
Member Reviews

๐ญ แดส แดสแดแดษขสแด๊ฑ:
What can I say. I didnโt like this at all to be honest. The characters are bland. There is nothing special to any of them. I donโt think many people want to read about a mass shooting, especially when there is no real plot to it. I honestly donโt know why I finished it, maybe in the hope I wasnโt completely wasting my time. There was no good plot in the end; that might have made a bit of a difference. Ultimately, I struggled to finish this and was not at all in a rush to keep reading.
โญ๏ธ
๐ค สแดแดแด
ษช๊ฐ สแดแด สษชแดแด:
Multiple POVs
Multiple Timelines
แดสษชษขษขแดส แดกแดสษดษชษดษข
Mass school shooting
๊ฑสษดแดแด๊ฑษช๊ฑ:
๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโฆ ๐ ๐ท๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฅ๐บ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ-๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐บ, ๐ฅ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ? ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ? ๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ต๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ โ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎโ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐บโ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ตโ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎโฆ

I must admit I could t finish this book.
After really enjoying this authors first book I was really looking forward to reading her second one. However I found this book really disjointed and all over the place. I couldnโt really work out what was going on.

3.5 โญ๏ธ
Having loved Abigail Deanโs debut, Girl A, this was a long- and highly anticipated read. Sadly, it didnโt quite live up to expectations. Not that it was a bad book; just that it didnโt quite gel for me.
The premise is chilling, involving the impact on a small Lake District community, when a mass shooting takes place in the village primary school. There are multiple dead, including teacher Ava Ward, who tries to shield her young charges, and others who are left with life-changing injuries. The horror is magnified by its contrast with the beautiful, bucolic setting.
Told through multiple timelines and POVs, the narrative focuses primarily on the voices of Avaโs daughter, Marty, who witnessed the attack, and that of Trent Casey, a โtrutherโ journalist, who is pushing a conspiracy theory agenda, after spotting discrepancies in accounts of the shooting, in particular Martyโs.
Dean pulls no punches in her depiction of the tragedy and its immediate aftermath. The first few chapters, steeped as they are in shock, bewilderment, grief and anger, make for deeply affecting reading. This reaction only intensifies as Trent and his cohorts attempt to naysay the shooting and call out the โplay actingโ of the bereaved parents.
What holds your attention throughout the book โ as the reliability of the narrators comes under ever greater scrutiny โ is the question: What really happened on that July morning in Stonesmere? And it is only as the layers are peeled away, exposing a complex web of secrets, lies and conspiracies, that it is finally revealed.
The slow burn approach to this story was well done. However, I was disappointed that the expected final twist and explosive ending simply didnโt happen. I wanted to be stunned, have my jaw hit the floor. What I got was a gentle unraveling.
I also found the structure chaotic and distracting, with timelines and narrators leaping around like a troupe of Irish dancers: fascinating to watch but ultimately exhausting to keep up with.
Thereโs no doubt that Abigail Dean can spin a great tale. Unfortunately, this one was a case of the follow-up not quite reaching the same heights as the debut.

Day One is quite a book. It tells the aftermath of a primary school shooting in the Lake District. It was a difficult book to read due to the subject matter but I found it really gripping throughout. The story was very thought provoking and I would highly recommend it as a book everyone should read.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for my ARC.

Day One by Abigail Goodreads review
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Day One tells the aftermath of a mass shooting in a small school in Stonesmere a small village north of England.
Through the eyes of two individuals one Marty the daughter of the school teacher who was killed on the day and Trent a young man who dives into the heart of conspiracy theories of the events,
One Day is one of those novels that examines conspiracy theories both through the eyes of the individuals involved in the school shooting and the people who do not believe the official events.
For some readers Day One is one of those novels that could be confusing for some readers as the story swaps from one perspective to another, or changing timeline as the story goes back and forwards,
This is done to build up tension as events of the Shooting are gradually revealed.
What really worked in the novel was Trentโs story arc throughout the novel as he gets drawn in the conspiracy theories, however it is never done in a way that makes Trent a comical figure, just one affected by events.
The other main character in the novel is Marty, a young woman who gets caught up in the story and one of the major causes of the conspiracy theories, her story is again told with great sympathy.
The story of a school shooting being used to examine conspiracy theories though a school shooting set in The UK allows the story to concentrate on an individual alternative story line and keeping gun rights out of the story which would have happened if it was in the USA.
All this make Day One by Abigail Dean an interesting way to examine conspiracy theories though fiction novel but still book well worth reading.

