I like this author and I really enjoyed this read. Captivated by the story from the start with all the twist and turns make this an interesting thriller!

This story is set up with two timelines that run alongside each other, we meet Rick in 1995 as he meets mysterious temp Marina at his work and begins to fall in love. The 90’s London setting is perfectly done and adds just enough depth to the puzzle to keep you wondering.

In the current day, Alex becomes more and more obsessed with the nature trail and you know there must be a link between Alex and Rick. Louise really does add the perfect amount of twists, one minute you think you have finally got the plot then a bombshell is dropped and you are left gobsmacked.

The character depth is perfect, I immediately liked Rick and how he wanted to save a damsel in distress. I constantly felt like Rick could be being led into danger, but I didn’t feel I had the full picture until suddenly another twist hits and you are left wanting more.

I inhaled this book and Louise constantly has me on the edge of my seat, The Only Suspect will not disappoint.

Another can't put down read from Louise Candlish,the story switches between the 90's to the present time.
Plenty of twists and turns and an ending that made me go WOW really wasn't expecting that.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and SchusterUK for the ARC.

Louise Candlish never lets you down! This is another brilliant psychological thriller that holds your attention from start to finish. The array of characters is fascinating, the plot twists are many and the tension never lets up. Just when you think you understand what is going on, another staggering revelation knocks you sideways. Wonderful!

Yes oh yes! Lemme tell you this one’s not to be missed! I was introduced to author Louise Candlish only last year (first I received a copy of her Quickreads short story The Skylight and then I read The Heights) but this one firmly cements it that she’s one to stay on my readlist going forward.

The Only Suspect is told in a dual timeline. The present day handles Alex’s struggle with Zara, the woman who’s temporarily staying with him and his wife Beth. She’s nosy, outstaying her welcome and she basically turns his wife against him. The only upside of it is that Alex is also nervous about the work on the eco trail and Zara helps to keep his wife’s focus off himself. Then the story jumps to the ’90s with Rick meeting a young woman named Marina and there’s a bit of a romance that develops between them. He then discovers that Marina has a secret but Rick wouldn’t be the man he is to just let her go.

I loved how the author invited me to constantly examine my loyalty towards the characters. Is Rick a good guy or not? If ‘Alex’ did kill someone, could it be somehow understood? Did he let an innocent person go to prison? I seriously thought I had made all the right connections between Alex and Rick and the situation that was coming back to haunt them but I was SO WRONG. The twist in the story was jawdropping. I flipped the page a few times back and fro to see if I had not imagined this turn in the story.

I loved the intricateness of the story, the deceipt and the lies and the final twist that made just perfect sense looking back to everything that happened to Alex. The present was maybe a bit slower going in terms of giving up its secrets so I was initially more engrossed in the past with the difficult situation for Marina and Rick, but it definitely catches up in the final part of the novel and it was well worth the wait. I want more of this!

I thought I was going to love this book, especially after seeing so many 5* reviews, but it ended up being just OK for me. I could not like any of the characters, in fact Alex, Beth and particularly Zara (what was she all about anyway?) really got on my nerves. I kept getting confused and losing track with the different timelines and so many twists and turns, and I felt the plot was just too far-fetched. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read it, and I will try another of this author’s books in the hope that it is a bit more thrilling.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC. While I enjoyed this and would recommend it, I didn't love it as much as I have Louise's previous books. I'm a massive fan of hers and this is written as if by a completely different author so I was left a little disappointed. It felt a little far-fetched.

Louise Candlish books just keep getting better! You don’t believe they can, but then you start a new one and your neck aches and you feel sick from all the twists and gut-punches. She is a true maestro of gripping thrillers.
This is a story full of horrible people, damaged people, and one good person. What’s so great is that, up until the end, I kept moving the characters names around under those headings - the revealing of key information at just the right times kept me questioning the assumptions I’d made throughout.
There are two timelines in the book, the mid-nineties and now. Both are written about in a detailed and recognisable way. The question ‘Blur or Oasis?’ in the nineties, the neighbourhood WhatsApp group in the present. There are lots of these cultural references in both timelines that root the book in a reality you can relate to.
Something that I think Louise is exceptionally good at is giving us a really complex plot with situations that in the wrong hands would seem totally implausible, but in her approach she adds enough context and justification that you never feel you’re being taken for gullible. The characters are human and three-dimensional so you understand their reasoning, or at least can accept their flawed explanation, in some cases!
I can’t wait for her next book!

I always look forward to Louise Candlish’s books being released and The Only Suspect is absolutely incredible!

Alex lives with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. He likes the quiet life and is a good husband with an easy-going demeanour. But all of that changes when Beth announces that a nature trail has been given the go-ahead on a local site that has been disused for decades. Suddenly he becomes a changed man, always watching, questioning and struggling to hide his dread at what the trail’s creation may uncover. Because back when Alex was in his twenties he became entangled with a young woman called Marina and both of their lives were thrown into turmoil. A world which sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed...

Right from the outset I was intrigued by the two different narratives and liked being able to wonder as I was reading how they would be connected. There were chapters from the perspective of Alex set in the present and then chapters from the perspective of Rick set 25 years ago in 1995. I couldn’t wait to get back to each timeline and found myself racing through the pages to see what would happen next!

I loved that I correctly worked out something about these two narratives that was confirmed towards the end of the book. However, there was so much that took me by complete and utter surprise. The end of chapter 28 in particular had me open mouthed in shock. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was reading; it was fantastic! There were more jaw dropping revelations to come too and I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since finishing it as a result.

