This book is engaging and fast paced. We meet Alice, a lawyer in England who learns her father is on death row in America and has only 7 days left before execution. We then follow her through her race to find out what happened to incarcerate her estranged father, through Paris to America. The characters are well drawn and the tension ratchets up until you think ‘just one more chapter’, which for me is always a sign of a good book.

'Seven Days' is a high octane adrenalin fuelled international race against time where every second counts.

Lawyer Alice is completely shocked to find that her estranged father Jim is on death row in America for murdering a drug dealer. He will be dead in seven days time. Alice and her sister Fiona haven't heard from him for years; Alice was happy never to hear from him again after discovering his marital affair when she was a child. Alice, Fiona and their mother stayed in the UK after the break up, whilst Jim moved back to his native America, never to be heard from again until now. Alice has remained angry at him for his actions and for the life-changing impact it had on their lives, not least how badly it affected their mother. She's hugely loyal to her family, but has had to cut Jim out.

Jim is adamant that's he's innocent of the crime, but the evidence against him seems clear cut, finger prints, blood samples, video footage - the prosecution had it all. Fiona begs Alice to see if there's anything that she can do to stall their father's death or commute it to a life sentence instead. Alice eventually offers to use her contacts across the world and her extensive legal knowledge to see if there's anything that was missed by his previous lawyers. She's deeply sceptical that they'll find anything, given the weight of evidence against her father, but the thought of letting her sister down is more than she can bear.

Alice's contacts quickly find some evidence of a similar case in France. Coincidentally, the police officer from her father's case Luc Boudreux is now working on an international team in Paris. He's been unwilling to talk before but agrees to speak to Alice this time. He is stand-offish and defensive, sure that his original case was rock-solid but Alice convinces him to look again. As the two of them delve deeper into Jim's case and the other that she's found, there are more and more coincidences that can't be explained away. Their investigations take them across the world, chasing clues and evidence as quickly as possible, all the time being very aware that there is a very limited time to help Jim before its too late. The tension rachets up to an almost unbearable level as the hours and days pass, you could feel the suspense in the air.

Robert Rutherford clearly knows how to tell a gripping story; the plot was well considered and captivating reading. I usually read more psychological drama so it was a refreshing change to read something so physical and visceral as well as mentally challenging.

Read if you like;
-Lawyers quest
-Dark Thriller
-Race Against time
-Hope and forgiveness

I’ve never read anything by this author, however when I read the blurb I knew I had to give it a go. The premise is original and I don’t think that I’ve read anything like it. I enjoyed the travelling setting from England - France - US, I feel like that made even more interesting and tense!

Initially the start of the booked hooked me, however towards the middle the pacing slowed and things become a little repetitive. Although towards the end the pacing picked back up and proceed to surprise me with that twist!

I liked Alice’s tenacity, despite her doubts about her dad and him as a father, for the sake of her sister she did everything she could to prove one way or another whether he is lying.

One thing I will say is the layout of the chapters seemed to drag, I would have preferred if the title chapters included a time countdown as well. I feel like that would have added more suspense.

This race against time novel is about hope, forgiveness. I found myself asking the question, whether innocent people are truly innocent?

I loved the premise for this one.
The first half was interesting & engaging. The hit and run twist 😱

Sadly after that it was all down hill. By the end I I wasn't all that fussed. I thought the pacing was off too.

I was gutted after such a promising start.

This was a decent read following a woman who discovers her dad is on death row and has seven days left till he dies. Reluctantly she meets him and finds herself using her lawyer skills to find out the truth and exonerate her father.
This was an okay read. It was more plot driven than character driven for my taste with a few convenient coincidences.

A decent read from a new author for me.

The idea is interesting and carried out well if a little bit one paced. Probably felt the book could have had 50 pages shaved off but nevertheless the story plays out well with an ok protagonist, a Tom cruise cop and some annoying backing cast.

There aren’t really any red herrings, it’s an a-b-c thriller that does what it sets out to do. It nails the brief, it will sell well and gain some fans. It’s got Netflix series slapped all over it.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eCopy to review

Seven Days is a fast paced legal thriller following Alice as she tries to save her father from being executed for a murder he did not commit in 7 days time.

