Black Thorn - Sarah Hilary

The blurb of this book had me hooked, but I was a little disappointed with the end result. I found the pace a little to slow for me, but was intrigued by what the outcome would be as it felt very suspicious and a little unusual. I also did not connect to the characters very quickly and felt there were more in the story than was necessarily needed. Overall it was an atmospheric read which felt extremely dark and tortured but I personally found the whole thing a little confusing.

Thanks so much Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this e-arc in return for my honest thought and opinions.

Black Thorn has been a stand-out read for me this year and I’m counting down the days to the Bloody Scotland festival as I cannot wait to hear Sarah Hilary talk about this book. I lived this story from the initial feisty scenes to the shocking conclusion where secrets are revealed and lies exposed.

Readers are cleverly brought (by courier) to the Blackthorn Ashes and once they have arrived it seems impossible to leave – right from the early pages you feel this is a place which is not going to be filled with happy memories. I’ve been worried about how I am going to review Black Thorn as it’s exquisitly written and is very much a story you need to experience for yourself and with minimal spoilers.

We arrive at a neighbourhood barbeque. The new neighbours are getting to know each other but there’s trouble brewing too – one of their number has sustained an injury in his garden and blames the developers for shoddy workmanship. There’s little sympathy on offer but the lack of food and the chaotic organisation of this gathering does show some friction exists in the new residential development. Then just as the reader feels they are getting to know the players in this tale a shift, a shock and six of their number are dead.

That’s how you catch my attention. What happened? Who died? Why is Agnes sneaking into the houses of her dead neighbours when the police have made it clear nobody should be near the properties? Questions you need to have answered and that’s why you’ll keep reading.

Agnes is the stand-out star of Black Thorn. She drives the story and is the main focus of events. Agnes can feel there is something wrong at Blackthorn Ashes, she tries to warn people something isn’t right within the development. Unfortunately her family are pouring their hearts and soul into these new homes – they have to be the very best – and the last thing they need is Agnes “acting up” and ruining things. Agnes appears to have been a difficult child, her autism was a challenge for her family to cope with and her relationship with her mother and younger brother has been strained. Consequently Agnes’s attempts to alert her family to the problems she can feel at Blackthorn Ashes don’t get given much credence.

We learn Agnes had previously left the family home and moved to London with her partner but things didn’t work out for them and Agnes has returned, just as the exclusive homes her father has built are sold to new residents. She arrives back in the not-so-warm embrace of her family at a time when they were already extremely stressed over the challenges faced by a small firm with all their hopes pinned on a new venture but things aren’t quite going to plan.

Events in Black Thorn are not told in linear fashion. The narrative spins back and forward with most events taking place within a timeframe of just a few weeks, however, there is a lot happening and Sarah Hilary makes the reader wait while she teases out the story making sure she gets the very best anticipation infused to the story. This is a book where you trust the author to give you enough information to begin to form your own conclusions as to what may be about to occur only for another layer of backstory to be peeled back to reveal more gems which will entirely challenge your conceptions and re-think your opinion towards some characters. There’s a dark mystery to be solved here, there are strong and wonderfully realised characters and there is a tension and uncertainty for Agnes which runs through the book.

Black Thorn is a sumptious read. From a tragedy early in the story Sarah Hilary builds up suspicions, anxiety and heartbreak. This is seriously high quality crime fiction – I can only implore you to read it.

Blackthorn Ashes is an exclusive new neighbourhood in an idyllic location overlooking the Cornish sea. It's residents are smug living in such a sought after location,

Agnes has moved back home with her family following the breakup of her relationship. A fresh new start in a beautiful new home should be just the thing that she needs to start living her life to the full.

Blackthorn Ashes is beautiful and Agnes quickly makes a new friend Errol, who is a calming influence to her naturally anxious demeanor. Summer is in full swing and BBQs help the neighbours get to know each other.

Things are pretty perfect.

Until they're not....

An unspeakable tragedy forces the residents including Agnes and her family away from Blackthorn Ashes into the less than savoury neighbouring caravan site. They are forbidden to re-enter Blackthorn as a police investigation gets underway.

When the Police begin to question members of Agnes family, she realises that Blackthorn Ashes may not have been the idyllic paradise that so many (including Agnes herself) believed it to be, and those that she love may be in danger as the truth comes to light.

