“Bad apple” is my first Alice Hunter book that caught my eye due to the comparison to the hit NETFLIX series YOU.

The plot follows our beloved FMC Becky who discovers her detective husband is a dirty cop with many unforgivable crimes against his name, Becky’s attempts in seeking justice result in her being fired from her job and a series of obstacles she finds herself having to overcome.

The chapters rotate between events leading up to her firing and events following. I personally liked the FMC and rooted for her to succeed.

I’d say the writing maintains a medium pace throughout, the chapters are easy to get through and follow along.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would be open to reading more by this author.

Trigger warnings:
Abuse of authoritative power. Sexual harassment / SA (non graphic).

Thank you to Alice Hunter, Avon books UK and Netgalley for the EARC.

Publish date: May 9th

Another amazing read by Alice Hunter and a must have book for all readers. Hits on some very important topics.

Bad Apple
by Alice Hunter
Pub Date: May 9, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
A gripping psychological suspense about betrayal, courage, and the darkness that can hide behind a seemingly trustworthy façade. Perfect for fans of The Doctor’s Wife , Suspects and the Netflix hit TV series You .
This was a new author for me. I was engrossed in the plot,However, I did encounter some challenges with certain aspects of the book. One issue I found was the repetitiveness of words, which at times detracted from the overall momentum of the story. Additionally, while I was invested in Becky's quest for justice, I couldn't help but feel let down by the ending, which fell short of my expectations and left me feeling unsatisfied.

In conclusion, despite the mixed feelings I harbored about certain aspects of the book, I am intrigued enough to give this author another chance.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was not a bad book but there were several things I didn’t really like. The topic this book tackles is an important one but overall I felt it fell flat, and I was a little let down with the repetitiveness of it. Ending left me with some questions. The pace was okay, but I didn’t feel any of the characters were particularly likeable.

I've read all of Alice Hunter's book and really enjoy them and i thoroughly enjoyed this one too.
John.... omg, if ever there was a despicable character John is it!
I was thoroughly hooked and rooting for Becky from beginning to end.
The writing flowed with a fizzing pace, I would recommend this to anybody who loves a quality domestic thriller

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC**

Beckys husband John is a dirty cop and when she turns him in NOTHING happens. I absolutely hated John and feel like Alice Harper did a great job tuning us on him right away. It was fast paced and I was able to read it in a day. The story and dialogue get repetitive at times but I overall enjoyed the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I felt like this one was slow going and I was confused part of the time. Alot of it was repetitive. I did love all of Alice Hunter's other books, but this one kept sounding like something big was going to happen, but didn't deliver.

This Alice thriller delivers! Buckle up for a fast-paced ride where Becky confronts a truly awful male character (John, seriously?). Alice's talent for crafting despicable men shines, and you'll find yourself cheering Becky on throughout. While the ending might not surprise seasoned readers, the journey is gripping nonetheless. Easy to devour with a satisfying payoff, this is a must-read for domestic and psychological thriller fans.

Becky is happy with where she is currently at in life, married for five years to her husband John, both are police officers and seem to have a great understanding of each other and the trials and tribulations that come with their careers.

Soon Becky is shocked to find out the man she loves is not who she thinks he is, and her happy comfortable life is destroyed. Her horror leaves her with only one thing to do, report him and makes sure he pays for his crimes. Unfortunately, John seems to have everyone fooled and no one believes her accusations, even her teammates that she considers friends. There are also others in the force happy to turn a blind eye as to what is going on.

John’s abuse of power, sexual harassment and misconduct leave her vulnerable and scared but once she kicks him out, she finds out he now has a new partner and a child Becky knows she cannot leave things be, she has major concerns for this woman and is going to do all she can to try to bring him down.

I enjoyed the book and found myself halfway through before I knew it, but as other readers have stated it is repetitive in parts but not enough that I would not recommend the book and it is still an enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book overall, as always with Alice Hunter's book I am kept on edge and I could feel goosebumps!

I've enjoyed all of Alice's books so far and this one was no exception. She certainly knows how to write unlikable male characters! John was utterly horrible. I was captivated by the story and was rooting for Becky the whole time. I guess the ending could be considered as predictable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The writing was easy to follow and read and the pace felt thick and fast at the right moments. Highly recommended for domestic thriller and psychological thriller lovers.

A good tense and at times shocking read that had me on the edge of my seat throughout the story
Great writing and sadly believable plot that made for a top notch thriller
Always enjoy this authors books

Leaves you with a feeling of inherent distrust. Another Alice Hunter book that I found myself holding far too many breaths that could be deemed healthy.

