poppy and her grandmother was not connecting with me, it was actually rather distracting from the main story, so I have skipped most of those chapters just to go back to Daniel. If anything Poppy should have just her own book.

What saved this book is walking along the canals. I am a bit of a hiker myself and I could just imagine the joy of having an opportunity to walk the whole summer along canals especially in the English countryside. This was the best part about the book in addition to Daniel's growth as a person and his overcoming fears that impacted him for so many years. The book was very realistic on this point and I have really enjoyed this part of it.

Thanks Netgalley for the free copy in exchange of an honest review.

A beautifully written edge-of-your-seat thriller that had me guessing right until the end. Unputdownable. a nail-biting thriller that grips to the very last page! An atmospheric, taut thriller which keeps you hooked from the first page!

Daniel had the perfect life: a beautiful girlfriend, a great job, a lovely home.
But twenty years ago he witnessed something he never should have seen. And now he’s plagued by memories of that night.
The frightened scream.
The splash of something heavy hitting the water.
His friend being murdered by his father.
It returns again and again and it’s driving him slowly mad. Now he’s lost his girlfriend, his job and his flat.
To get his life back on track, he needs to find out what really happened that night.
Daniel decides to walk the canals of England, to look for the boat he thinks he saw. But what he finds out will put the one person he trusts in danger.

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.

This was not a bad book; it was simply mislabeled. It is not a thriller--it has no twists, no turns, no explosive revelations, no mysterious secrets, no whodunit. It's a drama about a man lost in the past and struggling with the present because of it. Unfortunately, it was not my cup if tea.