Set during and in the aftermath of a school shooting, this seems to be more about deception and relationships than it is around the subject matter itself. More that it is the situation on which to base the plot itself and this is a convenient shock point that will make people think they are about to read something harrowing and hard-hitting.
That's not to say that there aren't some elements that are deeply saddening, anything involving a school shooting will tug at heartstrings and trigger any feelings of grief you have yourself, but this isn't the book to read for psychological analysis of those who perpetrate such crimes or to consider motivation.
Ultimately, this is a very predictable story - very early on, you know who is lying and why, this is clearly intentional and I am not spoiling any part of the plot by stating this. This isn't about unraveling the lies, more about the impact those.lies have on people around them and the impact on the liar herself - a character I found to be narcissistic and loathsome if I'm honest. I genuinely found her to be irritating, dishonest and unworthy of friendship not did I find myself rooting for her in any way.
There's a lot of jumping back and forth across days, months and years which some may love - some may find this teasing of future events intriguing and entice them to learn how we arrived at that point. For me, it felt erratic and disjointed. I don't mind a flashback and flashforward where the flash forwards truly do whet the appetite, but to be jumping back and forth every chapter was too chaotic for me and frustrated me on the occasions where she gave too much away and I knew without reading what had happened. I never want a book to be so predictable that there's little value in reading the in-betweens.
All that aside, I do enjoy the way Abigail Dean writes and that's what kept me reading. Whilst I despised her main character, I don't think that's a bad thing - I think it's quite interesting to write a main character that can be loved or loathed depending on your own perspective of the world and your own sense.of right and wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the different angles on the media and the Internet, especially given how many conspiracy theorists there are out there and the depths they're willing to plummet without any consideration for the harm they do to others.
I'll happily read anything she writes, but I'm not sure that this is one that I'll read twice.

Synopsis โโMarty told the reporters that she saw it happen. She saw the gunman enter the hall. She saw her mother die trying to protect them all.
Thatโs the version of Day One Marty wishes was true.
But strange inconsistencies in her story begin to surface. Details that donโt add up. Questions she canโt answer.
The story ignites. Amidst the media frenzy, conspiracy theorists become obsessed with exposing what really happened. And at the epicentre of it all is a small community changed forever. Survivors crushed by guilt. Families torn in half. Outsiders consumed by the hunt for truth.
Each has their own version of Day One. Each must grapple with this tragedy, even as fanatics question whether it ever really happened at all.
But what did Marty really see?
And why would she lie?
My thoughtsโ day one a concert given by the oldest children to the new children to start the school in the new term-, a shooter attends the school this begins this novel .
Marty Ward runs and tells a lie which will be with her for a long time. In the months that follow Ray Cleave a conspiracy theorist began casting doubt on the reported events and enlisted , encouraged โtruthโ journalist Trent Casey to expose the sham!
But what was the truth?! The novel goes back to Day one , different months and different years with narratives from Marty and Trent . The friendship between Marty and Leah was a strong and important one for Marty .A slow burn story which unravels a disturbing subject a puzzle which will eventually conclude with the out pouring of truth !

Clearly this is a tough subject to read about (a primary school shooting) but itโs more about the aftermath than the event itself.
Was Marty actually in the hall at the time - was she running to escape or was she running towards the school? And what effect will all the truthers and conspiracy theorists have on the village?
Itโs a very similar style to Girl A - quite steady with a slow reveal rather than twisty-turny edge of your seat stuff.