Great characters and settings, with plenty of twists I did not see coming. Seven Days had me hooked from start to finish, the count down through out the book to the end of the 7 days really created a sense of tension and urgency. Alice only has a week to save her father should she try or let him go? (They did not have the best relationship and she's not spoken to him for years).

A very pacey thriller that was different and held my attention
Based on a premise of 7 days to save her Father from execution you know the book has to fit a lot in and it does
I enjoyed the characters and the twists and the writing,all in all a very good enticing read

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. Wow! An absolutely fantastic edge of your seat thriller. I could not turn the pages fast enough. A complex, well thought out story that had so many different elements but all came together brilliantly at the end. The story deals with the topic of families, grief and most certainly forgiveness. I feel this story would be an amazing film or tv series. The ending was perfect in my opinion. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

Sadly this one is not for me. It started out interesting but soon I became bored by the fact that the pace was way too slow. So many words, not enough action. Usually I like courtroom drama but this one couldn't hold my attention.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this review copy.

Lawyer, Alice, hasn’t had anything to do with her dad for many years. Based in Whitley Bay, she spends her time working and looking after her mum, who has had a stroke.

When Alice’s sister tells her that their dad is on death row for murder, and has seven days until he dies, Alice’s emotions are shot to pieces. Does she want to get involved, can she leave her dad to die?

Oh my goodness! This was an action packed thriller that had me hooked from the first page. There were many twists to the story and I found my heart pounding more than once!

The author had us hopping from Whitley Bay in Northumberland, to Paris and then to America!

The characters were believable, and I have to admit that Alice’s younger sister did annoy me. I didn’t like how she turned everything to suit her and make Alice feel bad.

I did also like the ‘will they, won’t they’ between Alice and Luc.

An enjoyable read that I couldn’t put down and that had me on the edge of my seat.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Seven Days by Robert Rutherford is a tense, fast paced and cleverly plotted thriller.
Alice has had a turbulent relationship with her father ever since he had an affair and split up his family and his conviction for murder did not make things any easier but when his execution is scheduled for just seven days time her sister begs her to use her legal connections to try to prove his innocence. Overturning his conviction is a long shot and the investigation is bound to open a can of worms but Alice has no idea how dangerous it could be or the lengths that people will go to in order to cover their tracks and ensure that her father dies as planned
The seven day countdown used throughout the book gave it a sense of urgency that really kept the tension high for the reader and the plot was complex enough to ensure that the reader did not get bogged down, but instead was constantly challenged and stimulated. The characters are well crafted and felt real , the dynamics between Alice and Luc , the police officer investigating in France, were particularly engaging. The finale is dramatic, almost overly so, but it still felt in keeping with the book as a whole.
If you are looking for something to grab your attention and keep you guessing you could do a lot worse !
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Alice’s father is on death row and she only has seven days to save him. They haven’t always seen eye to eye and he has a criminal past but does this mean he is actually guilty and can Alice put her feelings aside and save him in time?

I enjoyed the sound of this storyline and the suspense at only having a short amount of time to solve a crime and try to save someone. There are moral issues that are explored, as well as exploration into broken family dynamics, which adds extra depth and intrigue in the story. I think it started well and then seemed to slow in the middle, before picking up again at the end. This meant that I wasn’t as fully gripped as I could have been. Overall this was a well written, complex thriller with a unique premise, which I enjoyed the majority of. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This was a fast paced novel of a Lawyers quest to save her estranged Dad from his planned death row execution. The story takes her from England to Paris to America. Along the way she gets involved in the seedy side of criminals and wonders if she can even trust the police.
Seven Days is a dark tense thriller, the story kept me enthralled throughout. I liked Alice's tenacity, despite her doubt about her dad's conviction, for the sake of her sister she wanted to prove one way or the other if he was guilty. The results shocked

Alice Logan hasn’t had contact with her father for fourteen years. Not only is he on a different continent but he’s also on death row for a brutal murder. Her father has always maintained his innocence and when the family receives the news that his execution date has been set for seven days time Alice’s sister begs her to investigate.

Seven Days by Robert Rutherford is an adrenaline-fuelled mix of legal thriller and murder mystery. Protagonist Alice Logan is a solicitor in north-east England. Having lived in the States for a number of years she has recently returned to England to be with her mother and sister who had returned following her parent’s divorce.