Loved this book! I’ve read all of Alice Hunter’s books and have enjoyed every single one. It sucked me right in from the beginning and kept me wanting more and more. I throughly enjoyed Bad Apple

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I was instantly gripped by this suspenseful, gritty thriller. I found the story to be fast paced but some of the dialogue did become a little repetitive in my opinion. I found the characters to be quite dark and everyone seemed to be very untrustworthy. Lots of unexpected twists and a very relevant storyline. An enjoyable psychological thriller that I would recommend. 4 stars

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avonbooks UK for this free advance review copy of the ebook Bad Apple by Alice Hunter.

Great premise let down by poor execution

'She shouldn’t be driving. The roads were narrow, unfamiliar; each bend took her by surprise as it appeared like magic through the ominous entrails of mist hanging a few feet from the ground.' This opening paragraph shows the tension, which only mounts as the story goes on.

Unfortunately many errors spoil what would otherwise have been an absolute gem of a book. As you can see with the opening quote, the author uses some wonderful descriptions at times which enrich the narrative, such as the use of 'ominous entrails of mist' rather than a simple 'the mist'. When I read the opening page, I felt sure this would be a 5-star read, especially with the brilliant and topical story premise.

However, scene shifts occur throughout the book, as do passive writing, clumsy sentence structures, and misspellings. At one point, I found myself asking if the book had even seen an editor. [Reviewer's note: any errors I discovered in the PDF on Kindle, I also double checked in the better formatted version on the NetGalley shelf to ensure it wasn't down to the format of the PDF.]

Two examples of a good and a poor ...

The good: 'Grief has a habit of knocking on the door again, [...]'

The poor: '[...] though this is a TV show and the viewer has pressed paused on the remote.' The pertinent change needed here is to swap 'paused' for 'pause'. Sadly, many more examples abound.

Another thing that had me roll my eyes and complain aloud quite a few times was a plot hole around the use of the main character's mobile phone. Time and again she questioned whether other people's phones were bugged or had trackers installed but she never, not once, questioned her own. And if I missed an instance where she did, then most definitely she didn't check it or change it. The continual overlooking of this basic yet crucial plot point drove me nuts and, along with the other issues, ruined the read for me.

I so wanted to love this book, and the idea is a good one as well as being important and topical. The pacing slowed again and again, and repetitions grew boring, and then there are the wonderful phrases and spot-on observations of human foibles which make this an otherwise great read.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Who do you trust when the very people that are paid to protect you are corrupt to the core?
A compelling read of Becky Lawson, a Detective, who was discredited and blamed when she took a case against her husband John, who she suspected of rape charges.
We follow Becky as she gets herself deeper and deeper into her own investigations, sometimes repetitively. But if John is being protected who can she trust.
This was a fast paced read, a gripping, tense thriller with a surprise at the end.
I was gifted this advanced copy from Netgalley and Avon Books UK with no obligation to leave my review

A Terrific Psychology thriller Book.
Bad Apple by Alice Hunter is a new author for me. The book hooks readers into it from the beginning. It is a gripping story about Becky Lawson whose life has been shattered after she finds out her husband who is in the police Force is a serial rapist after finding a burner phone down her couch. Becky reports him to the police but instead of him being sacked she ends up looking like the scorned wife and she leaves her job at the police force and leaves the family home and moves into a flat in a rough part of town.
Becky decides she must stop John from raping women and there must be a trail left behind, if she can just find it. Becky knows John wants her silenced at any cost and she also wonders who she can trust and who she can turn to as there will be more corrupt police as the apple never falls far from the tree so Becky must be very careful at all costs as john seems has eyes on every move she makes.
You will find yourself hooked from the first page in this gripping drama with a twist at the end you will not see coming. This book had me guessing up till the last page. A terrific psychology thriller book. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.5 actually.

This wasn’t at all what I expected. The description is different than the book turned out to be.

The original description sounded great. But the book was much more of a woman repeating herself over again and telling rather showing.

I think I just wasn’t the audience for this. I’d recommend it to people I know that like this type of book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, the opinion is my own.

Bad Apple by Alice Hunter was a great read! Becky has lost her husband, career and respect of her colleges. She discovered her husband is a rapist but no one is willing to bring him to justice. She has all but 2 colleagues willing to help her but soon she will find that she can trust no one.