This was an ok,passable read for me but I like a book with more characters who have a bit mire about them,they were quite one dimensional,,the story was well written and I would read more from this author

I absolutely love the Marnie Rome series and had high expectations for this book. I wasn't disappointed, and will read more of her standalone series in future.

Black Thorn is a departure from Sarah Hilary’s past novels and here she has come up with something quite different from other novels in this genre.
The story takes place around a high end housing development in a breathtaking, but difficult to get to, location. The place turns out to be toxic in more ways than one but corners that are cut together with problems with the land has led to tragedy for many of the families living there. The main family, seemingly untouched by these problems are one of the developers, his wife, their autistic adult daughter and their son. He, of course comes under investigation for the tragedies, together with his partner. The daughter has sensed from the beginning that there is something wrong. The family, however, struggle with the daughters autism and her only real friend is another gender non conforming adult who is also a bit of a misfit.

The tensions in the story are really well done - between the family, wife and husband, mother and daughter, sister and brother, the partner, the wife and the partner, the daughter and the partner. You sense that there are things you’re not being told and indeed, that is the case. Perhaps at least one of the deaths isn’t down to the environmental factors? It hardly matters as more death follows.

Add in a Journalist with a personal interest and the whole book is quite a claustrophobic and insular mystery that screams tension.

I found it a difficult read and I think you’re meant to. It’s not comfortable and it’s hard to see how the situation can be resolved without the family falling apart. It’s a brave move to put an autistic character at the centre of the novel as of course that makes the whole thing even more uncomfortable, her brain simply doesn’t operate the same way as the rest of her family and only her friend seems to truly ‘get’ her.

Black Thorn by Sarah Hilary is a bleak story with no happy ending for any of the characters. Blackthorn Ashes was supposed to be their forever home for the families who moved into the exclusive development.For the six families moving into the luxury development it was a chance to live on a peaceful development overlooking the Cornish Sea.
That was until people started dying and the houses were found to be unsafe inside and out, built on land that should never have been used for residential development.
Why did six people die and who is responsible?
Highly recommended

This novel centres on a new built estate and a tragedy which leaves six people dead. The author then weaves the story around this event, going back and forth, with scenes set both before and after what happened, and revolving around the characters involved. The central character is Agnes, whose father was heavily involved in creating the housing estate, and who has returned home to West Cornwall after a time in London. It is Agnes who sets out to discover what happened and why and to solve the mystery of Black Thorn.

Although well-written, often quite poignant and with interesting characters, I found this a bit of a struggle. Perhaps it is that the reader has too much knowledge too soon, so that, although secrets are revealed, the central event is laid out fairly quickly - victims are named and some of the tension is lessened. Still, this is not really what this is about, it is more character led than plot driven. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Maybe I was expecting something else from this book - but I really struggled with it. I didn’t like any of the characters, the jumping around in time didn’t really help me follow the plot, and I speed read the second half of the book just to finish it. It sounds like many others have liked it, but it wasn’t for me sadly.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Having read novels previously by Sarah Hilary, I could not wait to start this novel. I love her books, her writing is descriptive, stories are amazing and characters are colourful.

Black Thorn did not disappoint me, beautiful cover and captivating story that thrust me into an immense novel.

Blackthorn Ashes is a new housing development and 6 families move into this amazing housing street.

Fast forward 6 weeks and 6 people are dead and the housing is left abandoned, the survivor Agnes needs to find out what exactly has happened during those 6 weeks and why are the people dead.

We are told about what happened with dual storylines, what happened in the run up to the awful deaths and this storytelling will keep any reader gripped.

This book had such a good thrilling under-current that I could not put it down, the characters are intense and this is one scaryish read.

Thanks to Sarah Hilary, Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Black Thorn is a beautiful slow burn thriller with palpable tension and a real sense of atmosphere. As usual for a Sarah Hilary novel it's as emotional as it is gripping

I was looking forward to read Black Thorn having enjoyed all of the author’s previous books however I disappointingly found this book too slow with too many, fairly bland, characters that were not clearly identifiable from each other.

I know that some other readers will probably enjoy this book but it just wasn’t one for me.

Blackthorn Ashes a new, affluent housing development has been created and we see a number of families who have recently moved in to their dream home here overlooking the Cornish coast. Not so much later the dream quickly turns into a nightmare when six people die and the development is left abandoned. It’s down to Agnes, who has recently returned to her family at Blackthorn, to find out what went wrong.

This started off strongly and was well written, however I found my attention wavering not so soon later and found the story a bit slow going and less of the thriller I was expecting. The characters are developed nicely but there are a good few to get your head around! Although this story wasn’t for me at this time I can see a lot of people loving this and it won’t stop me checking out other books by the author. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this copy in return for an honest review.

I’d read the authors previous book, Fragile and enjoyed that. This too is a compulsive read. I always wanted to know what would happen next but I also found it to have, like the last book, a rather dark and moody atmosphere to it but not in a thriller type way. Agnes is the main character, with the book written in the third person. For me the name Agnes gives the impression of someone elderly, which is what I thought when I read the blurb, however she is 29.

Blackthorn Ashes is a small development of new houses built in a somewhat remote area on the edge of a cliff on the Cornwall coast. The developers, a small team with Adrian Gale behind the marketing along with his long time friend Trevor in charge of building. Completion is a dream come true for Adrian, a fresh new start for his family on this prestigious luxury housing estate, but it’s not long before things start to go badly wrong – for everyone.

