Bad Apple is a fast paced, chilling thriller. Full of secrets, lies and deceit, I could not put it down and read it in just over a day. The plot unfolds quickly and you’re taken on a rollercoaster as former police detective Becky tries her hardest to seek justice against her former husband. Gripping and shocking, I can highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

How do you defend yourself when a member of law enforcement is the one ruining your life? This story was interesting, but did drag in places. The twist at the end was good…I never imagined who all was helping John with his crimes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought that this book was an interesting thriller. I think I prefer thrillers set in suburban neighborhoods though. This book wasn't as exciting to me as those kind of domestic thrillers. It wasn't a bad book in any way though, and I would also consider reading more by Alice Hunter in the future.

Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.


2.5 rounded up
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When detective Becky Lawson discovers her husband of five years, detective John Lawson is a serial rapist whose crimes have been covered up by his mates in the force, she reports him to her superiors but he is exonerated and she ends up losing her job as well as her marriage and house. John meanwhile is promoted and moves to another station and is living with his new girlfriend Nina and her daughter. Determined not to let him get away with treating Nina in the same way he has hurt her, she becomes determined to find evidence of his crimes and bring him down.

I enjoyed the author's debut novel [book:The Serial Killer’s Wife|54697845] and this sounded like a good premise for a psychological thriller but unfortunately, I found the execution underwhelming and felt it could have been a lot better. Apart from a few chapters narrated by some of John’s victims, the novel is mostly narrated by Becky so we are immersed in her thoughts and actions. She is so obsessed with revenge that her thoughts become repetitive and she makes many stupid mistakes that, for an experienced detective, didn’t ring true.

It was also disappointing that there wasn’t more character development for the other central characters – John himself as well as Becky’s two police friends Charlie and Hannah, who all remained flat and underdeveloped. A few examples were given of how John was coercing his victims and some colleagues to prevent them from reporting him. However, it didn’t seem plausible that he could get so many in the police force, including the upper echelons, to cover up his despicable crimes, so some insight into his personality and actions would have been helpful in understanding the hold he had over people. Although quite a gritty thriller, I never found this very suspenseful and only read it quickly so I could finish it and move on to something better.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as The Serial Killer series from this author

I found it hard to get into the storyline and for me personally I was a bit disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for this ARC.

This sounded really good, and the cover really caught my eye, but I have to be honest in that I found it a little underwhelming.

There was a lot of repetition in Becky's actions throughout the book, and whilst I understood what drove her as a character, it became a bit dull to read in places. I also would have liked to have seen more of John's positive traits - it would have been interesting to see the night and day in his personality and get a bit of an insight as to why Becky and Nina were with him in the first place.

I did like the writing style, I found it pleasant to read, and the story did hold my interest in that I looked forward to unravelling how certain situations in the book would play out. The best thing about the book was Agatha, my favourite character by far.

I wasn't very impressed with the ending - the reader is left with a lot of unanswered questions and I prefer my endings to be wrapped up in a nice bow.

Overall not a bad book by any means, but not one I will be rushing to recommend either.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this, it tackles subject matter that is quite pertinent in today's society sadly. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was, a real solid thriller, well written with characters I loved, and hated! I would definitely recommend this one.

This was sooo good, i actually didn’t want to put it down. An amazing intense gripping thriller that kept me on edge.
I loved the characters and getting to know about them.
Well written and definitely a must read

Bad apple is about Becky, who has pretty much lost everything after coming forward to the police department. Where she works with John, her husband, who is a policeman. He is abusing his power doing the unthinkable to other women. Becky will do whatever it takes to make sure John pays for what he's done. But John will not make it easy for her. The books synopsis got my attention, but this book just seemed a bit repetitive and slow for my liking. I did enjoy how Becky wasn't going to be silenced and did what she could to help the victims get the justice they deserved.

I really enjoyed The Serial Killer's Wife & Sister, I wasn't as big a fan of The Serial Killer's Daughter and unfortunately this one fell under the same category. It was enjoyable enough but I didn't feel as gripped and swept away by the story as with previous ones.

A good read, very pacey and really enjoyed it. Really strong characters. A very surprising ending that I didn't see coming at all

When Becky Lawson discovered that her husband John was an opportunistic rapist, she tried her best to see that justice was done. But although they were both police officers, Becky discovered to her cost that policing is still very much a male preserve - and the influence of a rotten apple can go quite far, if unchecked.

Now she is living in straitened circumstances, and without any kind of support. Meanwhile, John has a new family, and is living his best life!

But here's the thing about Becky: she does not give up easily. Unfortunately, that's also something that John is well aware of...

This is a gripping tale, which takes no prisoners in terms of its grittily realistic portrayal of life on the fringes of society. There are points at which the tension is ratcheted up to a degree that is almost painful. Knowing that, you read this absorbing story at your own peril! It gets 3.5 stars.

Alice Hunter

Although I didnt find this story quite as gripping as the author's earlier books it is good. Also, impressively, it is quite different.
Whereas others were in middle class fairy cake type venues this finds Debbie struggling without a wage in a low quality flat in a terrible neighbourhood.
Having been part of a police detective couple her fall in fortunes is keenly felt. But what is more galling is that the now unemployed ex-wife lost her home smd career through a shady husband who discredited her with her colleagues and superiors.
An apparently stray cat is her only companion and to her credit, Debbie remembers to make arrangements for her to be fed even when things get somewhat distracting. Only her ignorance of getting the stray scanned for a microchip to see if lost is a jarring note (surely as ex-police this would spring to mind?l). As the devious ex-husband tries to isolate her she discovers just how he operates. This is not in a gentlemanly fashion and things turn quite dark

Having read all of Alice Hunter's previous books, I thought I knew what to expect from Bad Apple. I was wrong. The other main characters normally had one safe place but for Becky, there was nowhere she could go to be safe. She's constantly on edge and I felt that through the writing. There were times when I had to stop reading because my blood pressure couldn't take the tension! I felt everything Becky was feeling.