Alice has never had the best relationship with her father. She feels she’s responsible for her parent’s divorce having been the one that told her mother about his cheating. Her sister Fiona is much younger and still has a relationship, having been too young to fully understand her father's behaviour. It is Fiona that breaks the news regarding their father’s execution date and puts pressure on Alice.

Having practiced law in America gives Alice the connections and understanding of the legal system she needs when she caves into her sister’s request to help. Rather than waste time on transatlantic flights, the author has placed one of the police officers involved in her father’s arrest in France. I felt that all of this kept the story grounded and well within the realms of possibility. Upon arriving in Paris, Alice forms an uneasy alliance with the police officer concerned, Luc Boudreaux, but it is obvious he’s not going to change his opinion that the right man was arrested.

Digging through past crimes brings up a case almost identical to her father’s. This puts Alice and Luc at loggerheads, with neither willing to give an inch or accept that there may be some merit in what the other person is saying. Trying to find out more about the new case puts Alice at risk in a strange city where she knows no one. You can feel her fear as she begins to wonder if she is being watched constantly. Can she trust anyone, even Luc? This also raises a number of moral issues. Firstly, how do you defend someone you know is guilty? Secondly, if someone is acquitted or released from prison (on appeal or conviction overturned) and they go on to commit a worse crime, how do you square that with your conscience? I do enjoy it when a book makes you think and question events.

Eventually, the investigation means that Alice has to head to New York. It’s in this last quarter of the book that the action really ramps up. I was holding my breath as we got closer and closer to answers. Robert Rutherford plays his cards close to his chest, giving nothing away, as we race to the nail-biting conclusion.

A unique and adrenaline fuelled read! This is quite a fast paced crime thriller taking us from England, to Paris and America as Alice tries to save her father from execution on death row. However, as she investigates his case she unwittingly uncovers other cases that are not quite as they seem. This is an intelligent crime novel that has you not quite knowing who to believe. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Seven days is an atmospheric, dark novel.
The title would make you think this will be a fast paced storyline, but that is not the case, it is a slower evolving novel at the beginning. But this still makes it a compelling read. The plot reveals itself and leads to a quite shocking ending.
Definitely worth a read.

Seven Days by Robert Rutherford has an intriguingly irresistible premise that promises the reader sky high levels of tension and suspense in the countdown of 7 days to an execution by lethal injection. In reality, this is an examination of a dysfunctional family, and the flawed, complex relationships within it, moral ambiguities, love, legal issues, forgiveness, and more, with shifting global locations. A lawyer, Alice currently faces the challenging life of caring for her mother who has suffered a stroke. Estranged from her father for years, Alice learns that her father has been in prison for years, in fact he is on death row in Florida, on the cusp of being executed. It is to please her sister, Fiona, that she promises to look into his case and his conviction for murder.

Her father is far from being an angel, with his dark background and prison record, he betrayed her mother, abandoned her and the family, but is he guilty of murder? He claims to be innocent, but he would say that, wouldn't he? The evidence against him is pretty damning. In a narrative where the prologue sets the scene perfectly, we are given a picture of the nature of the family, there are those who would help Alice's father and have him freed, others, powerful, are more than happy to have him remain in the situation he faces, will Alice be able to save him? There are surprising twists and turns as Alice digs deep into whether her father is guilty of murder, unaware of just how much danger she will find herself in and she is helped by Luc.

The pacing shifts from slow to fast, leading to an explosive finale that might require you to suspend your sense of disbelief and question the author's skills in plotting on occasion, but I raced through the short chapters. There is much that had me gripped through this thrilling storytelling, the characters and the internal complicated family dynamics and developments, and the engaging central mystery itself, but overall it was a emotionally intense mixed bag that I did mostly enjoy. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I enjoyed this a lot, kept me interested all the way through. I loved alice and luc's relationship and the friendship they developed. Explored the complexity of families, grief, crime and made me wonder what I would do in Alice's position, definitely look out for more from thus author
Thank you

Tension Fuelled..
Alice’s father is sitting on Death Row awaiting his execution. Is he guilty or is he innocent? Alice is aware that her father is guilty of many things - but is he guilty of murder? Alice has seven days to make a decision. With a simmering slow burn of tension the story unravels through well imagined and intricately designed settings, detailed backdrops, a deftly drawn and keenly observed cast of characters and engaging narrative. This slow burn is to soon explode. Compelling, immersive and wholly tension fuelled.