I honestly cannot recommend The Only Suspect highly enough!

I do love a Louise Candlish. She reliably delivers twisty, turny thrillers with great characterisation.
And this one is no exception.
It switches backwards and forwards between 1995 and the present day.
I won’t go into a lot of plot detail - this is a slow reveal - but Rick’s 1995 love affair is not what it seems.
And - in the present day - he is a married man with a big secret that threatens to be unveiled.
I devoured this, racing ahead to find out what happens!
Candlish writes well too: you never feel like you’re in sloppy hands.
Recommended if you like a thriller with characters you really care about, and enough surprises to make you gasp!

Wow! What a book!
I was super excited to read this new book by Louise Candlish and certainly wasn’t disappointed.
I inhaled it and loved every page. Her writing style is clever, engaging and memorable.
One of my favourite reads this year and one that I’ll recommend to everyone.

I can see the appeal of this but it didn’t quite work for me. I think that the characters weren’t sufficiently developed for me to care about them so I lost a bit of interest. Good twists but nothing I haven’t experienced before. A good thriller but not a great one for me.

Louise Candlish knows how to write. She has made me nearly miss a dentist appointment and made me overlay as I read this book every waking moment. Fantastic. She’s fast becoming my favourite author and she has such a knack at nailing humanity. Great plot. Well written. This book made me think about it and talk to my husband and recommend to a friend. Definitely a sign of a good book.

Wow I’m speechless!! I was almost late to work this morning as I couldn’t wait to read the ending of this amazing book!!

Told in dual timelines (which had me a bit confused at first ) but when all the pieces came together I wasn’t expecting it.

This book has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, brilliant writing. Murder, love, obsession, greed and deception are all intertwined throughout the plot.

I cannot recommend this book enough , I’m sad to have finished it even though I may get to sleep at a decent hour now.

When Alex discovers there is going to be a new nature trail on a local unused site near him, it fills him with dread and paranoia. Why? When Alex was in his 20’s he had a turbulent time with a woman called Marina. As the landscapers get to work on the trail, secrets threaten to become unearthed…

At the beginning of this book I was really struggling to get into it - I didn’t particularly like our main character Alex and the story was slow moving. Around halfway though I was hooked. The chapters from Rick’s perspective were far more interesting to me and they were the ones that kept me wanting to read. I flew through the last 30% of this book because I needed to know what would happen.
The plot overall was really enjoyable. There were a few twists that were predictable but one of the last plot twists I did not see coming at all For me it was a complete gasp and jaw dropping moment. I liked the ending too and it didn’t feel rushed.
I rated this a 3.5/5 stars - I enjoyed it but it’s not my favourite by this author.

The Only Suspect is a typical Louise Candlish thriller. It sets up an intriguing scenario and when the truth emerges it confounds the reader’s expectations. What makes it special is that she is able to communicate her characters’ psychology so credibly and chart the development of a relationship with such aplomb.

This novel is built around 2 timelines, the past (set in the mid 1990s) and the present. The story in the past largely drives the plot in the first half of the novel as we wait to see how the storylines will link. The second half of the novel is a rollercoaster ride. Nothing is as it seems. And it is a beautifully crafted ending.

As always, Candlish writes brilliantly about London and this book has a glorious sense of place. The use of music also helps communicate the past and adds a dimension to the characters. Another superb addition to Louise Candlish’s work.

*4.5 stars*

Alex and his wife Beth live in Silver Vale, a nice peaceful secluded area, and although Alex prefers to keep himself to himself, and Beth is the opposite, and likes to get involved in community projects, they’re both happy enough. However, when Beth tells Alex about the development of a nature trail right behind their home, Alex becomes very anxious, because he has a very dark secret and the landscapers may inadvertently be about to reveal it!

Dual timelines take us from the present, back to 1995, where we meet twenty something Rick, living the single life in Camden, London, that is until he meets Marina, a beautiful ethereal girl who works in the same office building as him, and from there on in, his life changes irrevocably, and not necessarily for the better. All manner of madness and mayhem is about to be unleashed.

Though there’s something of a slow build up, it gives us chance to become familiar with the main characters, to get a real feel for them. The storyline is complex but very clever, and although there are many twists, there’s one in particular that blew me away, I just never saw it coming. With a great sense of time and place, and an edgy feel right the way through, this is a terrific read!

A brilliantly paced and driven mystery, with a couple of killer twists I didn’t see coming. The narrative flits between past and present and gives you a constant sense of unease as the action unfolds. No-one is quite who they say they are, and all is not what it seems…

Books written in the voices of more than one character don’t always work well and can become confusing, but not this one! In the present day we have Alex, a happily married man, comfortable in suburbia with his wife, but becoming more and more anxious as a plan to turn the wooded area behind his house into a nature reserve becomes reality. Why? What does he have to hide? Then there’s Rick in the 1990s - a very pleasant but gullible chap who embarks on a mission to save a girl he loves from an abusive partner. Some of Rick’s personality traits and actions don’t ring entirely true, but the real skill in Chandlish’s writing is in bringing these two stories together, with twists and turns aplenty and a very unexpected but ultimately satisfying ending. A reviewer will often write that you won’t be able to put this book down until it’s finished, and in this case I defy anyone to say otherwise!

A very good read. Would recommend. Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book. I always look forward to a book by Louise Candlish.