Brilliant plot and characters. Louise Candlish continues to be an auto-buy for me! I couldn’t put this one down.

Thank you for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Louise Candlish despite having heard lots of great things previously. I will definitely be checking out her other books in the future as I loved this book.
This is a fantastic psychological thriller which grips you and immerses you in the story. The plot is cleverly thought out and executed excellently with a fast pace and tension. A must read for fans of psychological thrillers.

Alex lives in one of a row of cottages, once intended for workmen, now homes for middle class Londoners looking for more space in the suburbs. He lives with wife Beth and their dog Olive, enjoying quite a settled and peaceful existence. Even Alex’s job as an auditor has a certain amount of quiet respectability about it - some might even say boring respectability. However, when Beth’s pregnant friend Zara ends up without a roof over her head, she becomes a catalyst for change in the house and in Alex and Beth’s marriage. She becomes a third party in the relationship, staying much longer than expected and even worse, she and Alex don’t get on. They start to butt heads over his indifference to Beth’s interests, such as trying to get the pathway opposite them opened up and turned into a community nature trail. As Zara and Alex continue to clash, Beth notices things - for example his indifference to Zara’s pregnancy, especially considering they’ve been told they can’t have children, starts to bother her. He has no social media presence, won’t have his photo taken and is very threatened by Zara’s questions about his past. When he explodes, after Beth buys him an Ancestry DNA kit for his birthday she seriously starts to wonder what is her husband so scared about?

The author sets this uneasy dynamic in the present day, but interweaves it with another timeline, around twenty years in the past. A young man called Richard narrates his own love story with a time temp girl he meets in the foyer of their offices. She has started to eat lunch in the foyer because there’s a new frozen yoghurt machine. After a few lunchtimes chatting in the building, they start meeting for lunch, either sitting outside or taking strolls into St. James’s Park. As they get to know each other, Richard is starting to fall for Marina, but their time together is so rationed. He can never take her out after work, she goes straight home. She can never stay the night, except for Thursdays, but even then she arrives later in the evening and disappears early next morning. They never go to Marina’s flat. In fact he’s surprised when she agrees to come to his birthday party, organised by new flatmate Rollo. Rollo is sure he knows what’s going on and can’t believe Richard is so naïve- Marina is hiding something, or perhaps someone.

Louise Candlish really is clever when it comes to twists and turns and this novel has a couple of whoppers. Some I didn’t see coming at all, both in the past and the present. There are a couple of red herrings too, just to make the story more interesting and send the reader down a few blind alleys. The characters are nuanced and full of faults, making it harder to work out which ones have the normal human flaws and which are just downright evil. I found Beth’s friend Zara so annoying, she’s inquisitive and inserts herself into private conversations and really does seem to have a bee in her bonnet about Alex. She’s manipulative too, using Beth’s grief at being unable to have a child, to get comfortable in their home. It felt like she had no intention of leaving, involving Beth more and more in the pregnancy and actively baiting Alex in front of his wife. It could be that she just thinks Alex treats her friend badly, but it could be that she wants Beth and the house to herself. In our past section I felt some sympathy with Richard because he was just so trusting and is let down badly. If he is now Alex it might explain why he’s so guarded about his past, but he might not be. As the events in the past start to escalate the book becomes so tense. I was addicted, reading the last half in one long session. Alex is as tense as we are and his desperation to stay in the background of Beth’s community venture starts to look very suspicious. Beth is angry because he’s being unsupportive, but it’s possibly much more than that. I could see that he was experiencing real fear, but what does he think will be discovered and what is the link to the nature trail? It’s a labyrinthine plot but I didn’t miss a thing, totally focused on the outcome of this mystery. Candlish has an incredible knack for creating these middle class communities that look the height of respectability from the outside and turn out to be anything but. Thankfully, I didn’t get attached to any of the characters so I could take a twisted sense of pleasure in watching this particular house of card come tumbling down. This book is addictive, intense and an absolute treat.