Black Thorn is an atmospheric novel full of secrets, lies and deception. Its characters are at times unlikeable, but mostly identifiable, their struggles relatable.

This is another superb novel from this author, and as always I look forward to her next.

'Black Thorn' is less mystery and more about the impact of crime. It's eerie, incisive and claustrophobic.

Sarah Hilary's writing brims with menace and tension, adding weight to the main character's unease. Having an autistic person as the main character provides the reader with an alternative perspective and a different way of seeing the world that is being portrayed.

Agnes's friendship with Errol was a slice of light in the darkness. A beautifully drawn relationship.

The dual timeline helps readers understand the characters and their motivations while the storyline covers themes of negligence (in many forms), ambition and avarice.

I really enjoyed the Marni Rome series so was eagerly anticipating this novel. However I found it really difficult to engage with, The plot jumped around and there were too many half hints and back stories needing to be filled which made it confusing to me. I'm sorry to say that I ended up abandoning it part way through.

I have read and enjoyed all of Sarah Hilary’s books and this latest doesn’t disappoint. It is however completely different to her earlier books and if I’m honest most books that I have read. I certainly haven’t read one that makes me cringe every time I go near new build housing. It really has made me think about what could go wrong or be covered up.
The Gale family have been ruined by what happened to the families in the new complex. Under suspicion, having to leave their dream home and they have lost everything. Strangely their situation is seen through the younger members of the family’s eyes. Agnes, recently returned home after a relationship break down and her younger brother Christie. Both have a difficult relationship with their mother Ruth who struggled to accept her daughters autism diagnosis years earlier and whose feelings towards Christie could only be described as disappointment. She is rarely referred to as mum, only as Ruth which highlighted the distance between them. Even more so where then their father is known as dad throughout.
There are some wonderful characters in the novel, Agnes was one of them but also her friend Errol. I love it when you can see a character as real and if he was he would definitely be a friend that I would want. Others made me cringe, obviously I can’t discuss why but I’m sure many readers will have the same opinion.
Whilst crime does occur most of this novel showed the impact on Agnes and her family rather than the police investigation. How suspicion, guilt, wrongful arrest and misunderstanding could destroy what should have been a rock solid and happy environment.
I loved this novel, Sarah Hilary has proved that she can captivate with a standalone novel just as well as her series. Not many manage it that well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very slow, tense thriller which I found quite dull in places. There was a sense of eeriness throughout the book and of waiting for something to happen. I like that Agnes was autistic so sensed things in a different way which added a different dynamic to the book and a different view of what was happening to the residents of Blackthorn.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. This was a dark and compelling read which I thoroughly enjoyed. The time line flips back and forth but it was very easy to understand and also helped build the characters. I was intrigued to find out the whole story and I was very impressed with the ending, it fitted perfectly in my opinion. A great story that I’d highly recommend. 4 stars from me.

This is a very long book and it take a great deal of tenacity to keep going with it. A story that somehow felt deadly boring and it just did not take off with me.
The characterisation was difficult to understand and each member of the story had their own difficulties, but at no point did anyone try to address any of them. A more disparate cast of characters it would be hard to find one story.
The blurb that hooked me sounded brilliant, but alas I did not find it lived up to it. It all sounded as if something quite unusual was going to happen, but sadly it never transpired.

The cover of Black Thorn leads you to think this will be a 'typical' murder mystery where the bodies gradually pile up.

It's not. Instead it's an incisive look into family life and loyalties, ambition, criminal negligence, toxic greed and cover-up. The main character, Agnes, who is autistic and hypersensitive, and often struggles to cope with her emotions, has returned to her family after her relationship breaks up, joining her parents and younger brother in their new life in an 'idyllic' luxurious development by the sea. It's all, on the surface at least, laughter, friendly neighbours and barbecues till things go very badly wrong.

Like the other residents, Agnes and her family are forced to leave the home into which they have sunk all their money; they have a pittance to live on in their small, grotty caravan. As the police investigation proceeds, Agnes tries to understand what has happened while trying to keep her family from falling apart at the seams.

Black Thorn is atmospheric, claustrophobic, compulsive, and all those adjectives reviewers have thrown at it. It pulsates with tension. And it's also extremely well observed and well written. The pull of family on Agnes, and her almost equally strong urge to leave them to their own mess, is wonderfully conveyed.