I feel like I was left with questions still which isn't the ideal way to end a book for me. The story is emotional and hard to read at times, but it is also the sad reality of the world we live in now. There were multiple POV and timelines which made it a little hard to keep up but overall it was a gripping thriller than many will enjoy.

I was a big fan of Girl A so I knew I had to immediately request Day One when I spotted it on Netgalley. Iโve ended up with really mixed feelings about it! I went through equal waves of enjoying it and needing to know what happened next, to being a bit bored and wanting things to move along quicker.
The story is based around a very difficult situation - a primary school shooting. I think the author wrote about those harrowing moments depicting that scene very gracefully and sensitively, although it was definitely a difficult read at points, it was dealt with carefully.
Day One is told from multiple POVs and set across many timelines - which are not chronological - and I was a bit confused for a while to begin with due to the jumps back and forth in time. I did feel invested in the story overall and was intrigued to find out how everything happened but there just seemed to be a constant shift in the plot of slow lulls and then the pace ramping up speed out of nowhere. Itโs a well written book for sure but I donโt think it was really for me.
Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Day One by Abigail Dean
Published by HarperCollins Uk
Publication Date: 28 March 2024
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Tense and chilling this unpredictable story about a school shooting in the Lake District will leave you frantically page turning until you finish it.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and to netgalley for providing me with an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Day one is a difficult read due to the topic that it covers. However it was a great read which had me questioning everything.
Stonesmere Primary School is showcasing its talent in the annual Day One drama show. However before the show has even really started a mass school shooting has taken place and lives will be changed forever. Local teacher Ava Ward lost her life in the tragedy by shielding her pupils but does her daughter Marty know more than sheโs letting on?
Throw into that internet conspiracy theorists latching on the tragedy and trying to discredit it this is a story of truths, lies and false memories.
Overall it is a good read.

Set in a small village in the Lake District ,this is a very slow and disjointed read. Full of tragedy there is a conspiracy story and confusing horror. The plot is intriguing but also emotional tells how a dreadful and horrifying event effects the whole town and the Families of the victims .I did find the ending very disappointing .Thankyou to NetGalley for my ARC.

I found this book a little hard to get into initially but once I did I was invested in the story. I don't usually like stories that jump from timeline to timeline but in this book it seems to work, it is written from various points of view, mainly Ava, a teacher at Stonemere Primary School nestled in the hills of the beautiful Lake District, Marty her daughter, a daughter whose lie sets off an avalanche of catastrophic events that changed the once happy town of Stonemere, and Trent Casey, a would be journalist who is so easily led by the"truthers", the truthers who have wild ideas that are gaining momentum.
Ava is preparing her class for Day One when the oldest children in the primary school put on a play for the children who are about to start, making their first day at school day two and therefore less frightening.
The play has started, the children's nerves are palpable, the proud parents are holding their cameras, no one notices the gunman walk calmly into the hall and start shooting.
Reporters and cameramen surround the school,all wanting that one picture, that one interview that will make them famous......the interview with Marty, the interview when she lied.
Why did Marty lie ? who was the shooter ?
This is a gripping story, I did drop one star because I didn't really connect with the characters and I did think that it dragged a bit in the middle but other than that a great story, a frightening story because sadly because people like the truthers do exists and schools are easy targets for deranged gunmen.
Thank you Net Gallery for my ARC, my review is voluntary.

A mass shooting at a primary school in a beautiful lakeside town, ten children and their teacher dead. After the event the town tries to come to terms with the trauma but then the conspiracy theorists start their campaign. Marty - a teenager who told a lie, Larkin - the policeman who has lost everything, and Trent - the former resident with ambitions, as time goes on each of them react in their own way.
This is such a good book! The characterisation is spot on, all the individuals with their closed lives who are changed forever by the events. It's pertinent too, the whole idea of people who deny events have taken place and the outspoken media politicians who peddle extremist views, this is a microcosm of modern British life. The whole story is very sad and beautifully written.