The book flips back and forth in time covering the run up to evacuation day and the aftermath. The book is more of a domestic noir with everyone in the Gale family having their own troubles to deal with. Agnes left the family home 10 years ago but after the break up of a relationship she’s come back home just in time to move into the new house. She doesn’t get on too well with her mum. Her brother only a toddler when she left is now 13 and resents his sister’s apparent paranoia surrounding their beautiful new home. This is a new start for him, he’s excited and feels his sister’s constant fault finding is spoiling things.

It’s quite a slow moving story, with the constant drip, drip of suspense and an undercurrent of something being very wrong with everything that’s happened to both the Gale family as well as the wider community. I enjoyed it, but like her last book, it isn’t the cheeriest of reads and I found the story a little overbearing and dismal at times. Nevertheless, it is suspenseful, as well as an unusual story, which I’m sure will appeal to all thriller fans.

*Review to be added to my blog around publication date*

This was my first novel from the author and I will definitely be keen to go back and read some more.

The novel started off so well with a brilliant opening scene which really set the bar high for the rest of the book

I struggled with this novel. The characters and narrative I found difficult I engage with and consequently I did not finish. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

The best yet from the brilliant Sarah Hilary. A stunning, haunting and often moving novel with a brilliantly drawn autistic main character, Agnes Gale.

Rating: 3.2/5

Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing readers of "Black Thorn" will depend upon the expectations they may have when they pick it up. I am not entirely convinced that the publisher's official synopsis does the author too many favours. After reading the marketing blurb, I suspect that many people may be anticipating an out and out mystery thriller revolving around multiple deaths at an exclusive new housing development - but what "Black Thorn" delivers is something quite different to the mental image that prospective readers may have envisaged. Yes, this story has mystery at its heart and it is not devoid of some thrilling elements either - but I would see this more as a brooding psychological and domestic drama.

If you like your reading material to rattle along at a rollicking pace, then this may well not be your cup of tea. Although the opening sections are quite pacy, it is then not until the final quarter of the novel that matters really build up a head of steam again. In the intervening period there is some very intelligent and considered writing, with the narrative alternating between the time following on from the tragic events at Blackthorn Ashes with flashbacks to various points prior to those same events. Readers who appreciate well-drawn characters will have plenty to admire, as that is certainly one of Sarah Hilary's strong suits.

Overall, I both liked and admired this novel - but I stopped short of really, really liking it. Why? Well, I suspect that may well be due, at least in part, to the fact that it took me a while to adjust my expectations from the type of novel I thought I would be reading to accommodate the one that I was actually experiencing. Perhaps other readers will not be affected in the same way.

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

It was so refreshing to read a thriller that didn't follow the standard Whodunnit format!

Whilst Black Thorn has the staple elements that every murder mystery needs, the premise of the book - a shiny new housing estate that's evacuated created plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing as to who the true culprit was.

It was an easy to read book with a diverse range of characters that allowed the author to touch of a few societal issues and it was all handled extremely tactfully.

A brilliant read that I'm sure will be a success.

I absolutely love the Marnie Rome series which means Sarah Hilary's books are those I reach for as soon as I see a new one. Black Thorn is another standalone and I'm still not quite sure what I think of it! That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading it, rather that the story has stayed with me and I am still ruminating!

I love the idea of a neurotypical female as the protagonist and I really hope this blazes a trial. Writing a book like this takes enormous courage and skill and, as always, Hilary has that in spades. Read if for yourself and let me know what you think.

To be honest I struggled to get into this book. I didn’t think that the writing style flowed well. The characters were a bit irritating but I persevered. Some may enjoy it- It wasn’t for me though.

I read Fragile by Sarah Hilary in 2021, so when the publisher reached out and suggested I try Black Thorn I jumped at the chance. This was an unusual read that managed to keep me captivated. I was not able to predict where this story was going to go. It’s a dark story about loss and the lengths a mother would go to, to protect her children. This was not what I was expecting at all.
The author creates a scenic read with this book allowing you to visualise the environment as you read. I loved the detail about the architecture of Blackthorn Ashes – these houses sounded amazing.
When six people are found dead in Blackthorn Ashes the dream development is found to be unsafe and the entire community is evacuated from their new homes. Agnes, an autistic young woman is determined to find out what happened and who was to blame – no matter how horrific or how close to home the blame may be.
This book kept me captivated as I turned the pages. I could not predict where the story was going to go. It was a sad, moving story that I could not walk away from.
Agnes was a brilliant character. I loved how she picked up on things no-one else noticed. The sounds and smells that only she picked up on. Her family didn’t believe her and brushed away her concerns. Her little brother treated her terribly no matter how hard she tried. It was sad how he called her crazy. I loved this young woman’s determination to uncover the truth while doing her best to protect her family. Her mother put so much pressure on her.
This book was an unusual read that was full of emotion and characters you were never sure how to place. I enjoyed the uncertainty of this read.
If you are looking for a deep, emotional read about a mother’s determination to protect her child no matter the cost – then this is a book that would appeal to you.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author and thought the premise was interesting – after an opening where we follow a driver making a delivery to a would-be- exclusive estate and are introduced to the ‘something’s not quite right here’ atmosphere, it cuts back and forth in a nonlinear manner around the preface, event and aftermath of an event. The fact it doesn’t let the reader in to know exactly what has happened is part of the slow burn character study of a mystery.
If you don’t find all the characters in it ‘likable’, it feels very much as if that was the author’s intention and while it may be a bit off putting for some readers used to clearer delineations between the good and the bad, it felt an integral part of the nature of the book.
All in all it had an eerie, claustrophobic feel to it, with strong writing giving a vivid (if creepy) world.