The sense of simmering menace is carried through into the descriptions of the location and weather, and even reinforced by the stark contrast with the calmness and kindness depicted through the character Errol, Agnes' friend. Their friendship is beautifully portrayed, delicately sketching the bond between the two people who are perceived or treated as the most weird or different but who are probably the sanest people in the place.

Overall, Black Thorn is a rewarding and gripping read. 4.5*

Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC.

Black Thorn had me hooked from the description alone and the story kept me gripped. It had interesting, well written characters and the story was so atmospheric. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my ARC.

Blackthorn Ashes is a new exclusive housing development on the cliffs in Cornwall. The first 6 houses are completed and the new residents have moved in, to start making happy memories in their dream homes.

Fast forward a few weeks and paradise is lost, six people are dead and Blackthorn Ashes is left abandoned and unfinished.

Agnes is determined to find out what the truth is, she always felt like there was something not right with the houses but no one would listen to her.

I loved this book, the countdown to the evacuation date kept the tension building as we find out what happened in teasing bite sized flashbacks.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Black Thorn by Sarah Hilary

Sarah’s first stand alone novel Fragile was a fascinating psychological drama where I didn’t quite know where I stood or who to believe and that’s a feeling she definitely recreated in this story. Black Thorn is a luxury housing development in Cornwall and we’re thrown right into the middle of the resident’s relationships as we follow a delivery driver into the complex. There we meet Adrian who is holding a BBQ at his place and in situ are most of the other residents. Adrian comes across as the community leader and as the salesman for the development he knows his neighbours very well. He lives in the first house with wife Ruth and two children; Agnes who is in her twenties and recently returned home after living in London for a few years and Christie a teenage boy. The author sets up these houses as the sort of thing you see in the Omaze house giveaway adverts! They are luxury with American fridges and Quooker taps as well as a floor to ceiling view of the sea. The idyllic afternoon is punctured by the arrival of Luke Dearborn, the only neighbour not present, who stumbles in on crutches with a fracture boot on and accuses Adrian of selling houses that have massive snagging problems, such as the trench that he fell into. However, we soon realise there are much worse problems under the luxury surface of these homes, the type that can’t be ticked off a snagging list. Soon we’re plunged into a psychological game where we’re never sure who we can trust or who wants us dead.

I thought the author created a very sinister setting right on the edge of the world! Luxury to me means cosy and I expect a house to hug me. I want rich colours, the softest of soft furnishings, beautiful artwork and incredible views. Black Thorn luxury is more performative. It’s about what the house looks like and represents to other people, rather than how it feels to the homeowner. It has hard lines, Scandi styling and shows it’s luxury with fake diamonds scattered across the carpet. There is a definite David Lynch feel to the place, especially as we experience it through Agnes. Agnes can hear a sound, a rushing round like blood swooshing through veins or locusts stripping a field. Is there something in the walls? Then there’s the trenches, splits in the green lawn that gape open and show the dirt underneath. It reminded me of Blue Velvet and seeing the suburban neighbourhood with insects crawling beneath the earth. There’s something sleek, corporate and almost clinical about these homes, but there’s a malignancy underneath that’s only just starting to come to the surface.

I found the characters very hard to connect to, perhaps because they are so far outside my own experience or because they’re simply not very likeable. Bette and Errol brought the only touch of warmth and family for me, living as they do in a small caravan on the edge of the lux development so that Bette is close enough to keep them clean. I loved his flamboyance and his loyalty to Agnes, with whom he had an instant connection. Bette is that stereotypical mother figure, always there with a comforting drink and plate of biscuits. She has a constancy that’s very attractive, especially for Agnes whose mother is the only one working to support the family and whose father present only in body. I didn’t always understand Agnes, but I had empathy for her especially considering the secrets she’d been keeping since she was sixteen. The secrets were probably the most frustrating thing about her whole family. Everyone’s actions are based on what they think the others need but no one actually talks. In the meantime Christie has looked elsewhere for a father figure and fixated on Trevor, the worst possible role model he could find. Ruth and Adrian have completely missed the damage this man has done to their children. This is the problem with chasing monetary gain and a certain lifestyle; it isn’t just the houses where a slick facade hides the painful truth.

I wonder whether the reader was ever supposed to connect with these characters, or whether the writer was aiming for that sense of dislocation. After all, we can’t know people who aren’t showing their true faces. It certainly reinforced that the friendly camaraderie we see at the BBQ in the beginning is false and the angry Luke Dearborn was the only honest person there. The problem for me is that if I don’t connect to a character I start to lose interest in the story and that did happen a bit in the middle section. I found that I didn’t even care about the lives lost in the tragedy of that day the development was ‘abandoned’. However, as Agnes unearthed more answers and an outsider started asking questions, my attention was drawn back in and I needed to know what had happened on the day of abandonment. The author has a brilliant skill in setting her scene and creating a labyrinthine mystery, as well as an underlying theme of social injustice that I always enjoy. She is able to show the unfairness of life for those without opportunities, but here she shows that having it all is an illusion - merely a glossy show home built on dodgy foundations.

After reading Fragile, I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read Hilary’s latest.

Black Thorn is an evocative, atmospheric story of several families “starting afresh” in a beautiful Cornish coastal town. However, Blackthorn Ashes isn’t all it seems, and a heartbreaking tragedy is just around the corner.

Told in two timelines - before and after the tragedy - we walk alongside Agnes as she tries to piece together exactly what has happened. A hugely important part of this story is how Agnes navigates through life with autism and I have to applaud Hilary for her exploration of neurodiversity. Agnes is a fascinating character and it’s her determination to discover the truth that drives the sense of trepidation and danger.

Hilary excels at characterisation; all characters were incredibly well written and their relationships believable - and wonderfully highlighted the extent of a mothers’ love for her child…

Black Thorn is a dark and scenic read, that kept me captivated throughout.

Six families move into an exclusive new housing estate, Blackthorn Ashes, overlooking the Cornish sea.
Created just for them, it’s meant to be their forever home.
But six weeks later, six people are dead and the exclusive housing estate is abandoned.
It’s a story of two halves, before and after the tragedy.
Agnes Gale, one of it’s surviving residents, together with her younger brother Christie, are determined to find our what has happened .
Loved the unique concept/setting of an exclusive housing estate.
It was beautifully written, it was multi-faceted, with characters that were believable and their relationships were all relevant to the plot.
The author makes it clear from the beginning that a tragedy has occurred without implying what the tragedy was, and it’s only as we go deeper into the book the story becomes darker..
I personally found there was too much use of flashbacks which I found confusing.
Thanks @sarahhilary @panmacmillan & @netgalley for the eARC

Sometimes you've got a book you really want to like but you just can't. It just doesn't work and falls flat after the, actually, great start. It's Black Thorn by Sarah Hilary and came out a few days ago, the 13th. I received a copy from Pan Macmillan via Netgalley.

The premise sounds interesting and that's because of the intriguing blurb. A forever home, in a new community, quite exclusive and with stunning views. Except, six weeks later 6 people are dead. That's the start and that's what caught my eye when requesting this book.

However, the description of the book is not really what the actual story is about. True, it focuses on the 6 casualties but from an unexpected, and rather uninteresting, point of view. The main characters are quite dull and not likeable at all. It all takes too long, it's too slow, and really nothing really happened that was thrilling or exciting whatsoever. The only interesting chapter was the very first one. To be honest, don't bother with this one.

1,5/5⭐

I really struggle to understand how I feel about this book. It started well and I enjoyed the story for most of the book, however I just didn’t get the ending…

The timeline jumps back and forth from before the abandonment to after, so I don’t quite understand why it ended before?

I was expecting a thriller but instead ended up with a confusion over who did what and why…Adrian’s role seemed bizarre and as we learnt very little about him throughout the story it was hard to understand his motives for his part.

I felt the book was confused by too many takings going on…was it an accident? Was it industrial neglect? Was it murder hidden amongst all this? And the dynamics between Trevor and Ruth were never quite explained.

Overall I was left disappointed, having felt for most of the book this would be at least a 4 star read.

EXCERPT: Her family's fresh start had lasted less than a week before Blackthorn Ashes began to show its true face. No shadows spoilt the carpets, no crude handprints on the walls. No one broke in after dark, swinging a hammer or wielding a knife. In Maythorn, the children died in their sleep. In Hawthorn, Tim and Val went to bed and never woke. Their deaths had been quiet, too quiet to account for the shouting in in her head.

ABOUT 'BLACK THORN': Blackthorn Ashes was meant to be their forever home. For the first six families moving into the exclusive new housing development, it was a chance to live a peaceful life on the cliffs overlooking the Cornish sea, safe in the knowledge that it had been created just for them.