Abigail Dean burst onto the thriller scene with her debut novel Girl A. She returns with a possibly less page-turningly thrilling but complex, terrifying and thought provoking follow up Day One. Day One is a fictionalised account of the Sandy Hook massacre or primary school students in America in XXXX. Dean has translated that story into an English context and in doing so universalises the issues and explores the prevalent social media forces that shaped the narrative following that event.
The Day One of the title is an event at the Stonesmere local primary school where the student put on a performance for their parents and children who will be starting the school in the next year. The day becomes a horrific memory due to a local who enters the hall and kills many of the grade 1 students and their teacher. The narrative focusses on Marty, daughter of the well loved teacher who was killed trying to protect her students, and Trent who once had once known the shooter and gets caught up in the on-line conspiracy theories that grow around the event.
Day One is a tough novel. Dean explores the impact of a tragedy on a small town, the splits and the recriminations that follow an event that no one can really fathom. But she also looks at how the internet feeds conspiracy theories and the politicians and pundits who use the slightest inconsistencies in the statements and behaviour of traumatised victims to their advantage. As with Sandy Hook, this includes claims that the whole event was faked, that the children did not really exist and that the parents were actually actors. None of this is helped by Marty who is front and centre in the media but is also hiding something.
One of the effective techniques in Day One is for Dean to keep going back to the events of the day from different perspectives. The reader is left in no doubt from page one that the event happened. So while this continually returning to the crime in some way slows the novel down it serves as the important purpose of constant reminder to the reader that the tragedy involved real people. And that these are the people that the conspiracy theorists are trying to belittle and dehumanise.
Day One is a compelling, compassionate exploration of one of the darkest events of the last decade. By focussing on Marty and Trent Dean dives into the complexity of both sides. Of the survivors who want the deaths of their loved ones to mean something and of the people drawn slowly down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories until they cannot see any option but to keep pushing forward with their claims. This is an important novel, joining other recent releases like Dervla McTiernanโs What Happened to Nina? (also loosely based on a true story) to shine a critical light on the potentially destructive side of social media.

On Day One, a small village is ripped apart by a horrifying shooting at a local school. The first people on the scene are told by a beloved teachers daughter,Marty, that she saw her mother die protecting her students. But her story doesn't quite add up, and soon, Internet conspiracy theorists start their whispers of cover ups and faked tragedies. As a town reels and should be able to pull together distrust and paranoia infests instead.
This is a really engrossing story that shouldn't feel impossible but sadly really doesn't. There are too many keyboard warriors sat safely at home throwing around accusations. That's bad enough, but there are a few who feel entitled to harass mourning families. This is the main theme of this novel with flashbacks to the shooting and the buildup to it. These are sensitively handled and written extremely well.
It is a great story, sometimes shocking, often sad.

Set at Stonesmere Primary school in the Lake District, this novel moves forward and backward in time from the school annual production of Day One, performed by the children in Mrs Wardโs class.
What should have been a happy family day becomes a disaster as a masked shooter appears in the hall, randomly killing adults and children alike. Mrs Ward tries to hide some of her class, but the gunman continues their spree.
Written in a multiple perspective, we see the stories of those involved on the day of the shooting and over the course of the book learn what secrets they were all hiding and the truth of the events of that day.
Well written and easy to follow, despite the movement in time and perspective. There were some really difficult bits to read, as you would expect with descriptions of this particular storyline, but they are well thought out and I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read Girl A and loved it so knew I had to read this one as well.
I love the writing in this and think itโs set out really well, itโs told in the present and through flashbacks and it balances really well together.
The story is quite heartbreaking, there is a mystery aspect to it thatโs keeps you reading.
My only downfall would be the end, Iโm just someone who likes a big punchy ending and this was more subtle and so not the best part for me.
Overall tho I really enjoyed it and has made Abigail I go to author for me.

This is my first read from Abigail Dean and wonโt be the last. What a thrilling book from start to finish. I love the Lake District and reading about a psychological drama set there was so interesting.
Reading about a community who are going through the effects after a horrible act of violence and the author did a fantastic job of portraying that. Brilliant writing that will hook you in from the first page.