I'm sorry to say that this book wasn't for me. I struggled to get through it and didn't like any of the characters. I was expecting a fast paced thriller, but instead it felt like a lackluster drama.

Justine Stone is the main character in this story; she’s a KC and apparently very good at her job. A big murder case lands on her desk; she would love to take it on but she’s gets a big shock when she recognizes the defendant. He’s her ex-boyfriend, who left her 18 years ago. He’s changed his name and is now accused of a double murder. Justine is now in her mid-thirties and happily married to Noah, a very calm and loving husband. Nothing stresses him out and she’ll need him because although she has to hand the case back, she’s determined to find out the truth.
The story of Justine and Jake is being told in the past, in between the part that’s set in the present and slowly we get to know Justine and Jake a little bit better. Born and raised in the same village but from completely different backgrounds, their story is not so much about themselves but about the way they were raised. Justine is formed by her dysfunctional family and a big part of the story consists of her looking back. This is what made the whole story getting quite slow to be honest. Page after page Justine mirrors everything she does or think against what happened 18 years ago. I saw the ending coming at about halfway. On the other hand, it was a nice enough read to finish the whole book and I seriously hope the author will write more books in the future.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this review copy.

Bad Blood was packed full of excellent twists, dark secrets and compelling characters, zipping along at breakneck speed. Hornsley is definitely one to watch.

This is an impressively strong debut. It is packed full of secrets and lies and you never quite orientate yourself properly. Hornsley pulls you between two timelines and a multitude of POVs, all of which work to form the pieces to this jigsaw puzzle. It is so well-constructed and constantly shifts, keeping you on your toes. The whole time I was reading I never fully felt like I could trust what anyone was saying. There is just so much going on and you can’t believe everything that is being presented to you. It is oppressive and feels like the tension is bearing down on you – making for a compulsive and intense read. Hornsley packs some incredible twists in here. I would recommend going in knowing as little as you can and just enjoying the wild ride you have in store.

You fly through the pages, needing to find the truth. It helps that these characters are complicated, three-dimensional people going against one another with various factors coming into play. They are not necessarily likeable as such but you can come to understand their motivations and how their circumstances have brought them here. It would translate really well to the screen. Around the time of writing, I (like many people) am currently watching Adolescence and that tight, taut storytelling marries well with books like this. Stories like this depend on great characterisation as well as the dramatic beats of the overall story.

Bad Blood is a thriller you will not be able to get out of your head anytime soon after reading. It is layered and complex, full of the messiness of people.

This book has so many twists and turns that you almost feel dizzy reading it. Nobody is as they seem. Everyone has secrets which in time come to the surface little by little. It takes hold from age one to the verylast page. I defy anynot to keep saying one more page.

A very good psychological thriller by Sarah Hornsley. My favourite genre so always likely to be a winner with me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

A family drama like no other! You have glimpses of an event that happened 18 years ago from the beginning which runs alongside the investigation of a present day double murder. Are these two events related or is it just the people involved that connect them? A clever psychological thriller with plenty of surprises along the way!

A double murder,a lost intense relationship, small town secrets and memories, strange family dynamics ,many secrets coming to light ,this read kept me up til finished it. I loved it!

I though this was going to be a crime/thriller but really its more like a drama. None of the characters are likeable or redeemable which is a shame as it seems like an interesting concept.

A small town thriller with big family dramas.

Bad Blood follows Justine Stone, a big barrister who has just landed her first lead in a double murder case. When she realises it's her former boyfriend Jake, she has to step away from the case. Justine decides to do a little investigating of her own, and it sees her returning to her family home that she's been avoiding for the last 18 years. Then her brother is found dead, she has to try and uncover the truth about what happened and it takes her back to her past that she been trying to forget.

Interweaved throughout this story were flashbacks to 18 years ago, and the past that justice has tried so hard to put behind her. There are plenty of twists, some of which I never saw coming. Whilst I did like this story, I couldn't get fully immersed in it. I struggled to get into the first half of this book. The second half flowed a little better, and I was interested in seeing how this story came together.

This has had some great reviews, and I can see it being a really popular read. It's packed full of family secrets and lies, unreliable characters, and lots of twists.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for my advanced copy.

it was a well written triumph of a book. She tied in small town politics with some killer twists. I can't wait to see what she writes next. I will be reading more of her books.

This definitely had some crazy twists and turns! And while I wouldn't say this had me on the edge of my seat, I for sure was eager to continue every time I put this down.
I kind of saw the big final chapter plot twist coming, which was a bit of a bummer, but some of the others took me by surprise, so this is a hard one to rate.