An intelligent and well plotted read, with believable characters. I did enjoy it once I got into it, it was a bit confusing at first however.

I have to say that I struggled a little bit with the beginning of the book, as I couldn’t easily see the connection between the different narratives: there are chapters from the perspective of Rick back in 1995 and of Alex set in the present, once I got into the book, I found I really enjoyed the juxtaposition. It is a true skill of the author that she was able to bring these two stories together in such a successful way. There were a few twists that I felt were predictable, but I found the ending to be both unexpected and satisfying.

All in all, a good read, which gets a solid 4 stars from me.

Rating: 4.5/5

I know from previous experience that Louise Candlish is an intelligent writer with a penchant for creating suspenseful psychological thrillers that have plenty of twists and turns. In that respect this latest offering is no different. However, I would go further and suggest that "The Only Suspect" is quite possibly this author's best novel to date.

I won't go into plot details as there is too great a risk of inadvertently giving something away that could spoil your own enjoyment. There is sufficient information in the official marketing blurb to put you in the picture without the need for me to add anything further. One slight word of warning in that this story does deliberately build quite slowly in the first half of the book. That said, this is certainly not one of those occasions where "slow burner" is a polite euphemism for dull or boring - at no point did my attention wander, nor did I feel the build-up was unnecessarily protracted. The narrative alternates between two time frames - that of the present day and one in 1995. The plot has been carefully and skilfully constructed and holds together well. There is also plenty of misdirection along the way and although experienced readers of the genre may well be able to predict some of the plot developments, I would be surprised if many people will genuinely foresee all of them - I certainly didn't.

This is easy to recommend and I will definitely be back for the next book from Louise Candlish.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book, but I found the surprise twist at the end to be a bit predictable. The pacing was great throughout, there weren't any points where I found my attention drifting. The flip between past and present set up the narrative well and added to the build up of tension

I adored this book, Louise is a master story teller and I couldn’t put the only suspect down. Another outstanding book from Louise

I’m a longtime fan of Louise Candlish’s and this is one of her best. I’ve obviously come to expect her twists, but even though I could maybe, kind of, see some of it coming, it was still more dark and twisty than I imagined. Although it’s a gripping murder mystery type story, it’s a pretty sad story as well - a tragedy actually. Especially when you consider the love story element to it. I read this is in day, I just couldn’t put it down.

Alex avoids social media because he has a secret he doesn’t want anyone to discover but when the community decide to open up a disused track he starts to be concerned he may be found out.
The story switches between the present and the past where we discover what had happened.
I found the characters interesting and was surprised at the ending

Such a brilliant plot and masterfully executed. The story will have you gripped from the outset and keep hold of you all the way thought until the end.

Louise Candlish’s latest book is a tale that draws the reader in slowly and then builds up the tension to a completely unexpected ending.
The duel timeline switches between the present day and the mid 90’s.
Alex and his wife Beth are living in Silver Vale, a quiet area where a nature trail is being developed behind their home. Early on it’s apparent that Alex is concerned that something from his past might be revealed if excavations for the trail go ahead. This makes his behavior increasingly irrational. The other strand of the story goes back to 1995 when a young man Rick meets and falls in love with Marina, a secretive girl who’s temporarily working in the same office building.
It’s quite intriguing and although I worked out some of what was going on I didn’t expect the final twist.
The only part that didn’t ring true was Beth inviting her pregnant friend Zara to live with them without discussing it with Alex.
None of the characters apart from Rick were particularly likable however that doesn’t distract from the book and I enjoyed reading it as it held my interest.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Ltd for the ARC

Swapping between the 90's and present time this book covers the development of a nature trail on some disused land, which makes one local resident incredibly jumpy. Secrets galore are revealed as the trail develops and the twitchiness increases!
fantastic twists, great reveal- definitely one you will not be able to put down!

A nature trail is being constructed near Alex and Beth’s home. Most of the neighbourhood is looking forward to this by Alex is terrified that a secret will be unearthed.
A slow burning thriller with quite a few twist and turns and plenty of unlikeable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner from Louise Candlish, of course!