But six weeks later, paradise is lost. Six people are dead. And Blackthorn Ashes is left abandoned and unfinished, its dark shadows hiding all manner of secrets.

One of its surviving residents, Agnes Gale, is determined to find out the truth about what happened. Even if that truth is deadlier than she could have ever believed possible . . .

MY THOUGHTS: I finished Black Thorn in the early hours of this morning and I am no clearer now than I was then on how I feel about this book.

Firstly, I read this in a little over 24 hours, both enthralled and appalled. The relationships are complex and mostly toxic. Our main character, Agnes (pronounced An-yes in the French tradition) is an autistic twenty-nine year old. Her relationship with her mother Ruth, (whom Agnes thinks of as Ruth-less) has always been difficult but she is close to her father, while her relationship with her teenage brother runs hot and cold. He is often embarrassed by her oddness and has his own problems to deal with. And then there's Trevor . . .

The dream of Blackthorn Ashes becomes a nightmare for Agnes' family when they are forced to abandon their forever home. Agnes is left to care for Christie while her mother looks for work and her father lays in a depressed and defeated heap on the sofa. With her family disintegrating around her, Agnes is determined to find out the truth about the deaths on the exclusive estate and her family's involvement.

The story is told in a 'before abandonment' and 'after abandonment' format. Black Thorn is not a fast-paced crime thriller, but an intriguing and compelling mystery, the strength of which lies in its superbly drawn characters.

So, back to the big question: did I like Black Thorn? - I still don't know. It is superbly written. It is disturbing, unsettling. We are fed snippets of information, teased and tormented by the mystery and the relationships of the characters.

I will probably, at some point, give it a second read. Maybe then I will be able to give you a definitive answer.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#BlackThorn #NetGalley

I: @sarah_hilary999 @panmacmillan

T: @Sarah_Hilary @PanMacmillan

#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #friendship
#mystery #psychologicaldrama

THE AUTHOR: Sarah Hilary is a UK crime novelist and former bookseller.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Pan Macmillan via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Black Thorn by Sarah Hilary for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Blackthorn Ashes: an exclusive development seems like a dream come true for the first six families to move in. All too soon, things start to go wrong, tempers are frayed, & deaths occur. The survivors are evacuated out of the site, never to return - except Agnes fears her younger brother, Christie, is drawn to the place. She decides to find out what happened, but finds out that everyone is hiding something.

I struggled with this one. The synopsis made me think it was going to be a dark fast-paced thriller & the first chapter was exactly that. The reader is first introduced to Blackthorn Ashes & its residents through the eyes of a parcel delivery driver & we get the feeling that although everything seems ok on the surface, underneath there's something rotten in the undercurrents. After the initial opening chapter though, the pace seems to slow down to a crawl. There are some hints that perhaps there is a supernatural explanation for all the oddness but that it soon discarded for a study in the banality, & conversely, the shocking secrets that can dwell inside people.

The narrative is mainly from the point of view of Agnes (although not always) & it was intriguing to have a main character who highlights the experiences of someone with ASD - I have no experience with the subject at all so I have no idea if it was rightly conveyed & can't really say anything else. Agnes is 30ish & just returned home from London after fleeing her relationship with Laura, just in time to move to a new housing development her father is a partner in. Her relationships with her younger brother (younger by 16 years) Christie & her parents are fraught, especially with Agnes' feelings about the sense of danger at Blackthorn Ashes. The deaths mostly happen off page & it's the aftermath that the author is concerned with here. I liked Agnes & her friend, Errol, but everyone was kind of horrible & it was a relief to finish it to be honest. 2.5 stars (rounded down)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pan Macmillan, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

When six people die shortly after moving into new housing development Blackthorn Ashes, Agnes Gale strives to find out the truth about what really happened and discovers more than she could have imagined.

A gripping thriller that makes for an addictive read.

I really enjoyed that you start out knowing that some of the residents died, as well as who and how. It is quite an unusual concept because it almost flips your typical thriller by revealing the victims at the beginning. There were so many secrets just waiting to be revealed that it was as if I was glued to the pages, desperate to find out what was actually going on.

The characters felt genuine and believable. I loved Errol in particular because he was so confident in himself. The setting was written in a way that really added to the suspense, especially during the aftermath of the tragedy when the houses had been abandoned.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers!

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.