As a mother myself, this book definitely spoke to me and had me wondering what I would and wouldn't do for my daughter. This also deals with some strong topics like physical and emotional abuse, so be warned!

Family secrets and a lot of drama in Bad Blood. This was a great debut novel, with plenty of shocking twists and turns that kept me guessing.

I never really warmed to any of the characters but that doesn’t mean that I it isn’t a great story. These were complicated characters, who had gone through a lot. We learn their stories from now and 18 years earlier when their lives changed forever.

I did fly through this book, needing to know what would happen next. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for my early copy of this book to read. Due to be published on March 27th.

This books lures you in from the first page, however, I did get a feeling like the main character was an unreliable narator.
It did keep me interested, even though some passages were acting like brakes. I get it, you're working through things, but reading almost the same sentence every 2 paragraphs gets old quickly.

Justine Stone is given her first big case as lead barrister - only to find out she knows the accused. It is clear that Justine has many issues and has worked with a therapist for some years. She is married to Noah, has little to do with her mother but still is close to her brother Max. Having to relinquish the case Justine still wants to know why her first boyfriend is accused of a double murder and if he is guilty. How Justine looks into the case and what has gone before is drip fed to the reader via chapters marked Before!
There are twists and turns galore in this well written debut and as we learn about the past the reader forms opionions which prove to be wrong as the story unfolds.
Look forward to more from this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Sarah Hornsley/Hodder & Stoughton for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

My feelings about this book are quite mixed. As the main character, Justine Stone, is a barrister and the whole storyline is based on a double murder, I was expecting more of a legal thriller. However, the plot follows far more of Justine's personal life and events that have led her to the point she is forced to pass over the opportunity to really make a name for herself professionally.

Justine and her mum have an almost non-existent relationship following the events of "that night" - details of which were not disclosed until a substantial way through the book. The mid-section of the story felt quite repetitive regarding this - a bit like "the fishing trip" on the TV program Gavin & Stacey - its notoriety held in the fact that nobody actually knows what happened - but without the humour. I'll be honest, I was close to the point of not wanting to continue reading but then the book sparked into life once the facts of who was involved (far more wide-reaching than I'd expected) and why came tumbling out of the wardrobe.

Very few characters in this book are likeable. I usually enjoy loving to hate characters, but something this time didn't quite hit the spot. I understood them all by the end of the book, and the loose ends all tied up neatly, but I can't go so far as to say I enjoyed the read. I felt I'd gone round the houses multiple times before finally getting to the crux of the story. The second half is far stronger than the first and I wouldn't shy away from reading more of this author's work in future but sadly this one was missing the buzz that keeps me turning pages later than I should.

'Bad Blood' is not the courtroom drama I was expecting from the blurb. It's more of a family thriller complete with suspense,secrets and lies. Well written and told from various pov's with flashbacks it kept me guessing to the end. Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for an early read. Recommend it and look forward to more from Sarah Hornsley in the future.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book.

I felt the pacing was a bit all over the place, and I just wanted more from the murder trial itself. I understood how the trial was going to be more personal but I just wanted more from the trial perspective, but at this time it wasn’t keeping me fully engaged and intrigued about what happened and how it relates to the FMC.

I got to around 36% in and it just wasn’t gripping me unfortunately, sorry!!

Hooked from page 1!!!! I knew this book was going to be good, since many twists, turns and lies.

We follow Justine as she’s just been given her first huge murder case which could help her become barrister, the twist however - the accused is her first love, ex boyfriend Jake. She soon realises she cannot continue with the case so hands it over and returns to her home town to do her own investigation. A place she never wanted to return to.

Written across a dual timeline, with various POVs, each with their own twists. A web of lies, murders, deception and more twists than a rollercoaster, this storyline really delivered and more !!

Defo be looking for more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley for this early ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley in exchange for an honest review. This is a twisted story of family drama, lies and secrets. The secrets are hinted at from the start and I enjoyed the way they were slowly revealed through multiple timelines.  As the lies are uncovered and memories come flooding back, our main character Justine unravels. She has to find a way to solve a string of murders whilst dealing with the secrets of her past. The many twists and turns kept me hooked!

A prosecutor investigates a double murder when she discovers that the accused is her childhood boyfriend. This shouldn't be pitched as a courtroom thriller as almost all of it takes place outside the courtroom in rural Essex. The characters are all quite unlikeable and while it's generally well-written with a good twist right at the end, it lacked any sort of punch and was fairly forgettable. Not one for me.