In 'The Only Suspect' we move between two timelines, modern day suburban London where Alex and his wife live a good lifestyle, they're happy together. Life seems to be going well until Alex's peace is shattered with the announcement that the scrappy lane backing onto their houses is being redeveloped into a wildlife haven. Its obvious that something big has happened in the lane in Alex's past that he doesn't want revealed and the stress of his secrets coming to light causes some dubious decisions. Added into the mix is his wife's pregnant friend Zara who has 'temporarily' moved into their house and is causing all sorts of disruption for Alex. I love Zara's character and would be so keen to find out more about her story....

This 2022 timeline is interspersed with a glorious 1995 one, where we meet 26 year old Rick living in a cheap flat in grubby exciting Camden, drinking beer with his flatmate on the roof terrace, ignoring the damp in the corner of the flat as the rent is so cheap. Honestly these parts of the book were so full of the excitement of Britpop and London living; a world before mobiles and before social media - it all seems a million miles away. Rick begins a relationship with a colleague Marina, and as their relationship develops, he slowly finds more about what's she's hiding and why.

I loved it- especially if you were in your 20s in the 1990s (don't do the maths for how old that makes me now!) - the immediacy of life then is brought to life fantastically and the contrast with life now felt very real. There were some proper gasp out loud moments as you come to expect from Louise Candlish. Honestly I dont think she can put a foot wrong in her writing, every story is such a success.

Yes, yes yes, Louise Candlish, you got me again! Every single book of hers that I have read has left me gasping out loud, and The Only Suspect was no different. I could not read it fast enough, desperate to see what would happen next. It was clever and unpredictable and I just loved it. Get in the Louise Candlish train, you will not be sorry.

Told over 2 timelines, this book will certainly keep you guessing. In the present day, we meet Alex, a very private man, living with his wife and is happy. That is until he learns of plans to clear the land nearby and extend the nature strip. But why is he so scared of this development? In 1995, we meet Rick, who falls deeply in love with a Marina , a temp from his building. But things are. It what they seem here either. What is the connection and what happens to these characters? Be prepared to be shocked. So so good.

Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster UK for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on February 1st.

Psychological thrillers have really flooded the book market in the last few years, with the “surprise twist” becoming a bit of a cliche and not as difficult to see coming as the author seems to think. Candlish, howeve.r, is the real deal and can always be relied on to comeup with original ideas which revive the genre, and this is no exception. I won’t give too much away about the plot, but it concerns a middle-aged man with a secret, a passionate love affair from his youth with a damsel in distress ( or is she a femme fatale?) and renovation work on an old track that threatens to re-open a crime from years before. The characters are interesting, the 1990s flashbacksare very nostalgic and it is impossible to guess all of the twists and turns. A clever and absorbing page turner.

Oh wow! What an ending!! A twist that made me gasp, I just hadn’t seen it coming which made this such an amazing and enthralling story. I have read most of this authors books and this is by far her best…And the others were all first class!

I can’t recommend this book enough..totally unputdownable, twists and turns, characters you’ll feel sorry for characters you’ll really dislike…have I mentioned that twist at the end?!

Thank you to the author, publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I have read Our House and seen the TV Drama so was excited to be given the opportunity to read The Only Suspect and I wasn't disappointed .Told in two timelines 1995 and the present and set in a very desirable suburb in London ,Alex is hiding a very dark secret which now threatens to be exposed .The story is full of secrets and twists and turns,a very clever and enjoyable psychological thriller which had me gripped all the way through ,I also enjoyed the very clever ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

This story alternates between the past and the present and is a story of plans to carry out a murder, while setting another up to take the blame.
The book starts with a couple embarking on an affair but the underlying plans are much darker.
The second half of the book reveals the details of the plans which brought the main character to his desperate situation.
The final twist was a surprise thta I didn’t see coming.
Recommended