When reading this, the case of David Carrick and his victims was at the back of my mind. The term 'bad apple' doesn't come close to the horror of his crimes. I think Alice Hunter has reflected this well in her story. All too often, claims are dismissed. Becky's dogged determination in the pursuit of justice is portrayed incredibly well.

A strong, thematic and tense read.

This is centred on police procedures that are twisted and very often biased towards men. It does have a great premise running throughout as to who do you trust with anything that matters, especially when it is your life. Rebecca (Beca) discovers that her husband John is corrupt and is an opportunist rapist. They et divorced but she loses her job in the police whilst he gets promoted. The whole story is based upon her trying to uncover this corruption and to protect John's latest girlfriend from him and his illegal activities. The theme of police corruption and abusive behaviour runs throughout the story. Becca has anxiety attacks that appear to have started when she discovered John's rape attacks.
A good read with an unexpected ending

When it comes to domestic thrillers there is literally not a theme more exciting to explore than the theme of not really knowing the person you are living with, sharing your secrets, who knows you the best. There is a visceral fear to that notion that strikes a chord with many readers.
This is essentially what drew me to the synopsis of the novel since I am not familiar with author's work and I am sorry to say, we weren't a match.
The book opens with Becky Lawson receiving some bad news. Her ex-husband John who worked with her in Manchester Police is not only getting away but being promoted even though she reported him because she found out he is a rapist and he abused his position. As a result she is the one who is kicked from the job, forced to leave the house she was sharing with him and move to a crappy apartment in a crappy part of town and with ever-dwindling money she spends her days being mad how unfair it is. She finds out he has a new girlfriend who has a daughter and realizes she has to do everything to bring him to justice.

Sounds intriguing, right? I expected some type of Enough/Black and Blue situation considering the similarities, but literally nothing worked for me.
I'll start with the title and what the book focuses on. The thing that bothered me about this is that John is a cop and both he and Becca used to work for the police which meant that the "Bad Apple"- a metaphor for a bad and/or corrupt person in a group- is in this novel more tied to him being a bad cop making the entire system that protects him corrupt. John is a "Bad Apple" in the Greater Manchester Police when, to be quite honest, being a rapist makes him a bad apple both as a man and human being and author simply doesn't focus on that part of his "badness" as much as she focuses on the fact police is corrupt. Rebecca seems more mad system failed her for doing the right thing than she was when she find out her husband abuses his job to rape women. A LOT of this novel is devoted to his job when, I would argue, people like him don't really need a badge to rape, they just need an opportunity. But author approached this like he is Vic Mackey, but instead of extortion, drug dealing and other, well known crimes tied to police corruption he rapes women regularly and it didn't sit well with me to just file this as a character trait and focus on the fact he is a corrupt cop more.
Which bring me to whole other thing: It was not even that well done setup that would justify focusing on a police corruption plot. In fact, nothing made sense. I was actually convinced that a lot of things Becca was suspecting and seeing and experiencing in the aftermath of her leaving the job due to John's misdeeds are actually in her head. It was mentioned she has severe anxiety attacks, so I thought that Shutter Island twist is the only thing that would make sense of the plot. Her omnipotent husband, her neighbors, deep-fake pictures, the fact that everyone in town he recently moved to is on the conspiracy like they are Insmouth residents and that people who are suppose to be helping her are not helpful at all and, she a trained cop, is sharing every information with them are just some of the things that happened. Well, I can confidently say THAT twist would make it a better plot than this over the top, illogical story we got.
I am sorry this one didn't work for me, but it may work for someone who is not that much bothered by ott plot and can turn their brain off. I was very readable and fastpaced and I can see other readers having fun.

Thank you for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed reading this book. The main character Rebecca stayed true to her beliefs, and still tried to continue with what she’d started while on the force, while trying to figure out who she could trust.

Grab a copy you won’t be disappointed

Loved this one! Becky Lawson’s life has been shattered.
When she discovered her husband, John – a trusted policeman – was a monster, she reported him. But her faith in the system was crushed when it didn't lead to any charges or consequences.
Now, John lives freely with a new girlfriend and her young daughter, while Becky battles guilt over missing the obvious signs.
Determined for justice, Becky hunts him down. But John wants her silenced – at any cost. Becky knows only one of them can survive, and she’ll do anything to make sure it’s her.
Becky must tread carefully though, because John isn’t the only bad apple lurking in the shadows… mystery and intrigue...themes running throughout this book, written by a talented and gifted author...this is a book that reads like true life...enjoy...The book was sent to me by Netgalley for review.

Pretty intense read. Becky is married to a police man who may or may not be a bad apple. This story encompasses her divorce and subsequent fall from grace all because she dared expose him for what he is. How many people will be drawn into the mess and will Becky get the justice she needs. Lots of twists and unexpected turns made for a great read.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Thank you to the publisher and author for allowing me to read and review this title. I love Alice Hunters other ‘The Serial Killer’s…’ titles however I found this book a bit of a struggle to get through. I personally found the main character quite unlikeable and some parts of the story quite confusing. The end was very pacy and twisty which I enjoyed.