Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Having loved Abigail’s first book I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed. I found the book to be disjointed, and difficult to follow at times, it was also quite predictable. The ending was also quite strange and left me feeling deflated

I really liked the premise of this book and for the most part it was an intriguing read. However I did find that the shifting narrator and non linear timeline was a little disjointed and the pacing also lost me at times.

The unraveling of the truth as satisfying but the actual ending did feel a little underwhelming for me unfortunately.

I liked Girl A, but to be honest I felt it was overhyped. I LOVE Day One! An alternative take on a school shooting and the aftermath in a world of social media and conspiracy theorists, it’s well written and if you can handle POV and timeline changes, so well paced. Perfect for fans of Nineteen Minutes and Three Hours.

I really struggled with this book. I read 50% and gave up. Not sure why. Found it hard to understand, with the conspiracies and then the story of 'day one'

This was an excellent read. It's gritty and upsetting but it's the personalities of the characters and the intertwining roles that will keep you reading. I enjoyed the back and forth between timelines to get different perspectives and I think one of the main strengths is the characterisation. Everyone is fully rounded and believable - even when you don't agree with their actions, you can see how they came to be who they are. The relationships are fascinating and I looked forward to reading it every evening, despite its difficult subject. Definitely a must-read.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Imagine something like the Dunblane school shooting in the age of the internet, social media, conspiracy theories, and ruthless politicians who will say anything to get attention, whether they believe it or not..
But you get a real insight into everyone from the perpetrator's mother to victim's families, and the people jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon. Everything feels very real, especially the oppressive atmosphere in such a small town where everyone knows each other, for good or bad.
The characters are multifaceted, with all their faults as well as believable reasons for doing what they do.
Complex relationships slowly emerge as things come to a head.
The kind of book where you go straight back to the beginning to re-read parts as soon as you have finished.

Written from different voices and in different time periods, the horrific massacre in a primary school in the Lake District is slowly pieced together. Very compelling, raw and shocking, characters are flawed and rounded and things are not as they seem but the event is so sad and very real. I found it a bit flat in the middle, bit too long, but otherwise a really gripping, interesting read.

One day a gunman entered a school hall and opened fire on the children and the audience who were watching their children’s play.
This story is about the aftermath of this horrifying incident and how it affected the families of the victims.
I found this book very slow and disjointed with multiple characters and timelines and I found it confusing in parts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Day One by Abigail Dean is a story of a village, Stonesmere, that will be forever altered by the shooting in a primary school of pupils and a teacher. The storyline focuses on the school teacher’s daughter and other people whose children were killed or injured in the tragedy.
There were also the conspiracy people who hounded the grief stricken community with their vitriolic comments. There was Trent Cassidy, a loner who once knew the gunman and ended up in prison for his actions.
The storyline is of an event that caused a tragedy and whose events caused repercussions for many years after. A sombre story with no winners only losers.

Do you know when you read a blurb of a book and when you are excited to read it and when you read it. It is completely different to what you thought it would be. Well Day one by Abigail Dean is just that for me.
In a small town called Stonesmere near the Lake district, a class of school children at the local primary school are staging a performance called Day one. When lone gunman enters and shoots the teacher Ava ward and ten of the children she teaches. The story continues with the story of Ava’s daughter Marty getting to grips of the death of her mother and Trent Casey a former resident of the town who has joined a group called the ‘truthers’. Claiming that Marty is lying about the shooting at Stonesmere.
I was really looking forward to reading this as I have heard good things about the authors previous novel and wanted to find out more about ‘Day one’. But I found this story have not much content of the day in question but the before and after ‘Day one’ and the grief and the controversy that materialised after it. I did find this to be well written but, I felt quite overwhelmed with all the backstory and characters in the story that I wasn’t invested in it as I wanted to be. So, because of that it is 3.5 stars from me.

This was a real rollercoaster of a tale. A terrible event and the aftermath for the community and those involved. Well written story that kept me involved the whole well through the book.

Fans of Abigail Dean’s Girl A will undoubtedly enjoy this book too, although enjoy is probably not the right word in the circumstances. The story centres around Marty who loses her mother in a school shooting that, needless to say, rocks the entire town. However, for some totally unexplained reason, conspiracy theorists decide this never happened and it was actors involved.
Trent decides to find out the truth and what follows is a back and forth timeline, over an 8 year period, primarily between Marty and Trent but also several other characters as well. That aspect at least holds your attention but the basic premise of the story simply had too many holes in it for me and I found the ending fell flat almost as if the author didn’t quite know how to finish it all.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I'm a fan of Abigail Dean and I loved Girl A so I was looking forward to reading this. I did feel like the book grabbed and kept my attention quite well, it didn't hold it the whole time but I did enjoy it overall.

Set in a small community in The Lakes, this is a story about tragedy & how secrets never truly stay buried. The author is skilled at creating a menacing sense of claustrophobia - from the mountains & small-town community, to the conspiracy theorists & blood-thirsty press. This is a gripping story that has captured the zeitgeist of the societal problems that call to our darkest nightmares. Not everything was neatly tied up at the end - but then, that's how life works. Recommended.

I absolutely love Abigail Dean so i jumped at the opportunity to read this. Once again, i fell in love from page one.

It has such an interesting and unique plot with excellent pacing which kept me super engaged throughout. It is incredibly emotional, raw and beautiful. Although not my usual genre, i always turn to Abigail Dean for a touching read.

As compelling as her debut, somehow even more immediate and character driven. Excellent, thrilling, morally complex read

Day One by Abigail Dean

I really enjoyed Deans debut book Girl A so had high hopes for Day One!

This was an interesting powerful read, sadly a theme that is becoming more common in real life - school shootings and trolling.
Initially I wasn’t overly keen on the writing style but I soon got used to it and got fully immersed in the book!

It’s a dual POV and changing timelines kinda book which keeps that intrigue going, it’s not overly twisty or even a thriller, in fact I’m not sure how to describe it 🤔😂
I wasn’t overly attached to any of the characters despite it being very character driven but I don’t think the author intends you to be attached to them, I did sympathise and even slightly feel sorry for ones I didn’t think I would (sorry that’s a bit mysterious of me but don’t want to give too much away!)

I would say I didn’t like it as much as Girl A but still enjoyed it!

Anyone else read this one? If so what did you think?!

Thank you @netgalley for sending

What really happened on the day of a primary school shooting? Told from different perspectives the truth is finally revealed.
I found it all rather slow and disjointed, overall I was underwhelmed

Found it to be a fairly slow start, but persevered and extremely glad that I did as the book became better and better as it went on and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. No hesitation to anyone who likes this genre of book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC